Beginnings

We've just completed our first fortnight in The Garden. The inaugural week was full of challenges, such as not yet having a stove (brrr!) or a functioning a compost loo and discovering all the places that the yurt wasn't quite watertight. Fortunately the weather was mostly kind to us and the children were too excited to care.

Joseph and Allen working on a catapult

By the second week we were starting to get to grips with the practical issues and other sorts of challenges were presenting themselves. Our facilitator Jamie spent a lot of time getting know and connecting with the children and he has written some lovely reflections on the process here.

Wild garlic harvesting by Hetty

We were lucky to have mostly cold, bright and dry weather and The Netherways site offered up a treasure trove of intrigue, including icy ponds, an abundance of wild garlic, frozen (thawing) worms, and dozens of toads and their spawn in the larger pond. Den-building, tree-climbing, drawing, catapult design, ice-breaking (both literal and metaphorical), and lots and lots of tag were all popular activities chosen by The Gardeners. We even had some Japanese lessons, courtesy of our visitors Simon and Allen from a democratic school in Okinawa, Japan.

Yet another game of tag in the yurt

It's been a glorious and exhausting couple of weeks. It's heartening to hear the children say they want to come back every day, though for now three days a week definitely feels like enough! Looking forward to Tuesday already.

Emma