It may be dull outside, but you can brighten up the evenings with some exciting after-dark activities. But before venturing into the darkness ensure that: * There is sufficient light to be able to move around safely.
* Playworkers can adequately monitor the whereabouts of children.
* Playworkers are mindful that some children feel anxious about the dark.
* Children know not to look directly into any light sources and not to point them in other people's faces.
TORCHLIGHT FUN
Favourite games and activities take on a new dimension when torchlight is introduced. Bundle up warmly and try having your usual snack outside by torchlight. Have one torch each if you can.
Torchlight lends the ambiance of a midnight feast, an exciting prospect for many children. Follow the event with a 'spotlight' talent show or a game of charades. Ask everyone to shine their torch towards the person who is performing (but never directly in their face).
If you usually keep these kinds of activities for inside, you may discover that children feel more liberated outside, leading to a more confident performance.
Consider a twilight treasure hunt, with clues written on glow-in-the-dark card. Or how about adapting a game of follow-the-leader, so it becomes follow-that-flash? Children can copy not only actions but torch signals, sweeps and points. They can also experiment with Morse code (see box).
A club's usual outdoor space can become an intriguing place for children with their own torches to shine, so allow plenty of time for free play too.
NOCTURNAL NATURE
Attract some nocturnal creatures to your club so children can conduct torchlight nature tours. You may be in a position to see badgers, bats, owls and hedgehogs, which can be found in both countryside and urban areas, and can be effectively encouraged to visit (see box).
However, there are several more accessible nocturnal creatures that staff and children can hunt too:
* Slugs and snails feed in the hours of darkness and can become more interesting when under after-dark observation. Encourage the children to attract them by helping them to make a small compost heap or rockery.
* Growing rosebay willowherb will attract moths, as will a patch of stinging nettles if you have somewhere suitable.
* Rock and log piles will provide shelter for all kinds of mini-beasts
* During the winter months and are manageable in most environments.
* Long meadow grass will attract crickets and grasshoppers as well as spiders. You can of course see spiders during the day but most species, and there are over 40,000, prefer to come out in the dark, building their webs at night - something children may witness if they're lucky.
Viewing nocturnal creatures can provide inspiration for further activities:
Creepy Crawlies
You will need:
* Black paper
* Pencil
* Scissors
* Stapler and staples
* Paper-fastener (split pin) or cotton
* Self-adhesive wobbly eyes
* Masking tape
What to do:
1 Fold the paper in half.
2 Place hand on the folded edge, half way through the palm.
3 Draw around fingers and cut around the outline.
4 When unfolded the image of a spider, complete with eight legs, is revealed.
5 To shape the spider, turn it over and roll the legs around a pencil one at a time, causing each to curl under.
6 Stick wobbly eyes in place. The spider can now be suspended from cotton.
Alternatively, a bracelet can be made: 1 Make a band of folded paper 2cm in width. Staple the ends together at the appropriate length.
2 Pass a paper-fastener string through the centre of the spider and attach it to the bracelet.
3 Cover staples and fasteners with masking-tape for safety since they will be next to children's skin.
When children rock their wrists a 'creeping' effect is achieved and the spider can be turned through 360 degrees.
Window Webs
You will need:
* Thick PVA glue
* Spoon
* Petroleum jelly
* Smooth surface
What to do:
1 Smear a thin trace of petroleum jelly over a smooth, non-stick surface such as a melamine tray.
2 Drizzle glue from a spoon on to the surface in the outline of a spider's web. (A little sieved flour can be added to thicken glue if necessary). The drizzled lines should be approximately 5mm thick.
3 When completely dry (usually overnight), carefully ease the web from the tray intact, using a blunt table knife.
4 The web will have a 'clinging' property and will temporarily cling to a window for an effective display. (The clinging property may be reduced when flour is used.) TANGLED WEB
How to play:
1 Two children look away while the rest of the group form a circle, each standing arm's length apart.
2 Unravel a ball of string by passing it around the group once. Children should hold the string in front of them and have it running through both of their hands.
3 Double the length of the string, cut it from the ball and tie the ends.
The group should now spread out to take up the slack.
4 Without letting go, the children weave a tangled web by taking turns to turn around, or step over or duck under the string.
5 The remaining children must untangle the web by instructing their friends (who are still holding on to the string), to move accordingly in turn.
GLOW-IN-THE-DARK
There are many glow-in-the-dark and reflective craft products on the market, including paints, fabrics and even face-paints. General club activities can be carried out with these materials and results can be displayed outside. You could promote road safety perhaps by encouraging children to fashion their own reflectors to wear in the dark. Badges, arm bands and zip pulls all work effectively, and can be made or customised.
You can also use the resources in the dark. For example, glow-in-the-dark fabrics look fantastic weaved in and out of the holes in the wire fencing around many playgrounds and it's fun to make the boundaries bright on a dull night.
Children may have tried splatter painting in the daylight, but this activity is quite different in the dark.
You will need:
* Glow-in-the-dark paints
* Giant sheet of black paper
* Paintbrushes
What to do:
1 After dark, spread the paper on the playground. Choose a good space for this somewhat messy activity.
2 Use the brushes to randomly splatter the paint across the paper. The glow-in-the-dark paint will illuminate the black background, giving a dramatic contrasting effect with each new satisfying splatter.
SKY GAZING
Plato said, 'Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards, and leads off from this world into another.'
If you have a local astronomy group, invite a visitor from the group to bring a telescope and demonstrate their hobby. Children will be able to see the spectacular lunar landscape in all its glory and view planets. However, you don't need expensive equipment or an expert to get started.
With children's binoculars or even the naked eye, children can watch the moon enter a new phase approximately every seven days, see constellations and even the brighter planets - once they know where to look. They can learn from simple star-maps, published in textbooks and downloadable from the internet (see box). Children may like to draw their own star-maps with glow-in-the-dark crayons to refer to outside at night. Or perhaps make an illuminating record of their own star-sign constellation.
You will need:
* Paper
* Pencil
* Pin
* Light source
What to do:
1 Trace a constellation on to paper, making pin holes to represent the stars.
2 In a darkened room, shine a strong light source (a good torch will do) through the paper, projecting the constellation on to the ceiling.
3 Hold a constellation competition - how many can children identify?
Miranda Walker is a playwork trainer who owns Playtime out-of-school club in Cullompton, Devon
Further information
For sky gazing information visit:
* www.kidsastronomy.com
* www.amazing-space.stsci.edu
* www.starchildgsfc.nasa.gov
For nocturnal animal information visit:
* www.bbc.co.uk/nature/reallywild
(Do consider possible disadvantages of encouraging animals to visit. For example, badgers turn up grass when they are searching out worms.) For hedgehog ideas see 'Prickly Subject', Out-of-School, March 2004.
For Morse code information visit: * www.dynamoo.com/technical
