Sports Day was here again and we had a few old favourites on the programme including archery..... and badminton, as well as many new games such as ..... hoop the bottle...... and target shooting! In the pool we added a new ball and hoop game: In the evening the kids headed off into the woods on a long and complicated orienteering treasure hunt. Like all good hunters, they reached their goal and found the treasure! The kids even found time to be sporty in their free time! It was a hot day, so we drank lots of water and had a picnic under the olive trees followed by ice pops! We ordered our own pizzas for dinner - delicious!
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This was our first day of a new week of Hazelhutting. The children all arrived after lunch, so we started rather late. Of course there was the meeting with all the rules..... .....a healthy snack! .....a refreshing swim...... and then...... SPLAT!!!! We had free time and then a delicious lasagne and salad dinner! After dinner the children made a phone call home and then played a game of Perudo. Now they are watching the DVD 'Duplex'.
One Hazelhutter returned in the middle of the night from hospital in Viterbo. We were all afraid she had broken her ankle walking in the woods, luckily it was just a sprain! She stayed behind with her sister while the rest of us headed into Ronciglione for a day in town. The walk was hot, but fun! And everyone was glad to get a cool drink! Then it was time to hit the SHOPS! What a lot of choice! Marilena cooked up a delicious lunch, which we happily scoffed, watermelon and all! We walked back through the medieval town centre. Back at the Hazelhut, the children finished off their artwork and later forgot all about it when all the parents came! Don't worry we will keep it safe for you for next time. Best room and sports day prizes were awarded. And then it was time to say 'goodbye'! It was a real privilege to work with this group of cousins and friends and our journey had many ups and downs and twists and turns, but so much was learned and gained and we really hope to see you all again soon at the Hazelhut!
Today we welcomed a very special guide to the Hazelhut: Luigi - an expert on the Fagetta Depressa di Lago di Vico. When we arrived we encountered some researchers from the local university. They were on the look out for very rare insects. Luigi explained the geography of the area. It turns out that we were standing in a volcanic crater looking at this map! Then he told us about some of the biggest trees in the forest. We measured one and it was 5 metres in circumference, another was more than 6! Then we met the Pinocchio tree, or the 'Panciona' tree. We also saw insect and bat houses, a protected plant called 'pungitopo' and these strange sculptures! Then we raced back for lunch! The children LOVED their home-made panini! But they seemed to love the play area even more! Next we drove up to a local beauty spot to enjoy the view and learn a little more local geography! Then we headed back for a much needed dip in the pool! In the evening we had the much desired falò with the correct pizzas at last!!!!
Everyone was looking forward to an indoor day as the temperature was still sky high! So we began by making T-shirts in the art room, which meant coming up with an idea, sewing on a badge, realising the idea..... .....and then wearing it!!! The children also got busy in the kitchen making cookies and burgers! There was also a chance to sing and use musical instruments: We made use of the warm afternoon to finish off our sports day - the swimming pool part of course! Many of the children proved themselves to be great swimmers, but one boy seemed to have been born under water and held his breath for more than 1 minute and 40 seconds!!!!!! Then later the children helped us dig up the potato harvest. We love it when these children cooperate!
Another hot day did not stop our Hazelhutters having a great day with the horses. As usual preparation came first.... .... Then it was down to the paddock for fun and games! The ponies today were.... Dolce Nera Bartoli Adeline ........and a special guest all the way from Scotland: Gino! After all that time in the sun, the ponies deserved a good shower! Then Mercolodì the cat and Gino joined us for a goodbye photo before we headed up the hill for a well deserved lunch! As usual it was delicious! Even the dogs wanted to join in. After lunch some of the children found a wounded sparrow and he sadly died in their arms, but they made him a little shrine - it was a tender moment! Back at the Hazelhut the children couldn't wait to cool down in the pool! Then they did the Scavenger Hunt before dinner and enjoyed lots of booty! Now it is finally cooling down outside and there are peels of joy from the football pitch....
Monday is always our sports day at the Hazelhut, so despite the warm weather, the children put their trainers on and got active! We kicked off with skipping.... .....Followed by a water relay..... .....Then down to the cool basement for table tennis and a billiard game.... After that it was definitely time for a cool slice of watermelon! Then there was archery before lunch, while some of the children prepared their sandwiches. We headed into the woods for our picnic lunch, but the hot weather had made the forest floor too spiky! So we had lunch under an olive and a hazelnut tree. Then James played some tunes on the guitar while we relaxed. It was so hot that the children needed nothing more than a good cool down in the pool, although some kids preferred to hang out in the trees and chat. Before dinner we had a Daz clay session in the nice cool art room. The boys did their watering. Then it was time for pizza!!! Sadly the pizzeria made a mistake giving the children salami piccante instead of wurstel..... but it was still tasty and the children enjoyed challenging each other to eat the hottest pizza slices!
It was great to welcome some cousins and their friends back to the Hazelhut today for the first day of a new week of summer fun! The welcome lunch was well received and then the children gathered for their first meeting. They could hardly wait to get in the swimming pool because it was so hot! They made up lots of games to play and had so much fun. Then we had a nice ice lolly for snack before making signs for the dorm doors! Dinner was the most delicious, most enormous lasagne which we ate up down to the last slice! After dinner, the children enjoyed their first phone calls home and some high jinks! This is going to be a fun week!
All of the sunflowers are now so tall that they are starting to fall over, so we have planted them out in the vegetable garden. Here are the three winners: 3rd Place - Luca De S. 2nd Place - Mateo and the Winner: Carolina! As you can see, it was a close competition. Keep your eyes on our blog if you want to see the lovely blooms in late August! Well done everyone!
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