Today the weather had changed a little and we were afraid that it might rain, so we headed out in the morning to pick fruit for the jam. There were plenty of leaves and nuts on the ground - it almost felt like autumn! When we had brought back all of the apples we set about chopping them for the jelly pot. Our next activity was in the art room. Each of the children made their own version of the Hazelhut walnut puppet..... except for one, who made something completely different! The children worked until lunch and then started again afterwards. It took a long time for them to complete their puppets, but it was certainly worth it! Then there was the jelly to finish - apple and thyme! At 5 o'clock we said 'goodbye' to the day children as usual and then something magical happened: the mummies came to join us for dinner! What a special day!
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It was a little overcast, but still super hot this morning, so the perfect weather for a day at the lake. All of the children made their own sandwiches for lunch and then we packed up and headed off! At first we had the place to ourselves! As it got sunnier more people came and the children took a dip. We played cards on the beach and relaxed in the sunshine. Then James took the girls out on the pedalo....... ..... followed by the boys. This was hungry work and we all got torn into our rolls at lunch time! After lunch the children were divided into 3 teams for the mini house design competition. All of them worked really hard, trying to stop other children from trampling on their designs (!) for almost an hour before they were ready to be judged.... Back at the Hazelhut the prizes were handed out - all of the children won something: one group for the amazing story which accompanied their design, one for the beauty of their design and one for all of the effort and loveliness they put into theirs! We said 'goodbye' to some of today's Hazelhutters at 5pm and then the shrunken group headed to the art room to play with paper tubes and other things..... We had a delicious fish dinner, which seemed very appropriate, and now the children are relaxing in front of 'Nanny MacPhee 2' - another dreamy day!
Our three little girls were joined by 2 boys and another girl today - we played elastics for a short while. Then we gathered the eggs and said 'hello' to the rabbits. It was nice and cool in the chestnut forest, so we went for a walk. We found some delicious blackberries to eat.... As well as some large animal holes... Back at the Hazelhut the children decided to start the art activity making frog toys. After lunch some children knitted, some finished homework, while others played cards. Later the children braved the chilly swimming pool and ended up having lots of fun! It was a shame to say 'goodbye' to the day children at 5pm, but our 3 little Hazelhutters were keen to get on with their new knitting skills Since the girls were so good today, we took them out for pizza and ice cream in the evening - DELICIOUS!
Only three Hazelhutters are staying the night with us this week, although more friends will join them during the next few days. They arrived on a very special day in the Ronciglione calendar - the first 'Palio Corse a Vuoto' held by the town in 5 years. For this event all residents of the town choose one of nine horses to back and since we had been following Paolina for 'Fontana Grande', we chose to continue. So the children made up T-shirts in our colours: blue, white and black..... someone even managed to have a skirt made too! When we were all dressed up, we headed into the town and took some photos. We arrived early and found some seats with friendly people who supported 'Rione Campanione' we had a snack and drew pictures to pass the time before the action began. First there was a parade of various bands, horses and each of the Rione's representatives. Unfortunately we discovered that our horse had not made it to either the final or the 'finalino', so we decided to cheer for the 'Campanone' horse with our new friends. Finally after a very long wait and a very scary false start the 3 horses in the 'finalino' set off - what a sight! It was so exciting! The horses raced past our noses, kicking up the dust as they went. Then it was time for the final. Campanone was in the lead! The other horses got very close.... ....but Campanone held her ground and won the race!!!!! Yipee! Even though our horse didn't really win, we felt like winners and celebrated all the way back home. What a wonderful experience!
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