3W have had a great first day at Minstead in the beautiful New Forest. Our first adventure was a long walk through the forest, through the 'ditch of doom' and along winding paths. The trees were stunning in shades of yellows, oranges and reds and many leaves were collected on our journey!
We learnt about animals, plants and trees that are native to this area and everyone has been given a new Latin name...anyone know what 'cervus ' is?
Our new name is now worn on a necklace and as we complete activities about the environment and the world we live in, we will collect beads. The children are very excited that these will be coming home with them!
After a scrumptious tea (which EVERYONE devoured) we learned a bit more about our new Latin name then ventured off into the dark night in search of the fire. Stories were told and songs sung in the dark roundhouse with just the fire to light the evening.
It is now just before 9pm and having had a hot chocolate and story before bedtime, half the children are already asleep ready for more adventures tomorrow.
An early start today with 3 courses for breakfast and a special song for Ellis. We have been lucky with the weather, the autumnal sun was glorious and apart from a power cut in the middle of the night (setting off an alarm which saw all the adults in their PJs manically ensuring everything was reset before waking up the children!) we saw no effects of the storm. 
We made 3 new friends today in Barbara, Benjamin and Betty. They enjoyed eating the crab apples and ivy leaves we found them for snacks and loved the massages so much Barbara even danced! No, we hadn’t met new centre staff, just the sheep! We then learned about how sheep helped humans and how to tell if the sheep were healthy (poo is the key) then used some sheep wool to make a felt planet to bring home. Later in the day we made ‘compost cake’ mixing soil, crispy crunchy leaves and leftover peelings to turn into compost. Working hard in teams, the children had to use gardening tools and wheelbarrows to get their ‘ingredients ‘ up the hill to where the compost was to be ‘cooked’. 
Tea was scrumptious again and having spent all day outside even the cabbage was demolished! Our final evening has been magical with a story in the roundhouse lit only by the light of the children’s homemade lanterns. A night walk up the hill in the dark with a procession of lanterns saw us gathering around the campfire to sing songs and enjoy a biscuit before walking back down the hill to the bunkhouse to get ready for bed. 
The children are very tired after a long day in the fresh air and many are already on their way to the land of nod. They are hoping to earn the coveted golden bead tonight that only a good night’s sleep can bring...watch this space!
