🎨 Starting Your Own Holiday Program
Are you thinking about running fun and educational holiday programs for children – without needing a huge budget? Whether you're in a small village or a bigger city, it’s absolutely possible to start a playful and meaningful learning offer with just a few tools, creativity, and a good book.
🏠 Start Small: Find a Local Space
You don’t need a big facility to begin. A classroom in the local school, a room at the VHS (Volkshochschule), or even a space in your village community center might be enough. Often these spaces are affordable or even free for educational or community-based projects – especially during school holidays.
🗣️ Tip: Just ask around – sometimes word-of-mouth opens more doors than websites!
💸 Keep Costs Low, Focus on Relationships
Your goal isn’t just to fill a few holiday days – it’s to build long-term relationships with families. That’s why you can offer your first workshops at a lower price.
🎯 The aim? Creating trust and enthusiasm so families sign up for longer programs or even yearly contracts.
📚 Build Your Classes Around Great Books
Books are a fantastic starting point for creative lesson planning. I often use stories by Eric Carle, like the classic about a very hungry little caterpillar 🐛 – colorful, simple, and full of learning moments.
✨ From just one storybook, you can create 90 minutes of:
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🎨 Crafting
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🎵 Language games
🎖️ Badges
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🕺 Movement
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🧃 Snack time
As a fun motivation, kids collect stickers for contribution on a badge:
🎖️ "I spoke English!" – after the caterpillar-themed class.
🦸♀️ Or Take a Game Like “Super Skills” and Build Around That
If you prefer more action, games like Super Skills are a perfect starting point for a superhero-themed workshop.
💥 One hour of jumping, balancing, stretching, and pretending to fly like a superhero becomes a full-body learning adventure. Add:
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🧵 DIY masks or capes
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📖 A little storytelling
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🎉 Group challenges
And of course, a superhero badge!
🎖️ "I’m a Superhero!"
🎵 Music & Movement: The Superhero Song
For the superhero class, I had a custom superhero song written and produced just for the group. 🎶
We use it right at the beginning for a high-energy warm-up:
🦸♂️ Superhero Freeze! – The kids pose, strike their strongest superhero stance, and the energy in the room shifts immediately. It's fun, it builds confidence, and it sets the tone for the rest of the session.
This simple musical routine helps kids arrive, focus, and feel like superheroes from the very start. 💪✨
🧩 In Short…
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🏘️ Use what’s available: local rooms, books, simple materials
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🧒 Make it playful: kids learn best when they’re having fun
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🤝 Build trust: affordable workshops = long-term enrollment
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🌀 Stay flexible: adapt to the group and let creativity lead
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🎖️ Use badges: small rewards make a big impact!
Running holiday programs doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. With a bit of planning and heart, you can build something special – and sustainable. 💛
