Want to know what the kids have been up to during the school holidays? City Harvest Children’s Church organized a series of holiday programs to help them make good use of their well-deserved break.
Contributed By Jamie Lim
The children of the City Harvest Children’s Church had no worries of their December holidays being a boring one, seeing that there was a wide array of activities lined up just for them.
Centered on the purpose of realizing and developing the talents of these children, the staff and volunteers of CCH came up with programs ranging from music, art, and the great outdoors; to classes teaching them about the importance of saving money.
Adventure Camp
For a start, CCH organized a three-day-two-night adventure camp at the beginning of the holidays, from Nov. 25 to 27. Unfazed by the potential hassles of a camp full of energetic children, the camp was a huge success, with a turnout of 88 children. According to Fang Xin Wei, zone supervisor in CCH and the overall coordinator of the adventure camp, “The response was much better than we expected.”
Activities for the first day kicked off at 9 a.m. with the Bible Adventure series. Comprising drama, art and craft and an intriguing human board game, the children were introduced to the biblical character, Moses. The first day ended with a prayer meeting, leaving the children tired but happy.
The children were exposed to a high element obstacle course at Sembawang Camp Challenge the next morning, followed by a memory lesson that taught the kids how to improve their memory.
The usual CCH service the next morning had an extra element as it saw the graduation of the Primary 6 children who would be moving on to youth cell groups and starting a new adventure in a different environment.
Guitar for Junior
There were two guitar classes held during the holidays—Beginner and Intermediate levels. This allowed for more efficient and effective coaching of the young guitarists. Spanning four lessons, lasting an hour each, the kids were taught basic music theory, chord structure, and the make-up of a chord as well as the structure of the guitar. At a very discounted price, the course fee was also inclusive of a kid-sized guitar.
Art for Fun
In time for Christmas, children in this class were provided with easy-to-use materials to make hand-crafted cards and interesting Christmas ornaments for their loved ones. An illustrator from CCH was on hand to teach and guide them throughout the process. In just two hours, the delighted children had cards and little Christmas gifts to give to their family and friends.
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY HARVEST CHILDREN’S CHURCH |
Dancing King & Queen
Children who love to move and groove were delighted to participate in the dancing class. They were taught hip-hop dance moves in four lessons, each an hour long. The dance instructor was Theresa Yee from the O School performing arts center, with much experience under her belt. Having taught dance in primary schools, and having been involved in a children’s musical, Yee was deft at interacting with the children and getting them to learn the dance steps. Said Yee, “It was a good experience as I conducted the class using a different approach. At the end of the class, the children had to put up a short performance and we had a lot of fun putting that together.”
Smart Start to Money
Targeting older children from the age group of 9 to 12, this class was set up to equip the children with important money-saving and investment skills, in order to help them gain financial independence. The children learned the difference between “needs” and “wants,” “necessity” and “luxury”; and that resources were limited, hence they could not satisfy all their infinite desires. They also learned to grow their wealth using interest rates, as well as how to look out for the danger of overspending and incurring debts.
Cartoon Mania
Children who love doodling thoroughly enjoyed this class. Anson Ang, 34, a staff of CCH and an illustrator who draws the cartoons for children’s stories in CCH, taught the kids on the techniques of drawing cartoons in a fun and simple way.
Oh Carol
After all the activities that the children attended, the Oh Carol program was a time for the children to “give back.” Sixty children were taught Christmas carols which will be performed at Peacehaven Nursing Home and at the CCH Christmas services.
