Ask any of our young members about whether they can have fun while still learning at Kids Kabin and our guess is they'd be pretty enthusiastic, but recently, we hosted three young people on work experience who got to understand this for themselves.
Miriam, who is from Walker in Newcastle, and used to attend Kids Kabin sessions, Aksel from Whitley Bay High School, and Jacob, who joined us all the way from Edinburgh, each spent a week with us between June and July 2024, with the support of Jillian from our volunteering team, and we asked them about what they discovered during this time.
First things first - first impressions
Miriam said she was excited to join Kids Kabin and to have an opportunity to understand how to lead. She explained: "I came here when I was younger, so I knew what the kids were like, but now I’m older, I can actually see what’s happening and I’m more aware of it. It was a welcoming environment and I felt like I got to experience both sides of how it would be to be an educator to the kids.
"It felt like somewhere I could learn but also enjoy myself at the same time - like school, but with different opportunities and creative aspects to it.”
Aksel said he was most impressed by how the kids can choose what they want to do at Kids Kabin, instead of having to set up one activity they would have to do. And Jacob added: “My first impression was the kids coming to the back gate asking for bike repairs and Will fixing their bikes and lending a small one out. It was a good example of how Kids Kabin is about more than offering after-school sessions, but being part of the community.”
What did you get up to in your time with us?
Miriam had a busy week making a tortoise house during woodworking, which Jacob was also involved in, spray painting the pottery trailer, and cooking eggy bread, which she found a highlight. She also took part in street sessions in Pottery Bank and in Monkchester, and did art and used the smoothie bike with school groups.
She said: "The girls I worked with were quite funny and I really enjoyed learning how to make eggy bread with Colin and the other staff in the kitchen. Thinking about biking in the rain to street sessions, I would do it all again!”
None of the group stayed in one place during their time with us, with Jacob helping supervise a paddleboarding session we did with Off the Grid Adventures, as well as running a woodwork session with students from Walker Riverside Academy.
He added: "I learned how to cook American breakfast with Jillian and students from Walker Riverside Academy, baked cakes, made lots of pizza, biked to Byker with Will and Jillian, then Cowgate with Will and cleaned out the back cupboard. I also made a mug in pottery, did a handstand with young member EG… and more!”
Meanwhile, Aksel got involved with street sessions in both Orpington and Pottery Bank. which involved "a lot of cooking, chalk on the pavement, hopscotch, and a little bit of football with Orpington, which was fun."
His school sessions included activities like making windmills and pottery that were specific to what the young people were learning. He said: "That was cool and the kids were really nice."
In Walker, Aksel even carried out a one-to-one session with one of our members, JT, aka Freddy Fazbear!
He said: "I did enjoy the project with JT; he was really nice and being able to help him be really enthusiastic made it better. Building the windmills was also really nice. Making something with the kids was fun and chatting with them while getting them to understand it… they’re quite funny!”
A few of our favourite things
Jacob was pleasantly surprised by the social aspect of working at Kids Kabin. He explained: “My favourite skill I worked on was the social side of it and all the interactions with kids and staff. It was interesting to see social skills within a workplace, and the difference between how it is in school and how it is in real life. When there’s activities going on, it’s easier to figure out things to talk about."
Miriam agreed. She said: "You can see the difference between personalities at school versus an organisation like Kids Kabin. When the kids make a mistake, they know and they try to fix it. I can see how Kids Kabin actually impacts kids because they can be more themselves here and learn from their mistakes better here compared to school.”
Aksel added: “I like the wide range of practical activities Kids Kabin offers. I was a bit surprised by the cooking… when we were getting ingredients I thought ‘cook with the kids.. is that safe?’ So I was really impressed by that!”
Jacob continued: "My favourite moment with the kids was running around playing tag, and doing handstands with young member EG, but just all of it! There's something about matching the kids' energy and them getting so excited because I could.
"My favourite behind the scenes moment was all of us cleaning in the kitchen together after running an activity.”
Any advice for future work experience students?
Jacob said: “You can’t treat this like a normal 9-5 because you need to stay integrated in the community. People don’t stop being people with problems after 5pm. You guys are doing everything right!”
Aksel added: “Keep busy, get stuck in, always help and try to stay busy. Try to get involved with the kids and get them to talk about themselves. I was kind of scared of them at the start, like I thought they wouldn’t like me or something, but don't be - getting them to talk about themselves is good…everyone likes talking about themselves!”
Miriam summed it up by saying: “Just enjoy the time! Stay organised, know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it. Any free time you have, try to use it wisely, but just enjoy it. You’ll want to keep doing everything!”
A huge thank you to Miriam, Aksel, Jacob, and their schools - we hope you learned lots about what a career in community youthwork involves, and we're thrilled you seemed to enjoy your time with Kids Kabin so much. You are welcome back any time!
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