Sign in or 
Share this
Newsletter Sep 07
home grown kids newsLetter Contents
Well, haven’t we had a brilliant and busy summer! Despite the somewhat uncertain weather, we have visited farms, the zoo, outdoors centres, beaches and many other activities. Thank you to all the people who have emailed me pictures for the newsletter, we would like to put an album together for all the group, maybe on CD, of all our photos. The complete collection would only be available to members. |In the meantime, the group is a year old, and full of ideas and activities.
This newsletter comes to you from the combined talents of Callum, Isaac, Anthea, David, Natasha, John, Rosie and Reb, with contributions from Becky, Hayley, Trish, and others. We apologise for the lateness of the newsletter, caused by Reb and Russell’s accident, and would like as many articles, jokes, ideas and artwork as possible for the next one, due in December.
Autumn is here! The trees are turning and leaves falling and Halloween and Christmas are beckoning. After a summer full of rainy days and great activities, the Swimbridge meet is once again the heart of HGK. There are lots of activities still to do, and as HGK is now one year old, we can celebrate its success. It is a great resource for home educating families, whether just starting out or experienced. May its second year be as exciting! Reb
articles
Home Education - A family choice.
By Becky
Hi, I’m Becky and this is a short article about my views on home education and why home education is the choice for us. I have been home educating Adam since he was four and a half, just over six years. We experienced the school thing for about six weeks when Adam was four and a half, that was long enough for us all to know that the school thing wasn’t for us. Since then we have been home edding and have never looked back. I thoroughly enjoy teaching Adam and its great when we learn about new things together. As a family it allows us to spend a fantastic amount of quality time together that school children would not experience. We have no set routine or time table and find that some weeks we end up doing loads of writing and diagrams ,other weeks we just chat about ideas and stuff that we have been watching on documentaries and history channels. This works well for us as it allows us to live and enjoy life as it happens. I’m not a big fan of the national curriculum but were not autonomous either. We are, as a typical home ed family generally is, somewhere in the middle with a unique approach to teaching and life in general. I think that every family that home educates finds a way which is unique to them . What we all have in common is that little bit inside us which is not afraid to go against the grain and opt out of the system.
When is enough, enough? By Trish
When does a situation go beyond the bearable and become intolerable? It would be helpful if someone drew a line on the blackboard so that we could all agree on where that point lies, but then that in itself is impossible because we are all so different. We all have our own individual set of standards, we see our realities in different ways and we all have a multitude of varying priorities. But one thing still holds true. We are all horrified to see a child suffering. We are shocked and mortified to read of acts of violence, intimidation and aggression directed towards them. As parents we gather at the school gates and comfort each other with positive words, never once allowing a negative thought to settle for more than a moment. Regretfully the harsh thing is we do allow it, in this country every single day, only we accept it and condone it because it is done in the name of education. Every morning countless children wake up to another day where dread and fear are packed away side by side with last night’s homework. They feel sick, they feel ill and many wish they could succumb to something bad enough to keep them from the torment of the next few hours. This is intolerable. This is unacceptable. But so many people do not know there is an option to this daily misery, because our society wants everyone to toe the line. Do as you are told - be like every one else. To step outside the well established traditional parameters is bordering on anarchy. Take your children out of school? Only new age travellers and hippy wackos do that! So loving parents close their eyes to the haunted faces of their children, close their ears to their pleas for help, and tell their children they have to go to school and get on with it - just like everyone else. I am guilty of this. I did it myself - three times over. But not any more. Number four daughter is different. She has a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder. She went to playgroup however, and to primary school, but it was always difficult. Sometimes very difficult. But in the end by the time she got to year 5, she had learned to accept her days in school as part of life. I would watch her shoulders go up and her head go down, and she would walk away from me and enter the building with a quiet resignation, contained within her own little box. The walls of this box were always there, only coming down a little after she had been away from school for a few days. Well.. as was said to me so often at that time, you can’t really expect that much, can you – she is autistic, after all…. It is only fair to say there were aspects of her time in primary school she enjoyed. History particularly sparked her interest, but she always found the social side of things more than a challenge. Too many people, too much noise – too much of everything. Summer 2006. The end of her time in primary school was drawing near, and soon I thought, we would be on the home straight. In the autumn she would be heading off to a moderate learning difficulties school, lots of specialist help there – things were really going to be alright now! September 2006. Those first few weeks have to go down as some of the worst in my life. My daughter changed from being a basically happy child to a ranting, raging monster who couldn’t sleep, cried incessantly, threw things, shouted and oscillated between fury and desperation. She was frightened, bewildered, confused and tormented. Her school experience was doing her more damage than I could have possibly imagined. I was losing her and I was terrified. I communicated with the school on a daily basis, wrote long letters of explanation to try to ease the increasingly desperate situation and eventually simply walked in and observed what was going on. It was horrifying. The staff were clearly trying to do their best – but they had insufficient knowledge, expertise or skill to deal with this type of condition. I asked the head teacher how much training the staff had had in autism. The reply was they had had ‘some’. Some? There is a great deal more I could say about all of this. The inadequate provision given to the transfer experience, the bleak suggestion that it ‘would be a long time’ but in the end, she would stop crying and get the hang of it (could this mean her will would be broken?), the fact that the school had opted out of the national curriculum so my daughter lost her history and other subjects that interested her, and was given instruction on laying tables instead. I was told if children like her couldn’t tell the time before they went to secondary school, they never would. She was written off, her future set to be nothing but long days in institutions surrounded by other people also thrown away as hopeless. I would not, and will not, accept that fate for my daughter. Enter the beacon of hope - in the shape of Hayley Graham and the Home Grown Kids! I had got to know Hayley through our mutual love of writing. She had been telling me about the issues she’d had with her own son, and about the positive things she was doing to put things right. Home Education! Now there’s a thought. Half-term at the school, and that was the end of it. No more – I pulled her out. Everyone who knew my daughter when she made those first tentative visits to the hall in Swimbridge, will know how much she’s changed. From someone with no confidence, so lonely and so sad, she is blossoming week on week. She wants to learn, she loves it! She loves the outings we go on, she looks forward to things, she asks me questions. Since last year she has learned to tell the time (!) and she can now ride a bicycle. Her confidence is growing, and at long last, she is enjoying her life. To anyone contemplating home educating, I would just say this. If you want to live a fulfilled life, never have cause to regret, and see the world with fresh eyes again, take the leap and do it, and remember at the end of it all - happy children are open to this life, they are not afraid - and they will learn. To all ‘my guys’ at HGKds, with love and thanks.. always. Trish
Completely free software! Serif have five software programs going free. They are older versions of present software, and apart from a bit of hard selling when you register (just say NO!) they are completely free and very useful. They are a desktop publishing package, web designer (very easy), photo manager, graphics package and media managing package. Phone 0800 376 5472 in office hours. Quote code USC/OPEN/FOC, it’s from the Open University if they ask. It’s open to all and very kid friendly. You can download free from http://www.freeserifsoftware.com
Science: I (Reb) have taught science to home educated children for 8 years, a number of which (I think 11 now!) have gone on to succeed at Open University courses before the age of 16. This has been enormously confidence inspiring, especially as none has failed a course or even got a low mark, though most found them very challenging (and their parents were often completely stumped!). I am happy to carry on in Devon, the younger kids are encouraged to be involved, have opinions, bring ideas and topics, but not to do formal written work. From 13 there is the opportunity to tackle more academic work, though on topics the kids find interesting and have chosen, to gain an understanding of important scientific principles. Sessions are from 10.30-12.30 and will cost £1 to cover materials and photocopying.
For 8-12 year olds, foundation course. Quite challenging, topic this autumn /winter characteristics and variety of living organisms, from single cells to large creatures and plants. Examples include sharks, dinosaurs, slime moulds, carnivorous plants and giant squid! Phone Reb for details on 01271 866226
Science: For 13+ Preparation for more formal study and courses for those who are interested Autumn 2008 or later. Origins of life, evolution, paleontology, structure and function of organisms, ecology. Looking at five kingdoms, examples of each, essential life processes in single celled and multicelled organisms. Phone Reb for details on 01271 866226
Creating a play workshop 28th November 2-2½ hours of creating a drama, at Swimbridge, 10-12.30 for younger children and 2-4.30 for older ones. A light lunch will be provided, all for the cost of £4.50 per family. Contact Helen to book on 01598 710990 or martin@stephensondesign.co.uk
**Becky is collecting used stamps for the hospice, please bring them along to Swimbridge.**
Tesco Vouchers We have managed to register for Tesco’s Sports equipment for schools and clubs. Please pass all vouchers to Hayley. Thank you.
Calvert Trust Jeanette has passed on some details about a couple of open days at the Calvert Trust. They now have a climbing wall and are doing a 40 minute taster session from 10.20 ‘til 3pm on 3/11/07. Just turn up – families and individuals. On 4/11/07 there is an opportunity to visit the heritage centre and try out an all ability activity trail around the lake. You can also talk to a countryside organization and get involved in children’s craft activities. A £10 membership to the Calvert trust also entitles you to use their pool for £2.50 per session.
Here is a poem that I found quite amusing as I was always made to eat chicken noodle soup when I was young and I didn't like it so my father used to try and make it fun for me by letting me try to drink it through a straw! Take care, love to all, Sarah Walker
I have noodles in my nostrils by Ken Nesbitt
I have noodles in my nostrils.
I have noodles on my nose.
There are noodles on my cheeks and chin and dripping down my clothes.
I've got more upon my forehead.
Some are sticking to my neck. It's completely disconcerting.
I'm a noodle-covered wreck.
I can see them on my kneecaps, and I know they're in my shoes.
(When I stand they're somewhat squishy and I feel them start to ooze.)
There are several in my pockets.
There's a handful in my hair.
And I'm pretty sure that some are even in my underwear.
So try not to do what I did (I'm a total nincompoop),
and don't ever fall asleep while eating chicken noodle soup.
Hi Everyone, I have been talking to Tim ,the manager of South Molton Swimming Pool, they have some school slots that have not been filled for after the half term. I have negotiated the school price and a course for HGK, if there is the interest, but we need to know numbers within the next week. The course would be Personal Survival Skills Level 1 & 2. with a certificate and badge at the end of the course. It would run on a Tuesday 1:20pm - 2pm and would run for a period of 6 weeks. (exact dates will arranged once we know we can go ahead with it but will probably start the 2nd week in Nov) Those children who are not able to complete level 2 will do supervised swimming games or exercises (this would probably only be for the final week) The price would be £15.00 for the instructor and £1.10 per child per session. (They did say if required they would give us another instructor free of charge ) Just to give some idea of costings : For 6 children the cost would be £21.60, 10 children £15.60 and 15 children £12.60 per child for the 6 week course. Obviously the more children we can get the less it will cost per child. The children have to be reasonably strong swimmers as the course includes treading water, floating, swimming with clothes/pyjamas etc. It is a fun course and there are lots of group activities involved as well as the personal survival bit. If this course is successful and their is enough interest Tim would be willing to run the Rookies life saving course for HGK in the new year. This survival course is an excellent foundation for the Rookies course. There are coffee facilities on site where parents can sit and watch the children swimming or the town centre is only a few minutes walk away. The pool is situated in the park so if the weather is OK younger siblings can be entertained. To be fair to all we would require money up front for the whole of the course and no money would be refunded for missed lessons. I need to know numbers of those who are interested ASAP. There is no commitment at this stage. Debbie.
Is anyone interested in getting together a shoebox full of small pressies for foreign children who would otherwise receive nothing? This is a scheme that runs every year and distributes boxes to children in many deprived countries. Can you let me know if you are interested as maybe we could get together to decorate the boxes in christmas paper and fill them up at one of the wednesday meets. There are guidelines as to what to put in the boxes. More info is available from this link. take a look and see. www.samaritanspurse then go into operation christmas child. Gaynor x PS Final date mid November so let Gaynor know ASAP
Tesco Vouchers! We are registered for Tesco vouchers so get them to Hayley when you can! Every little helps.
Words Within Words By David Walker Find the words that connect the pairs of words.The first letters oof the answers form another word: yum yum! OVER COAT HANGER ROCK _ _ _ _ LUCK ALPHABETICAL _ _ _ _ _ FORM CREDIT _ _ _ _ TRICK WEAR _ _ _ DOORS SWAN _ _ _ _ LAKE COOKING _ _ _ _ _ PIE CHRISTMAS _ _ _ _ HOUSE WEEK _ _ _ UP
Creative Writing
Hi everyone. Below you’ll find a story that was written by Chloe, Jess, Ellie, Jack, Callum, Sam and Arthur at the Wednesday meets. It’s a fantasy story written from three points of view. At the moment the story has no end. I’m hoping some of the kids (or adults) out there might like to supply one or two. I’d like to say well done to Chloe, Jess, Ellie, Jack, Callum, Sam and Arthur. I think they were all absolutely brilliant; so full of imagination and enthusiasm. I’ve really enjoyed working with them and I can’t wait to read some of the stories they write in the future. The kids created the characters on day 1
1. Mock – a 101 year old elf. He has green eyes and black hair. He works as a zoo keeper and likes the beach. He met Doris one day when he was out feeding the Walruses. He thought she was drowning, but she was simply acting in a film.
2. Doris – a 20 year old stuntwoman/actress. She has grey hair, which she dyes every day, and brown eyes. She enjoys swimming.
3. Sally – an 18 year old cook. She has blue eyes ands blue hair. She works for a film company and is Doris’s own personal cook. Unfortunately she has hoofs instead of feet and her only hobby is knitting. Sally’s life is a bit boring.
They also decided on a place Atlantic City, an underwater world
On day 2 they made a plan and then the writing began…
“Somebody help me!” Mock tried to shout but it came out as a whisper. He was in agony. He couldn’t move. On the television the picture of the werewolf seemed to come alive. He was scared. He tried to shout again. Then everything went black. Sally came rushing into the room. She saw Mock lying on the floor. Automatically she kicked him in the shin. He didn’t move a muscle. She rushed into the garden, grabbed a bucket of water and threw it over him. He still didn’t move. So, she picked him up, threw him in a giant clam and drove him to the hospital. It was so cold and Mock was so wet he caught hypothermia. He began to shake violently. Sally put her foot down, jumped two red lights and arrived at the hospital in a state of shock. As Doris entered the hospital the floor shook and the windows blew in. She hit the ground and put her hands over her head. She got up and ran towards Mock’s ward muttering, “What has he done now.” She was blaming Mock for the disturbance! People were running past her shouting about a meteor. She didn’t believe them…at least not at first. Sally jumped as Doris came through the door. “What on earth is going on?” Doris yelled. “Mock’s had a heart attack and he’s got hypothermia,” Sally replied. Doris walked over to the bed. Sally noticed that she was very pale. “Are you okay?” she asked. “People outside are saying there’s been a meteor strike. We’re all going to die. Water is pouring into the city, “Doris said. “What are we going to do?” Sally said. She felt panicky and scared. Doris took a deep breath. “Well first of all you’re going to have to cure Mock>” Sally looked at her. What on earth did she mean? How could she cure Mock? “How?” she said. Sally thought fast. Her only option was to make a warming soup. If she could revive him she might be able to help his powers return. “I could make a soup,” she said. “Brilliant,” Doris said. “All I need is a tomato.” Doris fished in her hand bag. “Well, you’ll never guess what,” she said. She pulled out a ripe, red tomato. “I was meant to use it in one of my stunt scenes this afternoon. I was getting shot.” Without another word, Sally grabbed the tomato and began to make her soup. Leaving Mock in Sally’s capable hands, Doris ran out of the hospital. She had a plan. She’d noticed that the leftover magic soup that Sally had made to revive Mock was very sticky. Very, sticky indeed, and she knew just what she was going to do with it. She splashed through the rising water, gasping for breath. She was heading for the zoo. Once there she found a dozen giant birds. She grabbed the nearest one to her and leapt onto its back. She took off. She flew higher and higher. If she could fly high enough she’d be able to fill the hole in the dome with Sally’s sticky soup and save the world from drowning. But first she had to check on Mock. She turned the bird towards the hospital and began her downwards flight. Mock listened carefully to Doris’s plan then began to rush around stamping his feet. “Oh, no, oh no,” he kept saying. “What is it?” Doris said. “There’s a problem with your plan.” “What is it?” Sally asked. “The hole is pouring water. The pressure is cracking the sides. You won’t make it.” Doris looked at Mock, horrified. “So what are we going to do?” Mock thought for a moment. “I think I could put a force field up long enough for you to patch the hole.” “Have you got enough energy?” Doris asked. Mock didn’t reply immediately. He looked at Doris seriously. “I hope so,” he said…
Now everyone write their own ending. What is going to happen? Is it going to work? Is anyone
going to die? Will everyone live happily ever after? You decide.
Well, haven’t we had a brilliant and busy summer! Despite the somewhat uncertain weather, we have visited farms, the zoo, outdoors centres, beaches and many other activities. Thank you to all the people who have emailed me pictures for the newsletter, we would like to put an album together for all the group, maybe on CD, of all our photos. The complete collection would only be available to members. |In the meantime, the group is a year old, and full of ideas and activities.
This newsletter comes to you from the combined talents of Callum, Isaac, Anthea, David, Natasha, John, Rosie and Reb, with contributions from Becky, Hayley, Trish, and others. We apologise for the lateness of the newsletter, caused by Reb and Russell’s accident, and would like as many articles, jokes, ideas and artwork as possible for the next one, due in December.
Autumn is here! The trees are turning and leaves falling and Halloween and Christmas are beckoning. After a summer full of rainy days and great activities, the Swimbridge meet is once again the heart of HGK. There are lots of activities still to do, and as HGK is now one year old, we can celebrate its success. It is a great resource for home educating families, whether just starting out or experienced. May its second year be as exciting! Reb
articles
Home Education - A family choice.
By Becky
Hi, I’m Becky and this is a short article about my views on home education and why home education is the choice for us. I have been home educating Adam since he was four and a half, just over six years. We experienced the school thing for about six weeks when Adam was four and a half, that was long enough for us all to know that the school thing wasn’t for us. Since then we have been home edding and have never looked back. I thoroughly enjoy teaching Adam and its great when we learn about new things together. As a family it allows us to spend a fantastic amount of quality time together that school children would not experience. We have no set routine or time table and find that some weeks we end up doing loads of writing and diagrams ,other weeks we just chat about ideas and stuff that we have been watching on documentaries and history channels. This works well for us as it allows us to live and enjoy life as it happens. I’m not a big fan of the national curriculum but were not autonomous either. We are, as a typical home ed family generally is, somewhere in the middle with a unique approach to teaching and life in general. I think that every family that home educates finds a way which is unique to them . What we all have in common is that little bit inside us which is not afraid to go against the grain and opt out of the system.
When is enough, enough? By Trish
When does a situation go beyond the bearable and become intolerable? It would be helpful if someone drew a line on the blackboard so that we could all agree on where that point lies, but then that in itself is impossible because we are all so different. We all have our own individual set of standards, we see our realities in different ways and we all have a multitude of varying priorities. But one thing still holds true. We are all horrified to see a child suffering. We are shocked and mortified to read of acts of violence, intimidation and aggression directed towards them. As parents we gather at the school gates and comfort each other with positive words, never once allowing a negative thought to settle for more than a moment. Regretfully the harsh thing is we do allow it, in this country every single day, only we accept it and condone it because it is done in the name of education. Every morning countless children wake up to another day where dread and fear are packed away side by side with last night’s homework. They feel sick, they feel ill and many wish they could succumb to something bad enough to keep them from the torment of the next few hours. This is intolerable. This is unacceptable. But so many people do not know there is an option to this daily misery, because our society wants everyone to toe the line. Do as you are told - be like every one else. To step outside the well established traditional parameters is bordering on anarchy. Take your children out of school? Only new age travellers and hippy wackos do that! So loving parents close their eyes to the haunted faces of their children, close their ears to their pleas for help, and tell their children they have to go to school and get on with it - just like everyone else. I am guilty of this. I did it myself - three times over. But not any more. Number four daughter is different. She has a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder. She went to playgroup however, and to primary school, but it was always difficult. Sometimes very difficult. But in the end by the time she got to year 5, she had learned to accept her days in school as part of life. I would watch her shoulders go up and her head go down, and she would walk away from me and enter the building with a quiet resignation, contained within her own little box. The walls of this box were always there, only coming down a little after she had been away from school for a few days. Well.. as was said to me so often at that time, you can’t really expect that much, can you – she is autistic, after all…. It is only fair to say there were aspects of her time in primary school she enjoyed. History particularly sparked her interest, but she always found the social side of things more than a challenge. Too many people, too much noise – too much of everything. Summer 2006. The end of her time in primary school was drawing near, and soon I thought, we would be on the home straight. In the autumn she would be heading off to a moderate learning difficulties school, lots of specialist help there – things were really going to be alright now! September 2006. Those first few weeks have to go down as some of the worst in my life. My daughter changed from being a basically happy child to a ranting, raging monster who couldn’t sleep, cried incessantly, threw things, shouted and oscillated between fury and desperation. She was frightened, bewildered, confused and tormented. Her school experience was doing her more damage than I could have possibly imagined. I was losing her and I was terrified. I communicated with the school on a daily basis, wrote long letters of explanation to try to ease the increasingly desperate situation and eventually simply walked in and observed what was going on. It was horrifying. The staff were clearly trying to do their best – but they had insufficient knowledge, expertise or skill to deal with this type of condition. I asked the head teacher how much training the staff had had in autism. The reply was they had had ‘some’. Some? There is a great deal more I could say about all of this. The inadequate provision given to the transfer experience, the bleak suggestion that it ‘would be a long time’ but in the end, she would stop crying and get the hang of it (could this mean her will would be broken?), the fact that the school had opted out of the national curriculum so my daughter lost her history and other subjects that interested her, and was given instruction on laying tables instead. I was told if children like her couldn’t tell the time before they went to secondary school, they never would. She was written off, her future set to be nothing but long days in institutions surrounded by other people also thrown away as hopeless. I would not, and will not, accept that fate for my daughter. Enter the beacon of hope - in the shape of Hayley Graham and the Home Grown Kids! I had got to know Hayley through our mutual love of writing. She had been telling me about the issues she’d had with her own son, and about the positive things she was doing to put things right. Home Education! Now there’s a thought. Half-term at the school, and that was the end of it. No more – I pulled her out. Everyone who knew my daughter when she made those first tentative visits to the hall in Swimbridge, will know how much she’s changed. From someone with no confidence, so lonely and so sad, she is blossoming week on week. She wants to learn, she loves it! She loves the outings we go on, she looks forward to things, she asks me questions. Since last year she has learned to tell the time (!) and she can now ride a bicycle. Her confidence is growing, and at long last, she is enjoying her life. To anyone contemplating home educating, I would just say this. If you want to live a fulfilled life, never have cause to regret, and see the world with fresh eyes again, take the leap and do it, and remember at the end of it all - happy children are open to this life, they are not afraid - and they will learn. To all ‘my guys’ at HGKds, with love and thanks.. always. Trish
Completely free software! Serif have five software programs going free. They are older versions of present software, and apart from a bit of hard selling when you register (just say NO!) they are completely free and very useful. They are a desktop publishing package, web designer (very easy), photo manager, graphics package and media managing package. Phone 0800 376 5472 in office hours. Quote code USC/OPEN/FOC, it’s from the Open University if they ask. It’s open to all and very kid friendly. You can download free from http://www.freeserifsoftware.com
Science: I (Reb) have taught science to home educated children for 8 years, a number of which (I think 11 now!) have gone on to succeed at Open University courses before the age of 16. This has been enormously confidence inspiring, especially as none has failed a course or even got a low mark, though most found them very challenging (and their parents were often completely stumped!). I am happy to carry on in Devon, the younger kids are encouraged to be involved, have opinions, bring ideas and topics, but not to do formal written work. From 13 there is the opportunity to tackle more academic work, though on topics the kids find interesting and have chosen, to gain an understanding of important scientific principles. Sessions are from 10.30-12.30 and will cost £1 to cover materials and photocopying.
For 8-12 year olds, foundation course. Quite challenging, topic this autumn /winter characteristics and variety of living organisms, from single cells to large creatures and plants. Examples include sharks, dinosaurs, slime moulds, carnivorous plants and giant squid! Phone Reb for details on 01271 866226
Science: For 13+ Preparation for more formal study and courses for those who are interested Autumn 2008 or later. Origins of life, evolution, paleontology, structure and function of organisms, ecology. Looking at five kingdoms, examples of each, essential life processes in single celled and multicelled organisms. Phone Reb for details on 01271 866226
Creating a play workshop 28th November 2-2½ hours of creating a drama, at Swimbridge, 10-12.30 for younger children and 2-4.30 for older ones. A light lunch will be provided, all for the cost of £4.50 per family. Contact Helen to book on 01598 710990 or martin@stephensondesign.co.uk
**Becky is collecting used stamps for the hospice, please bring them along to Swimbridge.**
Tesco Vouchers We have managed to register for Tesco’s Sports equipment for schools and clubs. Please pass all vouchers to Hayley. Thank you.
Calvert Trust Jeanette has passed on some details about a couple of open days at the Calvert Trust. They now have a climbing wall and are doing a 40 minute taster session from 10.20 ‘til 3pm on 3/11/07. Just turn up – families and individuals. On 4/11/07 there is an opportunity to visit the heritage centre and try out an all ability activity trail around the lake. You can also talk to a countryside organization and get involved in children’s craft activities. A £10 membership to the Calvert trust also entitles you to use their pool for £2.50 per session.
Here is a poem that I found quite amusing as I was always made to eat chicken noodle soup when I was young and I didn't like it so my father used to try and make it fun for me by letting me try to drink it through a straw! Take care, love to all, Sarah Walker
I have noodles in my nostrils by Ken Nesbitt
I have noodles in my nostrils.
I have noodles on my nose.
There are noodles on my cheeks and chin and dripping down my clothes.
I've got more upon my forehead.
Some are sticking to my neck. It's completely disconcerting.
I'm a noodle-covered wreck.
I can see them on my kneecaps, and I know they're in my shoes.
(When I stand they're somewhat squishy and I feel them start to ooze.)
There are several in my pockets.
There's a handful in my hair.
And I'm pretty sure that some are even in my underwear.
So try not to do what I did (I'm a total nincompoop),
and don't ever fall asleep while eating chicken noodle soup.
Hi Everyone, I have been talking to Tim ,the manager of South Molton Swimming Pool, they have some school slots that have not been filled for after the half term. I have negotiated the school price and a course for HGK, if there is the interest, but we need to know numbers within the next week. The course would be Personal Survival Skills Level 1 & 2. with a certificate and badge at the end of the course. It would run on a Tuesday 1:20pm - 2pm and would run for a period of 6 weeks. (exact dates will arranged once we know we can go ahead with it but will probably start the 2nd week in Nov) Those children who are not able to complete level 2 will do supervised swimming games or exercises (this would probably only be for the final week) The price would be £15.00 for the instructor and £1.10 per child per session. (They did say if required they would give us another instructor free of charge ) Just to give some idea of costings : For 6 children the cost would be £21.60, 10 children £15.60 and 15 children £12.60 per child for the 6 week course. Obviously the more children we can get the less it will cost per child. The children have to be reasonably strong swimmers as the course includes treading water, floating, swimming with clothes/pyjamas etc. It is a fun course and there are lots of group activities involved as well as the personal survival bit. If this course is successful and their is enough interest Tim would be willing to run the Rookies life saving course for HGK in the new year. This survival course is an excellent foundation for the Rookies course. There are coffee facilities on site where parents can sit and watch the children swimming or the town centre is only a few minutes walk away. The pool is situated in the park so if the weather is OK younger siblings can be entertained. To be fair to all we would require money up front for the whole of the course and no money would be refunded for missed lessons. I need to know numbers of those who are interested ASAP. There is no commitment at this stage. Debbie.
Is anyone interested in getting together a shoebox full of small pressies for foreign children who would otherwise receive nothing? This is a scheme that runs every year and distributes boxes to children in many deprived countries. Can you let me know if you are interested as maybe we could get together to decorate the boxes in christmas paper and fill them up at one of the wednesday meets. There are guidelines as to what to put in the boxes. More info is available from this link. take a look and see. www.samaritanspurse then go into operation christmas child. Gaynor x PS Final date mid November so let Gaynor know ASAP
Tesco Vouchers! We are registered for Tesco vouchers so get them to Hayley when you can! Every little helps.
Words Within Words By David Walker Find the words that connect the pairs of words.The first letters oof the answers form another word: yum yum! OVER COAT HANGER ROCK _ _ _ _ LUCK ALPHABETICAL _ _ _ _ _ FORM CREDIT _ _ _ _ TRICK WEAR _ _ _ DOORS SWAN _ _ _ _ LAKE COOKING _ _ _ _ _ PIE CHRISTMAS _ _ _ _ HOUSE WEEK _ _ _ UP
Creative Writing
Hi everyone. Below you’ll find a story that was written by Chloe, Jess, Ellie, Jack, Callum, Sam and Arthur at the Wednesday meets. It’s a fantasy story written from three points of view. At the moment the story has no end. I’m hoping some of the kids (or adults) out there might like to supply one or two. I’d like to say well done to Chloe, Jess, Ellie, Jack, Callum, Sam and Arthur. I think they were all absolutely brilliant; so full of imagination and enthusiasm. I’ve really enjoyed working with them and I can’t wait to read some of the stories they write in the future. The kids created the characters on day 1
1. Mock – a 101 year old elf. He has green eyes and black hair. He works as a zoo keeper and likes the beach. He met Doris one day when he was out feeding the Walruses. He thought she was drowning, but she was simply acting in a film.
2. Doris – a 20 year old stuntwoman/actress. She has grey hair, which she dyes every day, and brown eyes. She enjoys swimming.
3. Sally – an 18 year old cook. She has blue eyes ands blue hair. She works for a film company and is Doris’s own personal cook. Unfortunately she has hoofs instead of feet and her only hobby is knitting. Sally’s life is a bit boring.
They also decided on a place Atlantic City, an underwater world
On day 2 they made a plan and then the writing began…
“Somebody help me!” Mock tried to shout but it came out as a whisper. He was in agony. He couldn’t move. On the television the picture of the werewolf seemed to come alive. He was scared. He tried to shout again. Then everything went black. Sally came rushing into the room. She saw Mock lying on the floor. Automatically she kicked him in the shin. He didn’t move a muscle. She rushed into the garden, grabbed a bucket of water and threw it over him. He still didn’t move. So, she picked him up, threw him in a giant clam and drove him to the hospital. It was so cold and Mock was so wet he caught hypothermia. He began to shake violently. Sally put her foot down, jumped two red lights and arrived at the hospital in a state of shock. As Doris entered the hospital the floor shook and the windows blew in. She hit the ground and put her hands over her head. She got up and ran towards Mock’s ward muttering, “What has he done now.” She was blaming Mock for the disturbance! People were running past her shouting about a meteor. She didn’t believe them…at least not at first. Sally jumped as Doris came through the door. “What on earth is going on?” Doris yelled. “Mock’s had a heart attack and he’s got hypothermia,” Sally replied. Doris walked over to the bed. Sally noticed that she was very pale. “Are you okay?” she asked. “People outside are saying there’s been a meteor strike. We’re all going to die. Water is pouring into the city, “Doris said. “What are we going to do?” Sally said. She felt panicky and scared. Doris took a deep breath. “Well first of all you’re going to have to cure Mock>” Sally looked at her. What on earth did she mean? How could she cure Mock? “How?” she said. Sally thought fast. Her only option was to make a warming soup. If she could revive him she might be able to help his powers return. “I could make a soup,” she said. “Brilliant,” Doris said. “All I need is a tomato.” Doris fished in her hand bag. “Well, you’ll never guess what,” she said. She pulled out a ripe, red tomato. “I was meant to use it in one of my stunt scenes this afternoon. I was getting shot.” Without another word, Sally grabbed the tomato and began to make her soup. Leaving Mock in Sally’s capable hands, Doris ran out of the hospital. She had a plan. She’d noticed that the leftover magic soup that Sally had made to revive Mock was very sticky. Very, sticky indeed, and she knew just what she was going to do with it. She splashed through the rising water, gasping for breath. She was heading for the zoo. Once there she found a dozen giant birds. She grabbed the nearest one to her and leapt onto its back. She took off. She flew higher and higher. If she could fly high enough she’d be able to fill the hole in the dome with Sally’s sticky soup and save the world from drowning. But first she had to check on Mock. She turned the bird towards the hospital and began her downwards flight. Mock listened carefully to Doris’s plan then began to rush around stamping his feet. “Oh, no, oh no,” he kept saying. “What is it?” Doris said. “There’s a problem with your plan.” “What is it?” Sally asked. “The hole is pouring water. The pressure is cracking the sides. You won’t make it.” Doris looked at Mock, horrified. “So what are we going to do?” Mock thought for a moment. “I think I could put a force field up long enough for you to patch the hole.” “Have you got enough energy?” Doris asked. Mock didn’t reply immediately. He looked at Doris seriously. “I hope so,” he said…
Now everyone write their own ending. What is going to happen? Is it going to work? Is anyone
going to die? Will everyone live happily ever after? You decide.
beckyindevon |
Latest page update: made by beckyindevon
, May 17 2008, 10:14 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by beckyindevon
10 words added 497 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
None
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
