Minstead. 3P Day 2

Today was another eventful day!  We had a lovely breakfast to start the day in the right way and then we had a visit from Inspector Bird; both dorm rooms were lovely and tidy so the Inspector was very happy.

After that we completed two activities.  One was called 'woolly workers' which was when we met the sheep Barbara, Benji and Bertha.  We got to feed them and found out how useful sheep farming is.  After this we made our own felt planet using the earth stone we found on our walk, wool and soapy water.  The other activity was 'muck movers.'  This was all about reducing, reusing and recycling.  We made a compost cake - the birthday girl wasn't very impressed!

After dinner we had a lantern walk to the campfire, they looked beautiful all lit up.  Mrs Peckham then told us her version of a story she had heard at Minstead before.  Another great day!

3P in Minstead - first day

Wednesday 23rd November

We were all very excited about our day at Minstead and our excitement just grew as we were getting on the coach.

When we first arrived in the village of we noticed how it was very different from
Portchester. We decided that it was quieter, smaller, much less busy with people and traffic, and that there was much more wildlife. We went to visit the church and listened to the sounds of the forest. Our exploration was finished with a picnic lunch on the green.

Our next job was to go and see where we would be staying for the next few days. So we were introduced to our dorm rooms by Chris and Jane who stay at the centre and we then unpacked; it was so exciting. Not long after this we did our woodland walk. We loved squelching through the mud and puddles.

We had Pizza and crumble for dinner it was lovely. To finish our amazing day we went a heard a story in the roundhouse around a campfire.

Minstead Day 2

 


Day 2 has been very busy and the weather has been a lot kinder to us. We spent another day outside learning about the benefits of having sheep, how to make compost, how to reuse, reduce or recycle waste and then how to make felt. 
We were able to use the lanterns we made earlier at school tonight at the campfire, hearing stories and looking at the stars. We saw many constellations that we learned about last night and could see them easily without cloud or light pollution. 
We are trying to work together as a team to use minimal water (but that's not an excuse not to have a shower!), save electricity and not waste food. The teachers are hoping that the teamwork ethos will help the children stay asleep tomorrow a little longer than this morning!!! 
Another fantastic day and some very tired but contented children. 

3M at Minstead

3M have had a fabulous first day at Minstead. 
We spent ALL day outside walking through the forest looking at different habitats within the forest (heathland, woodland and bog) learning about compass points and playing games with stones to help learn about the solar system! We were allowed to walk along a ditch and muddy bogs...some of us had our wellie boots eaten by the bog monsters! 
We have all been given special badges to wear and new Latin names which we are researching over the next few days. 
This evening we had a delicious meal of pizza and fruit crumble before going to the roundhouse for campfire, story and stargazing before chilling out in the 'bean bag' room with hot chocolate.

We are all very tired after our fun and busy day, so are now looking forward to a good night's sleep.

Y6 and KS1 reading companions

Year 6 have started to take their role as the 'school elders' quite seriously, and have begun to support the younger years in KS1 with their reading.


Every Friday morning Year 6 classrooms empty as children go off to their allocated classrooms in KS1 and find their reading partners.  Half an hour of reading follows, whether that is a younger child reading to their Y6 partner or the other way around.   Last week some of 2M decided to read stories they had written to the Year 6 children.



Everyone is really enjoying these sessions and it is wonderful to see children all over the school enjoying reading a book.




Of course, it also helps children on the playground, if they are feeling a little sad and would like some company they now know some of the older children.