I survived my four days in the wilderness with 7a. On the whole it was a lot of fun as highlighted by the kids claiming never to have seen me laugh before in over a year of English lessons!
Day one ran fairly smoothly. We arrived at about 11 and unpacked the bus. I have to say, even though I knew I was going on the trip with one of the nicer classes in the school, they completely surprised me with their ability to get on with practical jobs quickly and without complaining. The bus was done in no time and the music room set up and ready to go for the afternoon. We took them on a walk through the woods and showed them the boundary line for any walks. The area where the house is is lovely. It reminded me of the countryside where Nico's family lived but it had the big advantage of being just half an hour away which was handy when two pupils had to be picked up.
We then had our first lunch - pasta bolognese. The pupils had been divided into groups for kitchen duty and again, here they were brilliant at doing everything. We had three different meat sauces and everybody enjoyed their lunch. In the afternoon they had the first of three music sessions in three different groups while I kept an eye on the other two groups. In the evening we had dinner and a little too much free time as this was when things tended to get load and by Tuesday we were kicking them out of the building! One pupil, the real lads' lad of the class allowed the girls to dress him up in make up and stuff his top and proceeded to wander around the building in drag all afternoon which was quite amusing.
Tuesday morning did not start well when the pupils were running up at down the corridors shouting before my alarm had even gone off. Breakfast went smoothly though and we set up a treasure hunt for the morning session. We split the group into three and each group was sent into the woods with a map an a camera one after the other. When they found post one they had to sing a song and video this on the camera. At post two they had to build a teepee with branches and photograph it, at post three film a group dance and at post four film a set of impressions of a famous person. They found their treasure at post five and brought it back so the next group could start. We then judged the pictures and videos and awarded a prize for the best group. After a lunch of eggs, potatoes and spinach, the groups had their second music sessions. One of the great things in the kitchen was a giant frying pan that was built into the kitchen where you had to wind a lever to tip it up and get things out. We did the eggs and later the pancakes in there. In the evening the pupils were due to have a night walk in the woods with torches but they were so loud all afternoon and evening that we had to cancel it.
Unfortunately two pupils also had to go home on Tuesday. One girl had been ill since we arrived and really wasn't enjoying herself so her brother came to collect her on Tuesday morning. She's now in hospital with two slipped discs so it's hardly surprising she was having such a hard time. We filmed some messages for her on the way back in the hope of maybe cheering her up. One boy was quite homesick and insisted on going home on Tuesday evening which was a shame but seemed to be what he needed at the time.
On Wednesday it was my turn to lead some activities with Nature in English Bingo. Pupils had to find a number of things on their lists in the woods e.g. a leaf, an animal. Instead of bringing back hundreds of leaves, twigs and poor animals, they were to have a partner sign their sheet to say they had seen it and then add any extra (in English) on the back of their sheets for bonus points. One girl won with 29 items seen and signed. However, it turned out to be more eventful than expected with kids bringing back frogs, a slug and an animal skull!! At lunch time I was 'in charge' for the pancake making session which I was dreading as we only had one normal frying pan (which one girl had brought herself) and then this giant one. It turned out great though. The kids worked in teams of two with a bowl of batter and we had way too many pancakes in the end but it's better than too little. We really had fun doing it too. In the afternoon there was one final music session and I listened to the pieces they had prepared over the two previous days. Again here they really amazed me, this time with their talent. The music was brilliant and there are some great singers in the group - a talent which I am seriously lacking and therefore always a little envious of. One pupil also taught me a couple of boardgames in the afternoon and proceeded to thrash me soundly in both so I will be practising in time for the next trip.
On Wednesday evening, the social worker for that year group came to visit. The kids loved seeing him. One group performed their version of the hit 'Hellelujah' renamed 'deine Mutter' - very funny. He then organised a chocolate marshmallow eating competition which induced the afore mentioned lads' lad to throw up all over the table. As a response, all the other pupils ran from the room, closely followed by the teachers. They also had their disco for an hour on Wednesday evening which gave us a little break.
Finally, on Thursday it was back to reality. An extra early start (and the only morning the kids didn't wake us first), and a lot of cleaning. Yet again, the kids were absolutely brilliant with cleaning. What really surprised me though was how the boys were way better than the girls! Especially when they found the vacuum cleaners and I actually had to go in there and make them hand one over to the girls. I would have taken photos for their mothers had I had a camera. The journey back was smooth and all in all it was a great trip. I was glad to have been invited and to have taken up the offer.
The house where we stayed is actually owned by the school who employ a neighbour there to manage and clean it. I think every school should have one.
