Thursday 9 October 2014

Woodwork (29th September 2014)

We kicked off with the Name Train game to cement some of the new names - it was so popular we had to play it twice - and we could easily have played it again and again.

Then we had a serious talk about safety. We explained that we would be using saws and drills and that it was very important that when people were using them everyone else had to keep well away. We had 4 work stations - 3 sawing benches and some wide, shallow logs to use for drilling on.

Each station had an adult attached and all the Elfins who were not using them were told to go and play games far away!



In pairs the Elfins used bow saws to cut discs of wood

  - then they made a guide hole with an auger -
- and drilled a hole near the edge using a hand drill -

- before threading string through and decorating the name discs with felt tips.

Meanwhile Chris played some great games:

She started with Tig – everyone stood in a circle with the tigger inside the circle. Anyone who was tigged also became a tigger but had to do so on their hands and knees.

The second game was Stoa – a type of tig game with one tigger, who has the ball. Anyone who is hit by the ball also joins the tigger until the last person is caught. It’s a fantastic team game as nobody is in or out, you simply switch sides and the better the co-operation the more successful the game. (It's a game Chris first came across at an Anglo-Saxon re-enactment weekend in West Stow (hence the name) about 30 years ago!)



We sang the Woodcraft Song in a circle around some Elfins who were still working on their discs before saying thanks all and goodnight.

Session Leader: Catrin
Leaders: Amanda, Kate 
Helpers: Chris, Clare, Pippa, Tei





Bag Painting (September 22nd 2014)

We met on the Green and played games before eating biscuits in the circle while everyone told us some news.

Then we walked around the Green collecting leaves and twigs and other things to use for printing and painting.













We'd learnt a lot from a very nasty fabric paint experience last year (nuff said) so all Elfins had come in old clothes or overalls.











The Elfins who hadn't made green drawstring plate bags before had those and everyone else had calico tote bags.


They painted with twigs and feathers and pom poms - and made leave prints - and stuck on buttons - and bobbles - and other things -












- all remained remarkably paint free themselves (…nice work guys…)

- ate oranges
- and made some great bags!

Session leader: Claire
Leaders: Amanda, Catrin
Helpers: Tei

Saturday 4 October 2014

Elfin Planning and Treasure Trail (September 15th 2014)

First time back on the Green and the sun was streaming down. We got a fire going in the firepit and stood around the logs in a circle to sing My Name is Joe. Then we ate biscuits while introducing ourselves, welcomed newcomers and tried to remember the golden rules especially being safe around the fire.

Then we kicked off with the vote for what to do in this term's Elfin Takeover session. The candidates were:

A - hedgehog making
B - weaving
C - natural tie-dye scarves
D - dream catchers
E - den making
F - cool ways to make food
G - music making

We talked a bit about different kinds of voting and why you might want a secret ballot. Then we had one: each Elfin put down their three favourites and posted their voting slip in a ballot box. And the top three were:

Den Making, Cool Food and Weaving - so we'll definitely do Den Making and try to fit the other two in. 

Then it was time for the Treasure Trail. 
3 groups were given envelopes which contained coded messages - written in maritime flag signals! (They also had a decryption guide).




… it doesn't display so well on this blog… but that - more or less - says 'by the gate'…
...and when they'd decoded that first message, it led to another clue. 

This one had been cut up to form a jigsaw puzzle.... when they put that back together it led to another clue…

…which took the form of a leaf from a tree they had to find on the Green. If they got that right - after lots of running backwards and forwards all over the Green - they got the prize - marshmallows! *





Just in time for toasting over the embers. 


Vidar and Tei organised a game of Cops and Robbers

before we sang Link Your Hands Together for the first time this autumn. 
It was good to be back.

*(All the clue ideas were from a great site called Treasure Hunt Ideas

- it will even generate translations into flag signals for you - just type in your message and it does the rest).  

Session Leader: Catrin
Leaders: Claire, Lucy, Kate
Helpers: Tei, Pippa

Totem Pole Summer Celebration (June 30th 2014)

Claire led a fantastic last session before we packed up for the summer…..all about memories…

Some Elfins decorated cardboard boxes...



Meanwhile…

Other Elfins were remembering ... and painting … all the best things about Woodcraft this last season onto paper plates:
















there were raging campfires; marshmallows on sticks; people making music; making birdfood; making bread, lebkuchen and flower crowns; cooking on tin cans, sleeping in sleeping bags and becoming chinese dragons....and more.





On the stage Mike and John built a huge totem pole out of the cardboard boxes stapled and gaffer taped into a tower.

















While we all had a feast...




Then we stuck our paper plates on to the memory pole.


Thanks to everyone who made it such a great summer!


Session Leader: Claire
Leaders: Catrin, Kate, Lucy, Amanda, Alison
Helpers: Tei, Mike, John, Steve, Joanna, Joanne, Nicholas and possibly some more...