What is a better way to spend your term break as a kid than creating innovations or hanging out with your energetic friends?
Rocky Railway Kids Holiday Club was held in Subiaco Church of Christ, where it featured in a program to allow both children with a previous background to Christianity or completely new, to get to know Christ. This event was held for a few hours for five days consecutively and had a new, main theme each day with a featured Bible verse and a cartoon animal. There were 7 different stations with a Station Leader and Crew Leaders would take 5 or 6 children and lead them in the different rotations:
- Sing & Play Express
- Bible Adventures
- Loco Motion Games
- Chew Chew Snacks
- KidVid Cinema
- Imagination Station
- Rocky Wrap-up
My role as a volunteer was being a Crew Leader, requiring my full attention span on 6 children aged from 4 to 12. I was required to lead them to different stations and assist them with anything they would need help with. Being a good Crewleader was crucial, however, our actions reflected on the compassion and kindness Christ has taught us to have, to demonstrate what Christianity is for young children.
The first stop was: Sing & Play station, which is where all the kids and leaders gather together for communal worship with lots of singing and dancing. This part was very challenging at first as publicly dancing and singing is very out of my comfort zone, but we had to set a good example to lead the children. This taught me bravery and the treasured value of courage to persevere through a foreign activity, no matter how anxious or embarrassing I had felt. It was important that I had embraced the moment, as it would teach me to build self-confidence amidst an uncomfortable situation and how I should grasp every opportunity presented.
The value of courage was also taught as one of the five main themes:
Jesus’ power helps us be bold (Trust Jesus !!!)
‘He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.’ Isaiah 40:29
Leading a group of children of various different ages was arduous and mentally & physically draining (regardless, they are still lovely). With the smallest boy in my group being just 4 years old and the eldest girl being 12, there were conflicts of interest and passions between the five days. This experience has illuminated the utmost importance of patience and gentleness, handling the young minds with tolerance while being mindful of the situation. The practice of patience has also taught me to be an alert listener, to try and resolve any disputes without depending on an adult. Personally, patience should be highly regarded, as analysing situations in a calm and collected manner can be frustrating at times, but highly rewarding.
The most enriching part of the program was certainly bonding and spending time with the kids during ‘Chew Chew Snacks’. Not only the snacks were creatively put together to look like trains and tasted incredible, but this was when the most discussion occurred. For us all, the importance of friendship has been strengthened for us. It was amazing to see all the kids that were nervous going in, to belong and fit in right away and encourage each other during team activities. Whenever a team won, we would all congratulate each other and whenever someone is feeling down or anxious, we would encourage them and support them in whatever way we could. The wonderful thing is that this act of kindness can be applied to our own friendships and peers every day, no matter the setting or your age.
Overall, this was an eye-opening experience to progress my core values through working with a different age group. Although I went through many bumps on the way, I am so thankful for this opportunity to bond with so many enthusiastic children and to display the loving ways Christ has gifted us with. I took a lot away from this program, and although I will miss all the friendships, I know I’ll still have those wonderful memories we created together.
Here is a highly recommended Spotlight video of the program: