Last week, some of our wonderful children took part in the ‘Monteagle Camping Experience’. To say that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves is truly an understatement!
The children began their experience by taking ALL of their luggage to ‘base camp’ (the staffroom). Judging by the number of suitcases we saw, it seemed like they all were planning for a week’s staycation!
Once dressed, the children had a snack and some juice. We were all thoroughly impressed with the level of language used by our children; they all used their manners and engaged in a to-and-fro conversation with adults and other children, which is a huge achievement for some of our kids!
The children were then shown some circus skills with the help of our resident circus expert, Kenny! Under his guidance, they attempted juggling hoops and balls with some success; this quickly turned into a game of “How high can I throw this object?”.
Next, the children were shown the orienteering task, thanks to our master orienteer, Kenny (clearly multi-talented)! Once the children were shown how to complete the task, they worked in their teams to decode the secret message. The level of teamwork shown by the children was truly outstanding – comradery at its finest!
Then came one of the highlights of the evening – toasting marshmallows! As curious as the children were about the fire, they were so cautious and required a minimal amount of support with toasting. One child was curious about how a toasted marshmallow would taste. He just wanted to try a tiny piece of it to see if he would like it; he quickly realised that if you touch a marshmallow after toasting it, it becomes very sticky… he wasn’t pleased at all!
The excitement didn’t stop there… our children couldn’t wait to get into the tents! They enjoyed playing group games with each other until it was ready for dinner time. After dinner, the children prepared their sleeping arrangements and watched a movie, whilst indulging in a cup of popcorn.
After the movie, the children played a small game of hide-and-seek and finally settled in their tents and pretended to sit around a campfire (children improvised using their torches as the fire). One of the most heart-warming conversations we heard was when one child said they missed their mummy, another child put their blanket around them and said, “That’s okay, we can miss our mummies together,” which settled them both brilliantly.
A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to all of the staff that supported with our camping experience; the children had an unforgettable evening!
See power point with photos:
