Peace at last!

It didn't take long before almost everyone was asleep on the way home....

Our final day

The children really had to be dragged from their beds this morning, they were all absolutely dead to the world. After a frantic hour of packing, we have enjoyed a morning of climbing, aerial runway and orienteering. Every single child has been a real credit to our school and we are very proud of them all. They've all been stars! 

Time now to get on the coach - we are leaving on time. See you soon. 

Kayaking in the sunshine!

Groups A and C enjoyed an afternoon kayaking in the sunshine yesterday! We played lots of fun games to help us practise our kayaking, everyone in Group A managed to stay relatively dry (apart from a few soggy bottoms!) unlike Group C who had several children capsize in a very competitive game of kayak football! Great fun was had by all. 

Message to class one.

Good morning everyone in class one. I am sorry I was unable to be with you this week. I have spent a very busy week with yr 6 at Lakeside. We have enjoyed lots of exciting activities. Some quite challenging!!!!! Although the weather has been unsettled,we have had an amazing week. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday, from Mrs Verrell.

Rock climbing - group b

"It was an experience not to forget," quoted one child.  The weather was not on our side this morning but we still made the best of what Lakeside has to offer.  The children were fantastic and scaled the rock face despite the difficult conditions.  Some children demonstrated real flair and were able to tackle a more challenging rock face with ease.  It just shows the determination our children show in difficult situations -you would have been very proud of them.  The instructor was impressed at how good the children were and how they didn't let the weather bother them.    

Sorry, no picture due to the rain!

Archery and obstacle course - group b

They have honed our archery skills this afternoon in order to win items cutlery to eat dinner with. The group leader decided each place on the target board was worth a piece of cutlery.  Everyone  was able to win some cutlery, even Mr C was able to win a whole set.   They found the obstacle course more of a challenge as they found it difficult to move Sinba and Bob (items full of water) as a team.  However, they still tried hard to try and overcome some of the problems and obstacles they encountered as they went long the course.  One of the biggest hurdles to overcome was working together and listening carefully to get Sinba and Bob home.  

Group A Bushcraft

The constant rain dampened our fire but not our spirits in the group A morning bushcraft session. Competition to build the best shelter was fierce, with the end result being 3 very different but equally marvellous creations. None quite so splendid as Mr C's effort of yesterday though.......

With shelters complete, attention was turned to starting fires. Unfortunately, while everyone managed to create plenty of sparks with their flint & steel, everything was far too soaked for effective fire starting. No matter, we had our original campfire still burning strongly and despite a minor flour related mishap the whole group were soon cooking their dough balls and tucking in to whatever remained on the sticks. We found the added moss gave a nice tangy flavour. Surprisingly, nobody was too full from their campfire cooking and everybody managed a nice big lunch (having changed into dry waterproofs).

Archery and Aerial runway

The children were amazing, considering the very damp conditions. After a challenging competition, the boys finally won. Good fun was had by all. Then on to the runway. Everyone was very excited to have a turn and nobody declined to have a go. In Samuel's words, "It was awesome!!!!"

Rain drops keep falling on my head!

We didn't think we could get any wetter but East Harling have managed to achieve this.....It has rained non stop this morning however it has now stopped and the outlook is good for the afternoon.  The children have been outstanding in their resilience in over coming difficult conditions.  They have a real credit our school and have persevered with the challenges that they faced.

Bushcraft - B

We had the opportunity to try out our survival skills and we were amazing.....The children had to make a shelter and light a fire using only limited resources.  Mr C was involved in making one of the shelters and rather pleased with himself as it looked rather good.  The children were fantastic at trying to think about what was needed to keep them dry.  Each child also had the opportunity to light a fire using a steel and a flint.  The highlight for some of them was eating dough balls made from the camp fire. 

Day four

The children all slept well again last night - lots had to be woken up this morning. This was our view briefly yesterday afternoon, it's not quite as good today but we're not going to let a spot of rain dampen our spirits! First breakfast - then it's time for bushcraft, archery and climbing. 

Raft building

Yesterday we all put our pioneering skills to the test when we set out to build our own raft. The instructors taught us how to lash two poles together and then we designed our own rafts using the equipment. Groups B and C made very sturdy rafts which they could paddle around the edge of Windemere on, Group A started confidently enough but then their raft started to experience some technical difficulties...they had to be rescued by the instructors who helped them back to shore! A great time was had by all and we especially enjoyed our hot showers afterwards.

 

Rock climbing and abseiling champions!

Group A were ace today rock climbing and abseiling. We lived up to our school motto and really endeavoured to overcome our fears, enjoyed trying something new, achieved our goals by reaching the top and worked together to encourage and support each other. We have renamed Macy spider woman as she was so speedy climbing up the rock face! Everyone showed real courage and determination. 

Archie's Adventures continue...

Good morning Class 2

Well I am having a fantastic time at Lakeside with Class Six (well after I recovered from my very scary experience yesterday at the archery). The obstacle course was brill, we had to get a bucket of water across as a team and all without talking! A bit tricky for some but we did not spill a drop! It was hard work paddling our canoe out to Grubbin's Point yesterday afternoon so we sang lots of songs to keep us going. It was worth the effort though. 

I've just enjoyed a delicious cooked breakfast with my mates and then we're off to do some rock climbing! 

Lots of love Archie x

Let day three begin!

It's a bright Autumnal morning here at Lakeside. The rain stopped yesterday lunchtime and there are even glimmers of sunshine on the fells today. The children were all very slow to emerge from their tents this morning and there were some very interesting hairstyles! The children are all being super stars and are looking forward to the new challenges that today will bring. The instructors have repeatedly praised the class for their great teamwork and fabulous behaviour. After another cooked breakfast we will all be raring to go!

Group canoe cookout.

A splendid afternoon was enjoyed by all, after we had paddled our way out to Grubbin's Point. The weather was very kind, so we didn't need to use the shelters that we had made! After we played some games, we then cooked our tea, which was delicious! 

Kayaking

Kayaking was amazing. The lake that we kayaked on was Windermere. It is 10.5 miles long making it the longest lake in England. Luckily no one capsized and we all came back safe but soaked! We played lots of games in our kayak that were really fun including The famous stuck in the lake!

 Blog by Daniel and Ameliav

Brilliant bushcraft

After a delicious full English breakfast, group c then quickly got ready to go to a brilliant activity called bushcraft. It was a fun activity where you learnt to survive in the wild. The best part was the fire building -  it's not as easy as it sounds because you were not allowed to use matches.  The only option available was flint and steel.  Other members of the group learnt how to build shelters so that we could have a competition to see who built the best.  

Blog by Callum and Joe 

Archery

After the very cold, wet and windy night, Group A went off to do archery. Archie the bear that came camping with us, also did some shooting with Harry. 

The boys won the first round so then Rob (our instructor) split them up into different teams! Boo! That helped to even things up for the second round. Our champion archers were Hannah-May, Macy, Cara and Harry. Archie also learnt a very important lesson, listen carefully and never stand in front of the target!!!

By group A

Message from Archie

Dear Class Two - I am enjoying my adventures with Class Six, sorry I snuck off without you knowing but I was desperate to visit the Lake District. The coach journey took ages and it was very cramped inside Miss Yates' rucksack.  It was the first time that I had slept in a tent last night, Miss Yates let me share her sleeping bag, fortunately she did not snore so I got a good night's sleep! I wasn't allowed to go on the fell walk yesterday because without any waterproofs I would have got too soggy. I am looking forward to doing the obstacle course and archery this morning though. This was the view last night when we had our tea - the rainbow was fantastic over Lake Windemere. Be good for Miss BB and I will blog again soon. Love Archie 

We made it to the top of the fell with everyone still smiling!

Good morning from Lakeside

Good morning from a chilly but dry (so far!) Lakeside. The children all slept well last night after our busy day yesterday, despite the heavy rain. They were all shattered after our fell walk, orienteering and King Swing adventures. Our lovely new walking boots have all been worn in and we have made good use of our spare waterproofs from the centre already! Thank goodness for the drying room! we are looking forward to today's activities and our group canoe cook out this afternoon. Everyone is still smiling - time for a cooked breakfast :-)

Local fell walk

We arrived at school bright and early to be on the road by 6:30!  We were all SUPER exited, and chatting, quarrelling, and playing on our consoles!!! 

 Today we arrived at the camp in torrential rain!!! We got ready and then began our cold, wet,walk.  We split up into our teams, then followed our leader to the rocky and steep fell! It was hard, soggy and FUN! But nevertheless we persevered on our rough, tough journey! We walked over 2 miles, our legs like jelly, but it was GREAT!  We reached the top of the mountain, wow, it was amazing! The view was beautiful! We are having lots of fun here in lakeside!!! 

By Lily Allott and James Barton 

Coach journey

The journey has been full of fun with lots of interesting sweets being eaten.  We have made sure that they haven't eaten too much.  All the children are very excited and are looking forward to what lies ahead.  

We also found an interesting stowaway and it is not Miss Yates.....

Welcome to Class 6's blog from the YMCA Lakeside

Welcome to Class 6's blog from our residential trip at the YMCA Lakeside. During our stay we will post blogs showing all of the fun things that we have been getting up to. We will try to put up a blog each day but as it is tricky to get wifi on the camp site please bear with us as the timing of posts may vary from day to day.