A day in the life of Mini Fun Station......
The first session starts at 10:00am, so I make sure I’m at the tent around 09:00am to tidy, clean and prepare the equipment. My tent is right next to Fun Station, so I catch up with the children’s couriers and see what they have planned for the day. We try and run our sessions at the same time, so that parents can drop their older children at Fun Station before coming along to play at Mini Fun Station.
I have an area where parents can sit and help themselves to refreshments, so I need to clean the tables, put up the parasols and head over to the campsite bar to collect some jugs of fresh coffee. I buy some croissants from the campsite shop, so they’re lovely and fresh. There’s lots of great equipment in Mini Fun Station for the toddlers to play with and it all needs a wipe over before the session starts. Inside we have things such as activity mats, a ball pool, soft shapes, puzzles, books and bricks. Outside, we have a sand and water table, see-saw, bikes and an activity gym. Once everything’s clean and set up, I put on some background music and wait for the first parents and toddlers to arrive.
It’s my job to make sure the toddlers are having fun at Mini Fun Station, but the parents must be there too. There are no pre-advertised activities unlike Fun Station, and the families can come and go as they please, so the best way to describe my role is that of a facilitator. I always plan an art activity that the toddlers can get involved in if they choose. Today, I’ve painted a big tree trunk and branches on a huge bit of paper and the toddlers can scrunch up tissue paper and add their own blossom - once it’s finished, I’m going to hang it up inside the tent.
I spend the rest of my time chatting with the toddlers as they play - this gives me a great opportunity to speak to their parents too. Before the season started, I had to learn a lot about the local area from a toddler family perspective - everything from where to take the toddlers on a rainy day to which supermarket stocks Pampers nappies! I also learn a lot from chatting to the families as they play, they tell me about great restaurants for kids and good days out.
Once the session is over, I tidy up and clean the equipment, ready for the afternoon. I’ve got a couple of hours to spare, so I go and see the couriers to see how many new families are arriving today. I grab some lunch and have a dip in the pool before heading back to the tent.
This afternoon, I plan to do some finger painting with the toddlers, and have got some tea and cakes for the parents to help themselves to. The session finishes at 17:30, so after a tidy up, I have a shower and then prepare for my evening visits. There are 8 new families on site today, so I go round and introduce the service to them. We have extra toddler equipment on site that they can borrow, such as changing mats, baby baths, potties and rumble trucks - so I make sure they know all about those too.
I have my dinner with the children’s couriers and we go for a drink in the campsite bar to finish off the evening. I recognise some of my families in the bar so head over and have a chat about their day. I get back to my tent and relax with some of the couriers before heading off to bed for some well-earned sleep!