By Justin Flynn
At first, Bianca Carroll was hesitant to drop her two special needs sons off at GMHBA Stadium for a KidsCo school holiday program.
She needn’t have worried. Beau, 11, and Zac, 8, couldn’t wait to go back.
The program, which is open to children aged five to 12, is run by qualified teachers and is much more than a day-care centre, Bianca says.
“Our boys both have special needs and the first time I left them I wasn’t sure but they have been fantastic, the boys love it,” she says.
“The bonus for us as parents is the staff are all teachers and the kids are school age.
“It’s not just your painting and drawing, it’s much more than that.”
KidsCo’s Adrian Rockman says the program is fully structured and “action packed and educational”.
“It gets broken down like a school day,” he says.
“We have arts and craft, sport and fitness, dance and drama, science and cooking in a single day.
“There is literally no day that’s the same.”
Adrian says it’s a win-win situation as teachers on school holidays get to earn some extra cash.
The highlight is the Master Chef theme where kids make an apron and hat and decorate it. Then they cooking and make a bento box to take home.
And sometimes Geelong Cats AFL and AFLW players will call in to lend a lend.
Bianca says her family are mad Cats fans and it’s an added bonus KidsCo operates out of GMHBA Stadium.
“Being football fans the kids being able to see the players train out the window is a bonus,” she says.
“The whole thing is so well organised.
“They keep you up to date with emails and booking is very easy.
“There’s a lot of staff and they seem very kid-minded and they also look like they have a lot of fun and join in with the kids.”
KIDSCO GEELONG CATS SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM
Runs 24-26 September at GMHBA Stadium. For kids aged 5-12.
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Tuesday 24 September: Masterchef 2.0 featuring culinary challenges and more!
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Wednesday 25 September: Angry Birds – engineer a real-life Angry Birds arena!
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Thursday 26 September: Grand Final Fever with drills test, megaphones, foam fingers and more!
