Hart & Rushmoor Branch

I'm sure that some of you will have heard about our idea of moving our events to a regular meeting place.....

We are finally organising plenty of drop-in sessions at oue newly named "The Zone" in F Block at the new site for Samuel Cody Specialist Sports College in Ballantyne Road, Farnborough, GU14 8SS.

We have something on almost every weekday for parents/carers.

Our Gaming Zone sessions have been renamed Cyber Zone and will continue on alternate Saturdays.

After school zone on Wednesdays are due to start on 5th October and so far there are plenty of families lloking forward to attending! We hope to be able to start a Lego club in the future too.

Check out our Branch Calendar to see what we have planned!

On Saturday 10th September, we met our 2 100 seat double-decker coaches in Aldershot at 8.15am and we were all loaded and off by 8.45am.

The journey went quickly and we all got off the coaches and into the zoo as fast as we could - I think some of our parents were more enthuasiastic and eager then the children!

Everybody seemed to have a fantastic time; yes there were a few hiccups along the way, but it wouldn't have been an ASD day out without them!

We were delighted that Daytrippers chose one of our group members to feed the giraffes - Ali had a brilliant time being so close to them and feeding them carrots and leaves and several of us really enjoyed watching.

There are plenty of pictures in the photos section - take a look.

If we can secure the funding, we will do it all over again next year (London Zoo are thinking of May 2012.... so whatch out for more details nearer the time!)

On Friday 5th August we had a whole day of go-karting at Connaught Leisure Centre, Aldershot.

Kiddi Karts were brilliant enough to bring along 3 huge petrol kadet-karts and 4 battery cub-karts (and all the helmets, cones and inflatable track!) to Connaught Leisure Centre for the day.

We had organised the families into small groups so that there was as little waiting and turn taking as possible for everyone and luckily it all ran fairly smoothly!

The sun was shining, the Kiddi Karts staff were fantastic and enthusiastic....... and did a great job with rescuing the cones from under the karts and helping those who needed assistance with steering!

Pics are now in the photos section.

For more info go to http://www.kiddikarts.com

Once again we hired the donutting slope at Alpine Snowsports in Aldershot for a couple of hours on Tuesday 2nd August.

A great time was had by 20 children in each of the 2 sessions and there were several parents who enjoyed themselves too!

It was hard work getting back up the hill each time but I'm told that whizzing down the slope made up for it each time

A special mention has to go to Jay, as he managed to stay for both sessions and ended up very hot & sweaty, having had a really good time!  

All the photos taken are now in the photos section.

On Sunday 10th July 2011 Manydown Farm opened for the day especially for special needs children.

We had the most relaxed day there, with wonderful weather (Nikki's face currently matches her hair!) and so much fun was had by all. There were over 130 children there and their families too and yet it was still so calm and peaceful.

The giant hay stack was good fun - the children loved being on top of it....it was the adults who struggled to get up there!

The maize maze was still growing, but we had fun following the paths and looking at it from the 2 bridges.

The feedback we have received from this event has just been absolutely amazing, but in all honesty we didn't have to do much as the staff at Manydown were so eager and willing to have us there! The discounted entrance fee was brilliant and meant that so many families were able to access the fun. A huge thank you to Guy and all his staff for giving us all such a fantastic day.

Here's hoping that we are able to repeat it all again next year! :o)

All of our photos taken on the day are in the photos section. Do let Nikki know if you have more to add to the collection!

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Go to www.manydown.co.uk to see what's there!

It's a fantastic day out over the Summer and the farm shop is open throughout the year (but closed on Monday's).  

On Sunday 5th June, we had our 3rd annual sponsored walk in Frimley Lodge Park. The weather was a little on the wet side, but luckily there were trees and umbrellas to hide underneath.

The walk itself was slightly longer this year - Sir Topham Hat made everybody do a lap around the field before heading off to the trim trail....

...and then on to the Frimley Lodge Miniature Railway....

....finally it was time to head back to the beginning to have a go on the two bouncy castles, collect a goody bag with fidget toys in and a medal for completing the walk!

A huge thank you to everyone who supported us - Hartley Contracting Services, Barclays, BumpNJump and of course all of our fantastic members and their families. It really is appreciated and as soon as we have collected all the money and counted it, we'll let you know the grand total!

More photos can be seen in the photos section.

Thanks to an "Inspiring You" grant from Hampshire County Council, we now have 2 well-stocked suitcases with weighted blankets and lap pads, a calming coloured oil projector, a vast selection of fidget toys, UV toys for use in our tent covered in blackout material, vibrating ladybirds, air cushions, BodySox, a portable bubble tube and an assortment of pencils and pens that might make writing a little easier for those with fine motor skill issues!

Due to an additional last minute "Inspiring You" grant from HCC the branch now has a new influx of equipment for our gaming zone sessions: we now own 2 new 3DS’s, 2 Toshiba laptops with bags and internet dongles, 2 android tablets and over 25 more games for the various consoles we already have! A huge thanks to the team at Hampshire (especially Kaz White!) who made this happen.

We hope to post photos of all of the equipment being put to very good use soon!

As the numbers at our Gaming Zone sessions in Hook are beginning to grow, it seems like a good time to add a little bit here about it.

Once a month we hire The Base youth centre in Hook, which is above the Hook Community Centre and opposite a great playground (for some fun and fresh air afterwards!) 

For a donation of £1 per child, you can come along and play on the various games consoles (Wii, Xbox360, PS3) and several DS's, DSi's and a couple of 3DS's and 2 online PC's, as well as the football table, air hockey table and 2 pool tables.

There's always plenty of tea, coffee and juice and donations of biscuits are always appreciated! :o)

The next couple of sessions are on Sunday 19th June and Sunday 17th July, 10am - 1pm.  Come along and meet other families who understand life with a child/children with additional needs.

If Nikki is really organised then the book library and sensory suitcase will be there too - but please get in touch if there is something you are specifically looking for!