EASTER AT NAS STAFFORD!
This Easter we had a lot of fun with spring activities and animals!
Our regular holiday Stay and Play at Littleworth Community Centre included the regular crafting, sensory and construction activities, but we also hired a small petting zoo to attend, courtesy of Nature’s Burrow.
Nature’s Burrow gave us opportunities to learn about, and interact with a variety of animals, including a magnificent barn owl, rabbits, a bearded dragon, and the cutest hedgehog!
Nicki and an owl
Our young people then enjoyed their party food whilst the NAS Easter bunnies hid the fluffy chicks. Once the cakes and rolls were scoffed, the easter chick hunt was on!
When the children had found some fluffy chicks, they traded them in for an easter egg, and NAS Stafford would like to thank Hearts and Hands for supplying us with 25 Easter Eggs for our families.
We held a raffle which raised £61 for our branch activities and many thanks go to Zea Raines for her hard work in finding raffle prizes, as well as Tracy Moon for another gorgeous Easter themed chocolate bouquet.
We all had a lot of fun at Stay and Play, with volunteers Nicki Scarborough, Julie Goodyear, Sophie Buckland-Povey, Sheanagh and James Gibbs and Zea and Steve Raines essential to the smooth running of the event. Look out for our next Stay and Play on 25th May 2024 at Littleworth Community Centre, 10,30am-12.30pm.
Autism and ADHD expert Laura Kerbey
Our next event was the Parent and Carer Support Group Webinar with Autism and ADHD expert Laura Kerbey. This took place of March 27th at 7.30pm via Zoom; it was a fantastic, almost two hours of detailed explanations of autism, ADHD, the crossover between the two and Laura’s personal experiences. Our summary of her webinar can be found on this website. If you would like the accompanying slides that formed her presentation, please email the branch.
Farmyard Fun times
Easter is a great time to visit the farm, and so in the second week of the holidays 57 members and three volunteers enjoyed all of the fun at Lower Drayton Farm. There is SO much to do at Lower Drayton; it is local and inclusive (they employ several autistic people) and they go out of their way to support us with quiet rooms and no queuing at the entrance.
Although the weather was typically wet for a NAS event, families enjoyed the huge soft play area, the slides, the sports area, and the indoor animals, as well as shows about reptiles and rabbits. The skies cleared in the afternoon and we could explore the outdoor spaces like the go kart track, the play area, the fire engine and tractors, the bouncing pillow and go on a hayride!
The cafeteria queues were a rather long so in future we recommend families bring a picnic which will cut down on their costs too. We were delighted that we were given free return tickets for all of the children in our party and we hope our families can enjoy another trip there – maybe when the weather is a little warmer!
Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and we look forward to visiting Lower Drayton again!
Autism Acceptance Week
Our final activity was on Sunday, the last day of the Easter holidays and also the final day of Autism Acceptance week. Volunteers Tracey, Tracy, Julie, and Nicki were at Asda Stafford with the NAS stand, sharing information about the support we offer. We also did some fundraising and were delighted to make over £90 for branch activities from generous donations by the public.
It has been a fantastic Easter, we have all enjoyed meeting everyone over the holiday and watching you all take part in the events and activities. We have also loved meeting new people and reaching out to our community.
Watch this space for news about Half Term and Summer!
Tracey at our stall in Asda