April 3rd 2014 - Snow Globes and end of term party

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.

March 27th 2014 - The Arctic

During circle time we shared news and talked about our favourite animals. Ellie had been to a festival and got new shoes, and said her favourite animal is a wolf. Max had been to hostel and had a midnight feast. Ava's auntie was coming to visit. Maia and Magdelene's favourite animal is a cat; Anna's  is a dog. Nick had been to hostel and gone on a beautiful walk to a hill fort; his favourite animal is a dolphin. Julie had started the Headington Elfins blog. Louis' favourite animal is a snake.

We then talked about polar bears. Lots of people knew facts about polar bears. Joseph told us their skin is really black and their fur colourless, but the light reflecting off it makes it look white. We learnt that they are really good swimmers and have a fantastic sense of smell - they can smell their favourite food, seals, from a kilometre away. They live in the Arctic and hunt on the sea ice, however the sea ice is becoming smaller each year, so they are finding it difficult to hunt enough food to keep them going through hibernation.  This is because of climate change making the sea warmer. Climate change is now the biggest threat to the 20-25,000 polar bears in the wild. 

We then played a game of polar bears, a bit like musical chairs, but with sheets of newspaper as the icebergs which the polar bears (Elfins) had to get onto when the music stopped. One or two icebergs were taken away after each round until there were twelve polar bears trying to get onto one iceberg! Some of the icebergs realistically broke apart during each round too...

The activity over the next two weeks is to make snow domes. First we modelled polar bears using white Fimo oven-bake clay....

Then we played a game of penguins, where everyone but one person sits on a chair, leaving one chair spare. 

 Then the 'penguin' waddles through the room trying to sit on the spare chair - with the others trying to stop them by moving chairs! 

It's fast and furious, and only slightly dangerous

...especially with the added complication of a wheelchair.







We finished off with Link Your Hands together. 

Julie went home and baked the polar bears ready for finishing off next week.

Shotover, January 2014

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.

Muddy, damp and bedraggled, we repaired to the sandpit for cocoa and biscuits. Then we made shelters and wooden boats in the woods. 

Finally we trouped back to the big field at the top for an energetic game of Capture the Flag.

Christmas party 2013

Balloon Ball...

Blind Potato Race....

Bobbing biscuits...

Day at SOAP February 2014

Undeterred by floods and closed roads, a troupe of hardy Woodcraft Folk met at South Oxford Adventure Playground on a  bright but blustery afternoon in February. 

We cut up veg....                                                                       ...and cooked it on coke cans

 

 some of us even ate it!

Refreshments were needed after all that hard work...

Then we donned blindfolds for a rope trail around (and in, and on, and under) the play equipment

Finally we lit the fire with a flint and steel, toasted marshmallows and ate hotdogs...

Elfin Hostel March 21-23rd 2014

Nick, Julie, Joseph, Peter, Isaac, Louis, Max, Anna, Magdalene, Bea (Isaac and Magda's mum) and Joe (Peter's dad) had a great time at Elfin Hostel with East Oxford and Eclipse Elfins. The theme of the hostel this year was Iron Age and we had fun making and painting shields, decorating Celtic bookmarks, designing clay beads, weaving and spinning, making shelters in the woods, playing football (a popular Iron Age activity!), collecting firewood and singing around the fire. We also went on a walk along The Ridgeway to the Iron Age hill fort of Segsbury Camp where we rolled down the ramparts, played a vigorous game of Tails, danced The One and Only, and found lots of stripey snail shells.