Blog Archives

Hazelhut or Hogwarts....?

29/10/2017

It was hard to tell the Hazelhut and Hogwarts apart today as the children headed for the woods with the 'broomstick professor'.

Once they had collected choice materials, they headed to the house for a lesson in broom construction.

They listened carefully to instruction and tried hard with the construction, but broom making was harder than we thought!

By lunchtime everyone had their broom made and we all tucked in to a delicious Hazelhut garden pasta al pomodoro, followed by a game of 'Dicing with Spice' where we had to roll a die to gain a chocolate skull, with just one problem... one of them was spiked with chili pepper!!

In the afternoon what could we do, but have a big old game of quidditch?! Teams ready?

Snitch in? Go!

What a great weekend! Thanks for coming everyone and happy Hallowe'en!

0 Comments

Hallowe'en comes to the older kids this weekend....

28/10/2017

0 Comments

10 very excited children came to the Hazelhut today and began to decorate the place with creepy things....

Everything began normally enough with a walk in the woods, collecting the eggs and then a visit to the veg patch for some seasonal goodies....

Then at snack time, the fruit seemed to have been spooked.....

Instead of making tasty cookies, the children started stamping skulls and later filling them with gruesome colours!

Lunch time was very strange indeed as the children started chomping on dead monster fingers covered in blood!

There was a moment of normality at homework hour...

Then as the evening began, strange creatures started to appear....

Clearly something was wrong, as the next thing was actual sugary doughnuts - at the Hazelhut!!! - which the children began to munch from strings!

Next thing we knew, James had his head in a pot of water 'dooking' for apples...

And the other kids soon joined him!

This was followed up by spider races...

And 'Smartie Sooking'....

Hmmm... sweets, spiders and spooks... of course it's Hallowe'en at the Hazelhut!!!

0 Comments

Hallowe'en fun for the under 8s

22/10/2017

0 Comments

Today we began our Hallowe'en celebrations with 5 young Hazelhutters.

We made some spooky stress balls and pumpkin prints in the art room.

We ate spider pizzas, pumpkin tangerines and spooky sandwiches....

We played 'Bopping Biscuit' and 'Speedy Spider' as Hallowe'en games.

We read stories, sand songs and even did some dancing!

Of course we didn't forget to go and see the animals either!

Then, just before the parents came, the children went on a very strange scavenger hunt, bringing back many items such as a dragon's tooth and witches' hair and with a little magic we turned it into Hallowe'en treasure! Thanks for coming everyone - see you again soon!

0 Comments

Birthday Boy

22/10/2017

0 Comments

We have had a busy weekend! On Saturday we had the great privilege of hosting a birthday party for a very special 10 year old and 11 of his friends. The sun shone and we all enjoyed hanging out in the open air. Among the highlights were a tractor ride, toasted marshmallows, games on the football pitch, making a gift and delicious brigadeiros!!!

Thank you for choosing the Hazelhut for your special day; may all your other birthdays be as happy!

0 Comments

We survived: Day 2

8/10/2017

0 Comments

Despite the cold night, most of the children managed to sleep pretty well in their tents. They were all up in good time for a hearty breakfast of hot chocolate and bacon and egg buns.

Today we handed the camera over to the kids and we must thank them for today's images which capture our camp life from a totally different perspective.

As you can see, we continued with honing knife skills - this time the children learned how to use greenwood to create tent pegs and other useful tools.

There was time for exploration, reflection, foraging and fun.

Lunch was a soup made from forest foods including mushrooms, chestnuts and plants. Everyone helped to gather and prepare the ingredients.

After lunch we had to think about taking down the camp and packing up before picking some chestnuts or finishing off 'scrimshaw' to take home.

Finally we were relaxing with a game as the fire burned up the last of the wood, when the parents arrived and it was time to go home for a good wash and a warm rest. Well done adventurous Hazelhutters - you made it!

0 Comments

Survival of the fittest..... Day 1

7/10/2017

0 Comments

5 daring children have taken the risk to attempt a survival weekend at the Hazelhut.

The experience today included learning about shelter. First the children learned to put up their own tents, cooperating with each other to ensure that the night would be safe warm and dry.

They set up a hygiene area, where they could wash their hands and keep dirty items away from wildlife.

Then they foraged for some energy full snacks to keep them going.

The next priority was fuel and fire. We walked around the woodlands looking for wood to burn. Some needed to be chopped for kindling and James taught the children how to baton it to make smaller pieces.

The fire was up and running in time for lunch - hot wraps with cheese and ham.

After lunch the children learned how to make a basic shelter in a situation with only natural materials, using a tree and one large branch as a lean to. All of the kids tried it out and by the end they reckoned they would be happy enough to spend the night in it!

Later we did some more foraging for herbs which could help to keep the body safe in a survival setting such as nettles for the liver and kidneys, malva for stomach problems, chickweed for iron and mint for flavour and circulation.