A little update

BMXing
This was a fantastic activity for everyone and they all appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. There were two tracks, the first one was quite flat and was used to either prove how good they were or to gain more confidence in cycling before moving on. Those who were confident moved onto the other track, which had far more bumps and hills, while those who weren't confident were amazing at improving their bike riding skills.

Most memorable moment - seeing those who couldn't ride a bike without help to sprint down the final straight on their own.

BRASS RUBBING
According to Mrs Matthews, it's really quite simple. You just put the paper over the top and rub with a crayon. Despite it's simplicity Mrs Esser states they produced some quality artwork.

Most memorable moment - The moment of enlightenment when they realise there is a technique to it.

BLOCK PRINTING
During this inventive activity they place leaves over a tile, make an impression of it, paint it and stamp it to produce a print.

Most memorable moment - Paige being able to paint her hair blue and joining the Smurfs

BLIND TRAIL
During this activity the children are blindfolded and led around a maze full of sensory challenges and surprises

Most memorable moment - Seeing the children help each other, starting off a bit nervous and then desperate to have a second go.

An Absolutely Amazing And Action Filled Day

Since it has just started raining here and we've had to cut our bug hunt short, we figured it would be time for a little blog update.

The first part of the day we must write about is the fact that it is Bella's birthday. This is the first time Springfield has had a birthday at Cardfields and Bella had a great time opening some presents given to her by her friends.

Having been promised that the children would sleep well tonight we were intrigued to see exactly what activities they would be getting up to. It has to be said that many of the children at breakfast were looking particularly sleepy still and some , when caught unawares, looked like they were auditioning for a zombie film as was the expression on their faces. For this reason we were beginning to believe the hype of the sleepier second night. Before we could even blink all these zombie like exoskeletons were soon removed to allow the  happy persona's shine through. The reason for this transformation was quite simply being told that the activities were about to start.

After being spilt into four groups they went their separate ways to start their activities of brass rubbing, block ink printing, blind trail and BMX'ing. Once they had completed two of these it was free play time and the children continued using tonnes of energy running around the four corners of this fantastic site. It was then back to the remaining activities and then lunch time. Thankfully, we were able to take advantage of the good weather and eat outside. This included lovely sandwiches, that we chose earlier in the week, oranges and chocolate cake.

Still, they were full of energy so more running around on the trim trail was needed, followed by games of football, basketball, tennis and too many other games to mention. Once this free time was over we all went over to one of the classrooms where we were told our next challenge... to find as many different bugs and creepy crawlies as humanly possible AND identify them using a key. All sorts were found and once again the children were full of giggles as well as excitement. This had to be cut short because of the rain and now we are back where the blog all started.

As we speak, or should I say type, the children are taking turns in washing their hands ready for dinner. In fact I do believe it may now be ready. Therefore I bid you farewell and look forward to not only tweeting you all about dinner but also writing another blog with our "photos of the day".

I must now apologise for the layout of these blog posts but unfortunately we've been unable to edit and arrange the photos for your viewing pleasure. I'm sure you'll agree that it's far better to have something on here than nothing at all though and hopefully Mr Davies may be able to amend it from his end or we can do it upon our return.

A wet Wednesday hasn't dampened the Year 2's spirits

What a fantastic day we have had today. After a relatively short coach trip, where all the children sat patently, we had a tour of the grounds. "Wow" & "awesome" were two words used throughout by the children as it dawned on them exactly what they had in store over the next three days. Once the tour was out the way they had some free time to explore the grounds themselves. Some went to find dens in bushes, others played football while some were playing 'it' and other similar games. A small group even went with Mrs Klar to fetch some chicken eggs so Mr Bird could choose the biggest one and write his name on it ready for his breakfast in the morning.

Eventually the time came to take the luggage to the rooms but before we knew it there was a fire alarm practice. The children did Springfield Primary proud by coming out quickly and sensibly and were then able to be split into two groups for our first official activity of the residential.

Due to the sheer amount of rain we've had these past few days a pleasurable walk down to Paper Mill Lock was out of the question, instead it was back onto the coach for half the group while the others stayed at the centre for even more fun and games. Once at the Lock we boarded the boat and headed down the river. Everyone was so excited as we squeezed under the first bridge while House Martins were swooping all around us making their nests after travelling from Africa. A couple of girls excitedly exclaimed that they saw a tortoise swimming by the riverbank as others were looking out for crocodiles after spotting a curious warning sign. But probably the best comment, and the comment that sums it all up came from Paige when she said "this is the best time of my life so far because I've never been on a boat before! "

After swapping activities and meeting back at the centre the children had some more free time until dinner was ready. It was like torture though as everyone had worked up a great appetite and the smell of it cooking just made it worse. Thankfully though, before too long the dinner bell rang and it was served. Sausages, mash, yorkshire pud, carrots and broccoli. Plates were almost licked clean!

Finally, it was time for the last activity. The rain had once again put a stop to our plans so a campfire and marshmallows were struck off the plan. Instead we had a boat building challenge and postcard writing session.

Hot chocolate was then handed out for to enjoy before bedtime.