Our Easter residential took 18 children to stay the night at Ringsfield Hall Eco centre. “ It looks like a mansion”, children exclaimed on arrival.
The Hall sits in many acres of its own land so we had plenty of space to explore. The rainy Easter weekend had turned the ground VERY muddy with fantastic puddles. Wellies were needed!
The children spent an energetic few days participating in various outdoor and bushcraft activities.
Children are amazing. We put together a group of children who didn’t know each other and within minutes they started to talk to each other, join in with activities they have never tried before and by the afternoon they had made new friends. All of the children were able to organise their own equipment and clothing, make up their beds with very little help from adults and after much giggling and chatting, get themselves off to sleep for the night
The grounds had lots of wooded areas to play and hunt for natural treasures. We didn’t know stinging nettles could be so tasty or that leaves could be musical. The tree house was a popular place for the children to venture, followed by the Willow labyrinth which was a great place for hide and seek. During free time the children excelled at creating their own games or building secret dens.
“ I liked feeding the pigs and cockerels”
“I liked it when we got to play in the big puddles”
“Feeding the horse was fun”
There were moments when children missed their family but were soon smiling again with the help of their new friends. Some children shared with others their caring role which we believe is very important as a way of being able to speak openly about their family and realise many of their feelings are shared with others which further helped to bond them as a group.
Staying at Ringsfield Hall was “awesome, exciting, happy, amazing, educational”
We hope that the children all had a wonderful time. The mud on the clothes will wash away but we hope that the many memories will keep for many years. Thank you all for being brilliant and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Jess, Katie & Jane.
