What are your 7-11 year olds interested in?

[NewInKew]

Hello There,

Hopefully you're all out enjoying the glorious sunshine rather than stuck on the laptop indoors like me

I'm just about to start work as a Volunteer at a local Out Of School Club and started to have a little panic after realising that I don't actually know a single child over the age of 5! I'll be working with children aged 7-11 and was hoping you could give me the low-down on what it is children this age are actually interested in? What do they watch on the tele? What music do they listen to? What kind of things would they want to do in an Out of school club?

Hope you can help save me from being branded the "clueless out of touch mum" who talks to the kids about Peppa Pig (no, I wouldn't really!)

I have a nine year old girl, so in my opinion check out Cbbc for 7-11 yrs (particularly Tracey Beaker for girls) also Disney Channel for Hannah Montanna, High School Musical etc anything with Justin Bieber(??). For girls aged 7-9 this is year 3 to year 5 ish and girls 9-11 is years 5 to 6 ish. (Also worth noting is that full sex education is delivered in year 5, so beware!!!) Girls 9-11 music such as Lady gaga, NDubz, Black eyed peas etc. BOYS!! Talking about phones, DS games (thats Nintendo!?), dancing, clothes design, sleepovers, disco's, hair straightening, make up. (Yes really!!!). Girls aged 7-9 similarish but slightly more innocent. Any kind of special projects the kids love, something they can research, compile and make something creative out of. Basically avoid anything associated with the under 5's especially peppa pig!! Boys all i can add is football, football, girls and football. Altho they start to do alot more team games and sport for the school. Sorry not very good at boys mines only 3!! Good luck. Nice ages to work with.

I have 8 yr old boy, as well as sport and a constant need to use up excess energy he loves lego and other construction type games, card games and board games, chess. So far as tv goes I'd say the Simpsons rule(he also love cooking programmes but I think that may be just him!)

my dd is 8

she likes

cats
music( nothing fluffy)
her Ds
nature, science, Dick and Dom, Britains got talent, pizza, spirits and love!!

Thanks so much for your responses. Panickymum - that was very detailed. I can't believe how quickly girls seem to grow up these days! I don't think I was interested in half the things you listed until I was well into my secondary school education!

Batteryhuman - I hope that when my kids are 8 they think the Simpsons rule. That clearly shows impeccable taste.

piratecat - I love that your DD doesn't like any "fluffy" music yet is a fan of "spirits and love" - my kind of girl.

DS(7) likes: Doctor Who, Ben-10, Top Gear, racing cars, dinosaurs, Beast Quest, Horrid Henry, history, especially involving sword-fighting, Star Wars and Wii games.

DD(10) likes: Doctor Who, MI High, Jacqueline Wilson, Enid Blyton, fashion, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, Lady Gaga, Little Boots, hair-braiding, writing stories, keeping a diary, jewellery, science, the garden and animals.

DS in Yr 4 - all the boys are crazy on football cards, especially with World Cup looming. I would expect to see a lot of cards and card swapping in our Out of School Club!

9 year old boy.
Football
Matchattax
Dr Who
Top Gear
Racing around like a loony
Friends
Football
Football on the Wii
Electric guitar
Pineapple Dance (that could be just him)
How to train Your Dragon
Biggles
The Beatles

Oh, did I mention football?

DS (Y3, aged just 8): the periodic table, cathedral architecture, textile manufacture 1830 onwards. I kid you not. I tell you this only so you don't get the idea that all eight-year-old boys like sport, TV, and computer games!

Haven't we got a thread on this already?

A Spinning Jenny is obviously essential.

Oh yes. [very fed up with spinning jennies emoticon]

Like yr thinking there seeker!
What is a 'DD, DS, DS2 etc' sorry first time on the site and bit confused?!?!

Newinkew, she's fab, and off the wall!! like seeker's dc she's a beatles fan, loves Pulp, loves mystical things, loves a bloody good laugh!

ok enough now!

10yo ds here: World Cup, World Cup, World Cup. Then in no particular order: Dr Who, Top Gear, Lady Gaga.

ds1 is 7, he likes David Bowie, Queen, the Bee Gees, David Attenborough, the Muppets, football, birdwatching, crocheting, playing spies, trampolining, reading, fashion, and riding his bike

i am not convinced that is going to be entirely helpful to you
good luck

oh and street dance!

i am not really sure what an after school club does, but i reckon if you could teach them some street dance stuff or just put on music and let them dance, that would be pretty popular with boys and girls of that age

Quattrocento - we do have a thread on this already. Something went wrong when I started the thread - sorry about that.

What are spinning jennies?

Thank you all for your replies - this market research exercise has proved to be much more fruitful than I expected.

CoupleofKooks - as long as I don't have to actually attempt any street dancing I think that is an excellent suggestion. My 3.5year old DD could already spend hours making up different dance routines, although currently this is almost entirely made up of imagined ballet moves (most of which end with her collapsing in a dramatic heap on the floor in the most ungraceful way imaginable).

My dd's are not very cool, so they do not know much about music, but like the sound track to Mamma Mia. They are into Pokemon and Dr Who, plus they love their nintendo ds.

My children would probably choose to do craft things at an after school club because they are not very sporty.

oh recently we went to a rhythm workshop where the children did things like the Stomp show people
eg making music / dancing with items like brooms, buckets, basketballs
it was really fun and again very appealing to both sexes

Mine (girls, 6 and 9) love history, especially ancient Egypt, but they are a bit geeky.

And NewinKew - they could tell you what a spinning Jenny is too!.

I have 3 DC, 10, 8 and 7. 8yo is DD.

They like (in no particular order) football, cricket, ballet, Brownies, Cubs, Beavers, Nintendo DS, Dr Who, Horrible Histories, Lego, Playmobil, Puppy in my Pocket, random imaginative games, hanging about the local Rec with mates, reading.

I imagine at an out of school club all 3 would like craft activity especially if it offered the chance to be fiddly and detailed; gardening or similar; computer games; sports like rounders and football and netball; toys like Lego and playmobil and K'nex.

Their fave TV shows include that hideous show with Richard Hammond where people fall off big bouncy things, that other hideous show where people have to make a certain shape to avoid being knocked into the water.

Their music tastes are mine really so Beatles and Frank, but they also like things like Girls Aloud, Lady Gaga etc.