5-8 Year Olds

Crew Life: Together, but tailored

Every child joins a colour Crew when you book - Blue, Yellow, Orange or Green (or Blorange and Grellow depending on the club!). These smaller groups help children buddy up with new friends and give our Crew Leaders the chance to plan age-appropriate activities around the kids in their group. We mix things up too - so while your child has the security of their Crew, they’ll also join in on full-club games, forest quests, creative challenges, and moments of collective chaos (the fun kind!) with children of all ages.

What the day looks like

Expect a bit of everything - from den building and dance-offs to scavenger hunts, coding, craft stations, sports days and talent shows. Our activity days are shaped by your child’s interests, their energy, and the kind of things they genuinely love to do. We run Circle Times in the morning to set intentions, share ideas and get everyone excited for the day ahead. These sessions also give us a chance to chat about kindness, respect, and how we treat each other - helping to create that special Practically Family vibe. We encourage independence, but we’re always there with a helping hand when it’s needed. Whether it’s finding their lunchbox, managing big feelings, or learning how to resolve a playground disagreement, our highly qualified team is always nearby.

Building skills

This is an age of big developmental leaps. Children are figuring out how to manage their emotions, navigate friendships, and feel proud of who they are. We’re there every step of the way - offering gentle structure, clear expectations, and lots of opportunities to try, fail, and try again. We:

• Use consistent “golden rules” to guide behaviour
• Help children recognise and talk about emotions
• Teach positive coping tools (like deep breaths, asking for help, or taking a break)
• Encourage responsibility in little things (like looking after their belongings)
• Model kindness, empathy, and respect in every interaction

And when things go wrong (because they sometimes do), we don’t shame or punish. We guide. We reflect. We help them understand what happened - and how they can handle things differently next time.

Thoughtfully supported

Every day at Practically Family is shaped around the children in front of us. Some want to run the show. Some want to take a backseat and watch before they dive in. We adapt our plans and our support to make sure every child feels welcome, included, and excited to come back the next day.