Our first full day of camp came and went in a flash! 

After a peaceful first night, the campers were woken up with music, and had a quick run around the garden before breakfast, to ensure their bodies and minds were fully awake. After breakfast, they went into their classes for their first English lessons of the camp.

The Horses (11-13 year olds), with their teacher Steve, played some active games to get to know more about their fellow classmates. They then went on to learn about vocabulary related to different parts of the farm, and the tools used. From the noise coming from the classroom, this was definitely a very dynamic class! The students were working really well in their groups, and speaking English confidently and without problems.

The Goats (9-11 year olds) were with Khrystyna, and after a conversation-based introduction to the lesson (speaking about how and where we use different plants), they started to learn the names of different plants, trees and vegetables. Illana in particular really took to this and has started a trend in the class – now four or five students are determined to learn the names of as many vegetables as possible! 

The Ponies (7-9 year olds) went with Cath. Their lesson began with some very active games, with lots of laughter and movement, They went on to speak about different farm animals, and a lot of games followed. Olalla was the shining star in this class today, even helping Cath to explain about the different animals!

After class we had lunch (delicious lentils, which many asked for a second helping of, including me!), before our first afternoon activity. We played various games on the field, and the children all showed great enthusiasm when it came to working together in their teams.

Then came the activity everyone had been waiting for – visiting the farm! We went to visit the vegetable patch, when the Goats were delighted to be able to recognise the plants and vegetables that they had learned about in their lesson that morning. The Horses were also able to tell others the names of various buildings and tools. We touched and smelled the different plants, and it was interesting to see which ones we liked the most!

After that – the animals, at last! The campers had been asking ever since arriving when they would finally have a chance to get close to the animals, so were over the moon to finally be able to touch and feed some of the animals. The Ponies were able to name all of the animals they had talked about that morning in their class. (Photos of the more beautiful animals to follow – we ran out of time yesterday so we’ll be back out on the farm today!)

After dinner came another night game, and everyone was certainly ready for bed afterwards! A very successful first day, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week will bring.