Let’s be completely honest, the summer holidays are a real financial expense and source of anxiety for many parents. Even the most organised of parents will factor in days where children will spend a lot of time in front of the television or on the iPad. Now, some screen time is absolutely fine. In fact it is necessary for parents to work and frankly, gain a rest! However, it is really important to consider that these days children are not as active and so with this in mind, last week we embarked on a 5 day campaign to ‘keep active’ as a family.
Wall Climbing
We started the week by taking a ‘wall climbing’ class with Toni at Westminster Lodge in St Albans. This was a class that we tried last year and it was something that Ita was eager to do again. Everyone Active follows NICAS (National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme) sessions. NICAS is a structured programme aimed at progressing beginner indoor climbers through a series of levels. NICAS Level 1 begins with teaching the climber how to put on a harness, tie their climbing knot and belay safely. As the climber progresses through the NICAS levels they will learn a range of climbing movement techniques, set their own goals and develop autonomy within the climbing wall. The session lasted an hour and took us through all health and safety aspects before embarking on climbing! We were so impressed by how much further Ita could climb. It became a bit competitive between a certain father and daughter… but of course, daddy backed down and Ita was victorious!
The wall climbing classes are suitable for children as young as 5-6 years old where they can take part in ‘taster’ sessions for 1 hour. Then there are courses specifically aimed at 7-15 year olds too.
Prices start from £12.50 a session.
Trampolining
Ita then enjoyed a fun and energetic trampolining session. From the very first lesson, you learn the basics in maintaining rhythm, perform tricks and learn how to stay safe whilst on the apparatus. Ita really enjoyed the class – she said she felt exhausted after which is a good sign! Even when we came home she wanted to head outside to her own trampoline to practice her new skills.
There are classes for adults, teens and children as young as four and all sessions are held in a safe, friendly environment and run by fully-qualified British Gymnastics coaches.
Swimming
At the Everyone Active centres, you can participate in group or private swimming lessons, as well as enjoying the pool in your own leisure. We love visiting and using the pool facilities as a family, and we find the pools spacious and clean. At Westminster Lodge especially, there are 3 pools. One is a small ankle deep pool for babies and toddler where there are small slides to enjoy too.
Home Activities
Home days or ‘no spend days’ are really important during the holidays too, so we applied keeping active whilst in the garden. We set up a really fun obstacle course using items from around the house – including balloons. This kept us all busy for about an hour and we actually had so much fun as a family. The suggested activities from Everyone Active included a balloon keepy-uppy competition which was so much harder than you might imagine! This is something we will definitely do again because it seemed to be something Ita really enjoyed.
Healthy Food
There are lots of home cooking classes on offer with Everyone Active and we chose to make healthy FroYos since the weather has been so warm recently! It was such a quick and easy and tasted delicious!
Ingredients
2 small handfuls frozen berries of choice
6 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp honey
Instructions
Put the berries and yoghurt into a food processor with a squeeze of honey.
Wizz up until smooth
Eat straight away or make a larger batch and store in the freezer!
You can find the link to our nutritious FroYo below!
One thing that we really like about Everyone Active, is how many different things are available to try. Tennis, ice skating, climbing, gymnastics, skiing and trampolining to name only a few. Membership is also on a pay as you go style basis and this is another thing that as a family, feels like a big perk.
‘Everyone On Demand’ also gives you access to the widest range of fitness and wellness partners on the market. From fitness and personal training to mental wellbeing and prescribed exercise, there’s a service or session to support everyone, no matter how you feel, every day of the week.
There are over 200 centres nationwide so to find your closest centre, check the link below!
https://www.everyoneactive.com/centre/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi-Ki0Oi3-QIVTgUGAB10Vg_yEAAYASAEEgKb_fD_BwE
Garcia Family UK 
It looks like these were quite a few fun activites here — I love the ideas!
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Great read. Indeed active life, active mind, body and soul!
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