Blog Archives

Final Friday

26/8/2017

The final day of summer camps in 20117 arrived far too quickly! The children packed their bags, stripped their beds and tidied the house. Then they wrapped the soap we made and prepared for our trip to town.

This week we went to Sutri as Ronciglione is preparing for its annual palio.

After a rather delicious ice cream, the kids did what they do best: shopping!

They bought many interesting items, from plants to magazines to toys, in a variety of shops.

But we also took in some of the lovely sights of the city including churches,

fountains,

shrines

and views,

before sitting down to a well earned lunch at the 'Vescovado' restaurant.

Then with heavy hearts and bags, we headed home.

The parents arrived and we wished each other well with a final rendition of the Hazelhut song.

James and Ottavia would like to take this opportunity to thank all the children who have come to the Hazelhut this summer for making it our most memorable year yet! Thank you also to their families for their trust and loyalty throughout - best wishes to you all!

Fishing fun

24/8/2017

After a good breakfast, we headed up to the fishing lake to catch some tiddlers...

.....and one whopper!

The children chose their partners and headed off to see how many they could get.

The minimum caught by a pair was 4 fish and the maximum was 22!

It was nice to get out of the sun and enjoy a tasty lunch of pasta al ragù and sausage buns.

Back at the Hazelhut the children could hardly wait to dive in the pool, again!

We also baked some cakes and biscuits for our families tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon the children had a rather rowdy quiz, followed by the much anticipated treasure hunt.

We all enjoyed our final dinner of pasta al pesto, cheese, salami and salad followed by 'blaeberry' ice-cream and chocolate brownies. We have definitely been spoiling these kids, but they do deserve it!

Mid week crafts

23/8/2017

We were very happy to welcome 2 young Hazelhutters to join the group this morning and we all headed to the art room to kick off the day with card making and sewing.

The children's cards were beautiful and filled with very sweet sentiments and they all managed to sew independently too.

After some delicious apples from our trees, the kids were desperate to swim.

For lunch we made our own picnic again.

After lunch we had a lot of fun with the drama game 'Randomise'.

Then later the children watched as we demonstrated soap making using olive oil and lye. After the soap workshop, they made their own bamboo chopsticks with James.

As the creative juices flowed, the children found time to make music, play games, invent things for Ottavia to sew and even....

cook up this character!

Since 2 of our Hazelhutters won't be here tomorrow, we decided to have our pizza party tonight....!

Trip to the horses

22/8/2017

It's been another lovely day with the ponies at La Martingala.

The children learned to care for, saddle up, clean, ride and even jump over the ponies!

Once again we felt proud to be in charge of such charming, athletic and capable children - well done Hazelhutters!

By lunch time, they were all very hungry!

Back at the Hazelhut, we had more activities to enjoy, starting with a swim and followed by archery.

Then they learned how to use the flint and steel to start the evening's camp fire.

Once the fire was blazing, we played the game 'One Frog'

Before tucking in to some delicious home made burgers, followed by toasted marshmallows - YUM!

Super sports!

21/8/2017

After a quick warm up,

another Monday of crazy sports began at the Hazelhut!

There were activities for boys against girls and for individuals.

There were born athletes and surprise talents.

There were games with sports equipment and some with unusual objects......

During the day there was time to play,

time to be creative,

time to 'rest'

and plenty to eat!

We had a game of 'Up Jenkins' and said 'goodbye to our helper, Giulia. Thanks for being so amazing this year, for your help with the children and for your fantastic photos. We will miss you.

The day ended with one of Marilena's legendary lasagne and some very special home made sugar and dairy free ice cream - YUM!

Last team of Summer 2017

20/8/2017

While summer shows no signs of cooling off, the Hazelhut is heading to the end of the summer season with these 12 lovely kids.

We have spent the day getting to know each other and finding out about the new team.

So far they are a polite, respectful bunch and have been very kind to each other; they also enjoy a good game!

They ate up their dinner, had showers and are now totally absorbed in this evening's movie: 'Teen Wolf'!

Fry-day!

4/8/2017

Just when we thought it couldn't get any hotter, today's temperatures went well over 40 degrees!

So our first stop in Ronciglione was ICE CREAM!

Then we headed off to shop, shop, shop!

Our thoughtful Hazelhutters brought gifts to take home and souvenirs to remember their time in Ronciglione.

Then we went to our favourite restaurant for the meal of the week!

Back at the Hazelhut, we played Kim's game.

Then the parents arrived and it was time to hand out the prizes for sports and...

... the best bedroom - way to go girls!!!! After a lovely rendition of the Hazelhut song, we wished this group on their way. Our next week begins on 20th August - places are available. Buon ferragosto a tutti!

Cooling off lakeside

3/8/2017

The thermometer went well over 40 degrees today, so Lago di Vico was an obvious choice of destination for our Hazelhutters.

With cool breezes and clear waters, the boys and girls had a lot of fun splashing about in the lake and playing under the shade of the oak trees.

They caught a fish to torture and enjoyed using one girl's under water camera to record this memorable day.

James cooked delicious local sausages on the barbecue for lunch.

There were even marshmallows afterwards.

Some children cooled off in the water after lunch.

Before we left, we played 'Stop the Bus'. After that we headed back to the Hazelhut and the kids were desperate to swim AGAIN, but this time in the pool.

In the evening we played indoor games and then it was cool enough to enjoy our pizza party outside.

What a great day we have had! It's hard to believe we have to hand these kids back tomorrow....

An arty fun day keeping out of the sun.....

2/8/2017

Hiding in the cool art room was the best option for yet another hot day.

The kids started by working on a personal gift to remember the Hazelhut and then they finished off their pear jam to take home to their parents.

Later in the morning the children jumped in the pool to freshen up.

After a shady picnic lunch, we crept back indoors to sing karaoke in the sitting room.

Later some girls helped bake brownies in the kitchen - what super enthusiastic cooks we have this week!

Later in the afternoon, the children had a treasure hunt and they ran about on the hunt for items to bring back in order to unlock the location of the treasure.

James communicated with each of the kids via walkie talkie, making sure they were on the right track.

The final clue was hard to crack, but they got there in the end and enjoyed some special treats.

We had a delicious dinner with veggies from the garden and fruits from the Hazelhut. Once again the children have shown great resistance to today's difficult weather conditions and we continue to see them being fun, thoughtful and caring with each other - ah!

Horses and more heat!

1/8/2017

We hoped for a cooler day, but the thermometer was already at 39 when we arrived at the riding centre! The ponies were sweating as the children tried to prepare them.

Then it was the children's turn to sweat as they learned the route they had to follow on the ponies.

Luckily they are all good listeners and learn quickly. Here are all 9 of today's Hazelhutters:

And here they are all together enjoying a very tasty and well deserved lunch.

This is the stable cat, Mercolodì, keeping cool in the shade - wise creature!

The kids were equally keen to return to the Hazelhut and laze around indoors in the afternoon. They played games and enjoyed each others company for a while and then James brought them together to learn about survival in the wilds.

To keep out of the sun, we used the indoor space and the children learned to tie knots, cut wood with a wire and start a fire among other things.

Finally the evening breeze arrived and we all enjoyed our home made burgers outdoors. Despite the heat, it has been a super day!