Monday 27th April

We have arrived safely at Flatford Mill.

We had a smooth journey to East Bergholt where we left the coach for a walk around the village and the descent into Flatford. Everyone was excited and keen to see some of the historical buildings that we had identified on Digimaps last week. We spotted the hatters, the bakery, the blacksmith, the land that John Constable grew up on, Willy Lott’s grave and the five massive church bells that didn’t make it into the church as they ran out of money to build a bell tower!

As we walked down the footpaths to collect our suitcases from the coach, we saw (and heard) lots of wildlife, including sheep!

Carrying and rolling our suitcases from the car park down to our home for the next two nights was hot work, but it was wonderful to hear the excitement as the children spotted The Mill and Valley buildings for the first time. Although they were excited to get straight to their rooms, we took a moment to eat our lunch and have a run around on the field.

Monday 1

Monday1a

We have all found our rooms and made our beds - with some help from the adults!😜

This afternoon, Ennion were put straight to work with a challenge. Using only a map and a compass, they had to work together to navigate their way around a short route around Flatford. Mistakes and wrong turns would cost them time!

Thankfully, they were amazing and managed to find their way home after hiking up hills, looking out over the valley to Dedham and hanging from the branches of a huge Oak tree! We also found out that a baby rabbit is called a kit or a kitten.

Team - Mallards were the first back with a score of 43! Their score was gained from great teamwork, pace and the most correct answers. Well done, Mallards!

Mondayb

After lunch, Bingley caught bugs with nets and shakers. The children shook the trees to see what creatures they could identify. Ochi, Millie and Pippa caught a Mayfly moth which was black with grey spots and stripes. Ochi’s favourite fact was that the Mayfly only lives for up to 24 hours.

The children played a game to learn about the negative effect humans have on wildlife, e.g. pollution through car engines, chopping trees down to make new houses. The game involved the animals (disguised as children) trying to get food, but the builders and traffic preventing them from reaching the food.

The highlight of the day was setting (animal friendly) mammal traps and placing them around the grounds. Before placing the traps, the children had to place some warm bedding (straw), food (mealworms/grains) and fluid (apple chunks) so that any mammals that entered the trap would not be harmed. Finding the perfect spot for their traps was an important job. Before we set off for dinner we crossed our fingers in the hope that the pesky jackdaws and ravens do not open the traps!🤞🏽

Mondayc

Monday e

I will change my mind - the highlight of the day was definitely …dinner! Pizza and chips (and of course desert,) went down SO well. The children were extremely polite to the centre staff as they chose their food and enjoyed sharing highlights of their day with each other.

Mondayd

The final activity of the day was the Twilight Walk. Dressed in warmer clothes, we headed out to challenge our senses. The children found that some creatures rely on certain senses to keep them safe and allow to successfully hunt their prey. Having a wet nose heightens the sense of smell and losing a strong sense of sight (like many nocturnal animals) requires a greater use of the remaining senses - especially touch. The children put this to the test in the blindfolded obstacle course. It was not as easy as expected - especially crawling under the nets and balancing on moving planks! We all survived and lived to tell the tale (just one of the many stories that they will be desperate to share on their return!).