Friday, 20 December 2013
Friday, 25 October 2013
The Last Day of Activities
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
The PGL Alphabet
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Tuesday Pictures of the Day
Day 1 and Day 2
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Thursday's Pictures of the Day
Team KFC - Zip Wire Dream Team
Team Fabtastics - Reaching for the top
The best kids - what a wonderful week
Terrific Thursday, Classic Quotes
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
The PGL Alphabet
Daily Team Pictures
Team KFC - Problem Solving Team Activity
Team Fabtastics - Climbing up the Jacob's Ladder
Team Dollymixtures - Encarde - Springfield Fencing Team
Team Hyper - An Absailer's Eye View (amazed I got a steady shot! - it is high!)
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
The recipe for the perfect Tuesday
4 energetic beautiful/handsome teachers
2 land based activities (team games and challenge course)
1 water based activity (raft building)
1 air based activity (giant swing)
20 helmets to be worn the correct way around
10 chest harnesses
10 seat harnesses (resulting in 10 wedgies – ouch!)
10 buoyancy aids
1funny trick of everyone hiding from Mr Davies
1 involuntary use of bad language (adult or child? – answers on postcards)
2 litres of applied sun cream
1 child passing wind when everyone was quiet – much hilarity ensued
135,000 total calorie consumption (in one day!)
74 soaking wet shoes drying in the lovely hot sun on the balcony
2 team winners from the Passport Around The World
1 amazingly fantastic groupie with 15 tattoos and very odd socks
10 new songs learnt
4 very proud teachers of the 37 children’s behaviour
2 complimentary comments from other teachers about our children’s behaviour
37 very tired but very happy children
3 stinking boy’s rooms
1500ml of Lynx deodorant used in the 3 rooms mentioned above
3 children worn the same, of their own, tee shirt for 2 days
but
1000’s of memories made that will never fade
Photos of the Day
Team Hyper - Challenge Course Team Work
Monday, 3 June 2013
Day one and all is well
Thursday, 10 May 2012
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.




Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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.








Thursday, 30 June 2011
Thoughts of Thursday
The giant swing is a new activity that involves team work, personal targets and a massive release of adrenaline. Two volunteers are willingly strapped to a suspended metal bar between two huge wooden pylons via cables. Every spare group member must then put their backs into wrenching the two brave children up towards the heavens. Upon reaching a designated point the pair have to pull a quick release rope that instantly releases them and they swing at a rate of knots like a huge pendulum. High pitch screeches are then consequently heard around the campus from both the girls and boys that quickly change to sounds of jubilation and giggling.
This activity was summed up best by the look on Luke's face in the photo bellow.
After another successful day of activities where children exceeded their individual targets and learnt many new skills the dinning hall was calling to refuel their tired bodies. Immediately after, the gift shop was open where many children bought treasured items that will remind them and you of this amazing week. Be prepared for beautiful fridge magnets, paper weights and soft rock or other such glorious items.
A quick change into a mixture of posh frocks, smart shirts and clothes not worn since Tuesday and it was off to the disco. Many boys busted many a move in order to impress and the girls stood and giggled. However, the highlight of the evening was Mr Bird, Mrs Churchett, Mr Davies, Miss Grove and the PGL staff on the stage giving it large to YMCA. Surprisingly after the disco ended the children returned to their chalets and immediately started to pack their bags and get ready for some well earned shut eye.
Group 1 - Photo of the Day






