After playing outside enjoying the light evening, we had circle time indoors. We shared news and also told one thing that we had learnt at Elfins this term, whilst eating mini chocolate eggs.
Joseph had learnt that hostel food is yummy. Anna has two wobbly teeth and had learnt how to model bears. Isaac did a Powerpoint at school and learnt that he was good at telling jokes in the hostel merrymoot. Magdalene had done thumb-printing and learnt how to make sugar arrows at school, and at Elfins this term she and Maia had learnt how to make a torch. Louis had learnt how to weave willow. Peter had learnt how to make clay penguins and Ava had learnt how to make icebergs from blue foam. Max had been to two school plays, during one of which someone sitting behind him had been sick. This term he had learnt how to make yummy biscuits from Fair Trade ingredients. Ya'arah had made a present for a friend, and at Elfins she had done coke-can cooking and eaten the vegetables she cooked. Nick had filled a flowerbed with manure, and had learnt to avoid muddy bogs at Shotover. Julie's three chickens had been eaten by a fox during the week, and at hostel she had learnt how to play a new game called Tails.
We then finished off our Snow Globes. During the week Julie had glued the baked polar bears to jam jar lids. We then filled the jars with water and white glitter, and glued on the lids. Hey presto - a Snow Globe!
After finishing the Snow Globes we played John's Smartie (basically eating as many smarties you can from a plate until you select 'John's smartie', which has been chosen by the other Elfins while you were out of the room), then did a treasure hunt in the playground looking for letters, which when rearranged spelt out the Woodcraft value of 'Co-operation'.
After Link Your Hands Together we all got an Easter egg to take home with us.
Come out, come out, wherever you are...
Then Ellie's mum Heidi led a session on brains. The children already knew quite a lot about brains - that they help us move, and tells us to breathe and eat. There are different areas of the brain for speaking, moving and seeing. The left hand side of your brain controls the right side (and vice versa). We learnt that brain cells are called neurons. The children then guessed how many neurons an average person has. Max was closest to the right answer of 85 billion. Apparently, children have more brain cells than adults! Heidi then read out a short story while the Elfins pretended to be different types of neurons which got active when the main character saw, heard, touched or felt.
The session finished with some singing, with Mike accompanying on his guitar.
The activity over the next two weeks is to make snow domes. First we modelled polar bears using white Fimo oven-bake clay....
It's fast and furious, and only slightly dangerous
Julie went home and baked the polar bears ready for finishing off next week.
We met at Shotover on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Splitting into two halves, one group laid a flour trail for the others who played games on the big field before following ten minutes later. They were hot on our heels and we only just managed to hide before they found us. Then we swapped around and they laid a trail - over hill, down dale, and definitely into bog. We trailed them through the wettest, muddiest spots of Shotover, with many a casualty of shoe and welly boot. Luckily no-one brought a camera because Julie fell backwards full length into the mud (whilst heroically trying to rescue stranded Elfins), generously providing the children with the highlight of their day.