Bedtime!

Wow, what an amazing day! We’ve walked nearly 20,000 steps both days so far so after our campfire we were definitely ready to have our showers, have a little down time in our rooms and then head to bed. 
 

The teachers have been very impressed with the hairstyles this week, the plaits have worked a treat and made it really easy to shower with and stay dry. Here are a few pics of us getting ready for our showers and then ready for bed. 

Campfire

Our evening activity tonight was campfire with hot chocolate (plus marshmallows and whipped cream for those who wanted it). 
 

Sam and Irene (our group leaders) led the campfire. We sung three different songs, including the classics Boom-Chicka-Boom and the Pirate Song (some imaginative song lyrics such as ‘When I was ten, I climbed Big Ben’, and some that still rhymed but were more predictable, ‘When I was two, I had a _ _ _ (I’m sure you can fill in the blanks!). We then enjoyed our hot chocolates whilst sharing riddles with each other. 

Some of our favourite moments:

• Annabelle found it surprising to find find lots of tadpoles in the pond when pond dipping.
• Penny learnt the names of lots of new animals, including the swimming mayfly nymph. It looked feathery under the microscope!
• I love the food, it's so good! My friend thought it was the best pizza ever! - Delphi
• I enjoyed pond dipping at Flatford.  I caught a shrimp! - Jack
• Harry - I’ve liked everything! My favourite was the Twilight Walk
• Will - my favourite part was the mammal trapping as I liked that you got to see what everyone caught, even though my trap had been destroyed. 

An afternoon with Bingley - walk to East Bergholt

After enjoying the lunches we made this morning, it was our turn to set off on our walk to East Bergholt. 
During our walk to East Bergholt, we saw a pair of geese walking their goslings across a field, a red kite soaring above the church, and several sheep grazing along the Dedham valley.
In the village, we found  out about the role of the Baker, ironmonger, and hatter during the Georgian period. Oliver used the phrase, 'Mad as a hatter' as we walked, and we now know that the phrase comes from this period as the chemicals the Hatters used affected their health and made them shake!
We learnt that the 5 bells that are housed in the bell house were never installed in a bell tower because they ran out of money to build one! Some of us supported a lady, who was walking around the church ground 500 times to raise money for the upkeep of the bellhouse by walking alongside her for 4 laps!

An afternoon with Edwards Group

This afternoon, it was our turn to do what Bingley did this morning: Constable Drama, shop and sketching. We spent time on the Flatford site, learning about the life of John Constable and his family. 
Here are some photos of our freeze frames from our drama sketches. All the adults were impressed with the enthusiasm and acting skills from everyone. 
 

Photos of the sketching have been added

Bingley Group - John Constable Drama and Drawing

Bingley's first activity was to check our mammal traps. Three were closed and had poo in them, but unfortunately, the mammals must have escaped after their night in the hotel!  Luckily, Edwards had more luck, so we went to see their mammals. 

Afterwards, we learnt about the Georgian times and thought about how it compared to present day. 
We then went on a treasure hunt around the Flatford site. After each question, we got a prop to use in our role plays.

After practising, we performed our scene to the rest of our group.

After a well earned lunch, we visited the shop and sketched the Haywain.

More photos have been added to this album. 

Edward Group to East Bergholt

After a drink and biscuit break, we began our next session, learning about what Flatford would have been like during Constable’s time. 
Next, we went for a walk into East Bergholt. We saw the Hatters, Bakers, School, Red Lion Inn, Church and Blacksmith. We learnt what life would have been like for children and adults during this time. Some of us were very lucky and when we reached the Blacksmiths, the blacksmith pulled out his anvil, hammer and some tools for us to have a look at. 

Small mammal trapping 

This morning, our first activity was to check on the traps we had set last night. 
Unfortunately, some of the traps had been disturbed and we realised the ducks and crows had had an early morning snack!

Luckily, we had some intact traps :-)

When opening them up, Bingley’s traps were all empty. Some traps had evidence of the food being eaten so it was either the ducks, crows or some ninja mice! Edward group had a little more luck and we had two small mammals: a vole and a mouse. 
 

Lorelei and Esmae caught a vole called Bobsy. 
George and Harrison caught a mouse called Jim

Breakfast!

We had another amazing meal for breakfast today. We had a choice of 4 cereals, toast (with a range of toppings) and a cooked breakfast. Some of us had two breakfasts! 
 

Edward and Harrison said the food was great and wanted to share that they had 5 and 6 servings respectively!