Throughout February half term we welcomed three families from Field Lane School in Rastrick on our ‘Try it You Might Like It’ course.
The Community Foundation for Calderdale funded bite sized course was aimed at families who want to try a different way to get fit and healthy. The physical activity sessions included bouldering, abseiling, rope climbing and caving.
Each parent then received a more detailed climbing induction which means they can come back and boulder with the kids without instruction. On the final day of the course we allowed our families to choose their favourite activity. Three out of our four parents decided they wanted to summit the lead wall as their final challenge and this is a challenge at 21.5 metres high! The children wanted to test out and refine their bouldering skills.
On day four we teamed up with Zain from Calderdale Council’s ‘Better Living’ team. Our families learned about hidden sugars in breakfast cereals and drinks, and healthy on the go snacks. They all took part in a taste test to work out what healthy foods were in the smoothies and then helped make a spicy chickpea gumbo in just 20 minutes.
We asked our families to tell us what they thought about the course.
Tahmina – mum of two and scared of heights ” The experience encourages you to push your boundaries and see what you can achieve; the course has been a fantastic experience for all of us and has given us a boost to try new things as a family. The team at ROKT were fantastic!! we will definitely come again”
Taking part in activities as a family has profound effects. The children from two different families commented at how proud they were of their mum’s achievements and how they were surprised at how well they could climb. Encouraging family driven physical activity is a key part of what the Foundation aims to do more of. We understand and advocate that families who keep fit with each other see their attachment, social development and emotional management skills improve.
We will be keeping in touch with our families in the coming weeks to see how they are getting on in their healthier lifestyle journey.
Take a look at our video snippet to see what our families got up to and how much fun they had.
