THERE are plenty of fun things to keep small minds busy this school holiday season. Try and give the venues some notice as bookings are essential for most activities.
Yarra Junction library: 5967 1588
Brush up on maths skills with Bill Handley at 11am, Wednesday 22 September. Solve problems quickly; master multiplication tables in minutes, and use a simple method to check answers.
Join Bruce to explore websites on bird habits. Find that bird by sound and sights, conservation and behaviour. Ages 10+. BYO headphones at 9am on Thursday, 23 September.
Make whacky musical instruments with Adrian and perform together at 11am on Thursday, 23 September. Cost $3. Ages 5+.
Bill Handley presents memory aid: two hours of study in 10 minutes. Overcome exam nerves, improve concentration, memorise as you read, learn more in less time, with less effort. Suitable for secondary school students at 11am on Wednesday 29 September.
Get creative and design your own jigsaw at 2.30pm on Wednesday 29 September. All materials are supplied for $3. Age 5+.
Wear your PJ’s and join us for bedtime stories, fun and games from 6pm on Thursday 30 September.
Healesville Library: 5962 4423
Yarra Valley Woodworkers will teach children how to make wooden objects, pre-pay and order a kit beforehand. Cost $7 Age 3+. Three hour-long sessions are available on Wednesday 22 September at 10am, 11.30am or 1.30pm.
Bollywood comes to Healesville at 11am on Wednesday 29 September. Dress in your favourite scarves and dancing clothes and join Sharvina for a fun filled dancing morning. All ages, all welcome. Cost $4.
Kitemaking: Let your spirit and imagination reach new heights as you create your own flight of fancy to take to the skies. Led by inspirational local artist Sioux Dollman, you will design and decorate your own kite to fly home.
It’s on at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre from 11am to 12:30pm on Wednesday 22 September or Friday 1 October; or at Healesville Memorial Hall from 1pm to 2.30pm on Thursday 23 September or Thursday 30 September. Cost $15.
Music: Celebrate the joyous music, dance and storytelling of South Africa with Valanga Khoza. Valanga will have you singing, moving and grooving to the rhythms of his country.
Not just for kids, this is a great workshop for parents and grandparents to share some special time these school holidays.
Valanga will be at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre at 10am or the Healesville Memorial Hall at 1pm on Wednesday 29 September. Cost $15.
Films:
Shrek Forever is playing at the Healesville Memorial Hall at 11am each Tuesday and Thursday of the school holidays. Cost $7. (PG, 93 min)
Rumpelstiltskin tricks a mid-life crisis burdened Shrek into allowing himself to be erased from existence and cast in a dark alternate timeline where Rumpel rules supreme.
How to Train Your Dragon is playing at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre at 11am on Thursday 23 September. Cost $7. (PG, 98min)
A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.
Nanny McPhee Returns is playing at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre at 11am on Tuesday 28 and Thursday 30 September. Cost $7. (G, 109 min)
The magic is back, warts and all. Emma Thompson is transformed once again into the mysterious nanny with unsettling features. From a flying motorcycle to a tree-climbing piglet, she conjures up the right formula to teach her new charges five new lessons.
Boats:
Travel into the vivid and fantastical world of Boats through enchanting story telling and breathtaking puppetry. The moving tale of Nic and Jof will leave you with a lump in your throat and a smile on your face, playing at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre on Sunday 3 October at 2pm
All ages, $12 single / $40 family of four.
Healesville Memorial Hall: 5965 3528
Upper Yarra Arts Centre: 5966 4500
