Guest blog by Carys Faulkner, young leader at Time Trek

Time Trek holiday clubs are early anticipated in Hitchin!! They are run by local churches in the school holidays and Phase gets involved providing leaders, resources and ideas. In the recent Feburary half term a half day holiday club was on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Christchurch. The focus this time was on Esther and facing our fears. Carys joined us as a Young Leader and this is what she has t say about it:

I’ve been a Young Leader (YL) at some of Time Trek’s events for the last eighteen months. Before I became a young leader, I also took part in some of the events. It’s been a fun experience and has brought me into contact with lots of different people.

I enjoy volunteering because it is nice to come into contact with children of all different ages; I also really enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when the kids leave the building with their parents, happy and smiling, sometimes chatting non-stop. It makes me pleased to know that as a team, we have all helped make an enjoyable afternoon for all the children involved.

At Time Trek, we have both KS1 (school year groups 1 and 2) and KS2 (school years 3, 4, 5 and 6) partaking in the activities. They are split into their KeyStages, and then split into colour groups. KS2 would go off and play one session of fun and games where the children race through obstacle courses, work as a team to get balls from one side of the room to the other, and just generally have fun. Meanwhile, the KS1 kids do arts and crafts for the session. We then have a small snack break before switching the activities around.

I feel like being a YL helps give me a purpose on a day where I might have just stayed at home (all day), knowing that I’m helping others, and not just the children there. It’s good to have YL because I believe that some of the children will feel more comfortable if there is someone closer in their age group.

I find it fascinating that the YL and Leaders may not know each other, but soon bond, chat etc. The children get along well, and if there is ever a problem, they known they can talk to anyone, and it’ll be sorted.

Thank you, Carys, for being a brilliant leader and being fun and engaging with the children. We love having you on the team!

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