One area which Chestnut Class will be working on all year, is how to understand our brain in order to help us learn. We have already had a week of inspirational maths which looked at how mistakes encourage faster growth and understanding. It also reminded us that a 'Growth Mindset' - that's one which does not say 'I can't do this.' but 'I can't do this yet.' - will be an enormous asset life-long. I am now looking at memory games and have added the link above, plus one directly to the games, on the Literacy page. A number of children need to learn how to learn, improving our memory capacity is one way of doing this.
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As we pulled up in the huge coach- we had the most amazing sight of Lake Windermere surrounded by towering hills in Cumbria. The first thing that caught my eye was the gargantuan houses and vast hills.
Although I enjoyed everything at the amazing place my favourite activity was raft building because I love being in and on the water. First we got all the equipment- surprisingly we managed to get everything! After that we made the frame, we learnt a new knot and tied the poles together. Finally we lifted t in the beautiful lake and placed the barrels underneath to keep it floating. It was great fun and we managed to stay dry until Charlie pushed me in! I also loved the king swing because you have an adrenaline rush at the start. I got my harness on and patiently waited. Before I knew it my go had come- I stepped onto the ladder and got strapped into the swing, my team began heaving me up higher and higher until I got to the top! I floated there for a few seconds I tugged the black leaver and then zoom I was flying and then I got lower and lower until I reached the ground, I loved it This year’s lakeside trip was memorable for many reasons: great food not the best sleep and amazing instructors. Have you ever been to the spectacular Lake Windermere? Imagine an outdoor play ground and times it by a thousand so what do you get – Lakeside. Also the amazing, helpful and kind staff: Roz is quirky, Al is heroic and George is just George. Although all of my activities were amazing, the best one was the obstacle course; it was so much fun, but challenging at the same time. The challenge was to get a tub of water over a range of obstacles suspended off the ground. I did get a bit worried because I thought no-one would be able to help me over, but Bram and Ollie did. My second favourite activity was the aerial runway, it is a zip wire about ten meters high and it starts with a gargantuan ladder. I started to climb and my knees were quaking with fear. I reached the top, or I thought, I had why could I not see Al? Because I was not at the top - quivering I started climbing again. Finally, I was at the top. Sitting down, hearing my class mates encouraging me, ready to come off the platform my heart was thudding like a bass drum. As the whistle blew, legs trembling, I went flying. It was the best thing ever. This Lakeside experience was beautiful, I personally I always wanted to go, now that I’ve been it was like five minutes not five days but the nights where like frozen centuries. I will never forget it. Lakeside was magnificent, the activities were really fun, and I would give it a five star rating. We have three delicious meals a day and everybody ate everything on their plate as it was so nice it made me want to eat the whole thing again every activity again. Also there’s lots of brilliant views everywhere we went because of the mountain surrounding us. The exciting activities we did was kayaking, orienteering, runaway, rock climbing, abseiling, archery, obstacle course, bush craft and raft building. Did you know we did over 10 walks and about the same with looking at the view of the lake. At the start we did a really long walk that was incredibly exhausting but eventually we got to the very top of that amazing mountain and it was worth it because you had an amazing view to look around you. We played a few fun games to keep our spirits up and it did keep our spirits up. When you are at lakeside there’s south camp (which was where we were) and north camp we took a lot of trips to north camp to get our meals but unless were already at north camp. Some of the activities were at north camp (so that’s why we wouldn’t have to do much of the trip to the canteen) and some at south camp. Every trip makes us very hungry so when we go in we are all so eager to the front of the line to get there food first and get on with their exciting activities to look forward to. At the end of the day we would all be shattered but I would love to do it again. Year 6 Lakeside Trip
Have you ever been to the supremely spectacular Lake Windermere? Isolated around hundreds of hills, it’s an exquisite place to go. I had the best experience in September ever! Seeing the crystal clear lake as soon as you get up in the morning, nothing could be preferable! Lakeside – a camp site, is a beautiful place in the North West part of England in the county of Cumbria. My favourite activity that I got to try, at lakeside was Kayaking. Hearing the warm gentle waves splashing against my little Kayak as I meandered my way throughout other people, swiftly crossing part of the lake, I was so excited, we played a cool game called world domination, I was really could at it, the aim of the game was to pick a country and try to take over the world by tapping your paddle on the back of the boat. I think China won but my aim was just to get Ros to be China and not Slovakia but she was very fast, I was still determined to get her though! The King Swing, my second favourite activity I will remember it forever. I was first, I got pulled right in the air. It seemed like miles. Eventually I was at the top. The Harness attached to me had a lever on it I pulled as hard as I possibly could, and all of a sudden I dropped… I swung down and back up into the air- not realising that when I pulled the lever, I would drop. I tried to do a back flip, but the harness wouldn’t let you. However it had to be one of my favourites. I could have picked a lot more activities because they were all so good: Like canoeing, rock climbing, and lots more Not forgetting Bush craft, my third favourite activity, we scavenged around the woodlands for big branches about the size of two people length ways and approximately 20 cm wide. Our group made a den right at the top of a big steep rocky hill. We built a camp fire next to our den. Also we tried lighting a fire, which took a long while but we did it! We rated other people’s dens, ours came second, and the group that won built an animal home and sold it for £500! After all these awesome activities, we got all our luggage, Wheeled it out to the bus, put them all in; got on the bus and drove away. I never wanted to leave, Lakeside gives you the best experience ever! So many activities, beautiful landscapes; everything you would possibly need, I imagined myself, sleeping in the tents, they were so cold, I enjoyed getting of the bus because my legs were dead, All our barbaric Mums and Dad clapped as the bus emerged really slowly round the corner, I think the driver had had enough! Sometimes I remember how cool it was walking up the fell and looking at the crystal clear lake below me! That’s when I knew it was going to be great being in chestnut class, everyone is so friendly, but the memory I will always remember, that will stick to me, was the thought of the water splashing against my Kayak in the Lake! As I got off the coach at south camp, I saw the sun beaming on the vast hills and Lake Windermere. Hauling my colossal bag and rucksack up the gravel path, I got a glimpse of where I would be sleeping for the next few nights, a dark green tent with a storm cover. Dropping my bags hastily onto the brown wooden floor, Eye goggling at the enormity of the tent, the teachers called us over for our first activity.
Although all of the activities were fun, for me the kayaking was my favourite activity. As I shuffled off the bank, I could almost feel the water rushing under my boat. Paddling awkwardly I set off with the rest of my group. Now getting the hang of it our instructor, Jack gave us some tricky challenges and games. For one of our games we played kayak polo, which was very fun. Towards the end of the activity, Charlie capsized his kayak, it was hilarious. One of the highlights, every day were the meals, not only were they delicious they were always cooked with a huge amount of options to choose from. My other favourite activities were; climbing and abseiling, the king swing and the canoe cookout. The worst bits of Lakeside were definitely the nights, there were two nights I woke up really early because I was freezing, my teeth chattering rapidly. Other nights there were a flock of geese that landed outside our tent, squawking noisily. There was only one night when I slept well - which was Thursday- because we were all exhausted. For our last activity we did bush craft in which we play camouflage which is like hide and seek and forty, forty mixed up together. After that we split into teams and made a den. Half an hour later we went to have fish and chips for lunch. One plate of fish and chips later we were hoping on the coach, which is when I realised how much I didn’t want to go home, and then I remembered how much fun I had had with my class and I knew I was going to have in Chestnut class. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand on the isolated grounds of Lake Windermere? Silver mist rising over the water surrounded by miles and miles of hills and trees. I had the best time of my life, The Lake District was so much fun, and I hope I can go again. One of my favourite activities of the week was the King Swing, you’re strapped into a harness and pulled into the air. Then you are dropped from a height, after that you just swing forwards and backwards. When it dropped a deafening shriek came out of my mouth, but after a few seconds I had recovered from it. I even attempted a backflip but ended up just swinging upside down – as I was in the air I could feel my legs shaking with fear. Another one of my favourite activities was climbing and abseiling. Everyone got the chance to climb on a real rock-face and abseil down (if you chose to). I was a bit nervous because some people in the class I don’t trust as much as others, but by the end of it I trusted them a lot more than I did before. Although I enjoyed all the activities at Lakeside there is one that really stood out to me – it’s the Ariel runway. I can picture everything so clearly. Walking up the ladder was the worst part, I pretended I was just a few steps off the ground! When I got to the first platform I looked around and realised I had to go a few more steps up to get to the right one. As soon as had stepped off the ladder Al (the instructor) clipped the carabiner onto my harness and asked me to sit down on the unhospitable, hard wooden floor with my legs dangling off the edge. At that moment I was filled with courage and confidence until I made my first mistake; looking down. My heart started pounding and my legs were quaking with fear. The whistle echoed in my ears. Before I knew it I was zooming through the air over the crystal clear Lake Windermere… Whoosh! When I was up there, in the air, on the runway it felt like I was flying in the sky with wings - as I was the first person to go up everyone was watching and cheering for me it was the best trip ever! Imagine a whole week in the isolated outdoors of: lakeside, Lake Windermere, Cumbria (well I really did) it had been a long journey and I was full of nerves, anxiety and excitement but to my surprise so was everyone else. I loved each and every one of the activities but my highlights were: the king swing - my first and favourite activity however nothing could beat the climbing. At first I was terrified but then Allister (our instructor) said’’ it was my go, don’t wimp out’’ I muttered as I took my first step onto the slippery rock face. Next was the part where you swapped your feet I dug my fingers deep into the rock face, determined to hold my body weight. Finally with one frantic pull and push I reached the top point, a huge wave of relief washed over me, as I casually abseiled down. Second was the proper abseiling station, full of confidence and excitement I rushed down it, then al said ‘’ why don’t you try the pros wall (I wasn’t a pro) but said yes all the same! Before I knew it, I was off the ground hanging on the slimy rock for dear life ; it was hard , treacherous but I cared on going ,same pace- same level of confidence, after what felt like years of bitter perseverance, I reached the peek (or what felt like the summit of Mount Everest!) Happy and overwhelmed I abseiled down ,and decided to treat myself to a second go at the abseiling station, confident or maybe too confident I started, in what felt like no time at all I reached the overhang but my footing slipped and everything went black and horribly wrong… Terrified, I opened my eyes hoping I had somehow dreamed it, but no, I was in a nearby bramble bush mid-air halfway down opposite to the overhang. All of a sudden I heard a call from below ‘ The cold and relaxed lake covered my body with Goosebumps as a blow of warm air rushed past me at the place where we watched the lake every morning. Soon, the wonders of lakeside would be for and my friends to enjoy (I thought while we walked to our breakfast). The food was luxury; you would have loads of choice for every meal, but on the first night I accidently picked something I didn’t like too much. In the morning I looked forward to our cooked breakfast. The tent looked rather small but once I had stepped inside it was actually quite large. In my tent, we managed to squeeze in six of us. It was quite cold at night outside, but our double sleeping bags kept us warm. All the activities where super fun, but my favourite was probably the kayaking: although all the others were just as good. In my group I had me Rueben, Ollie, Bram, Kylan, Florrie, Olivia, Jasmine and Daisy. My first activity was the kingswing. Rueben went first and we pulled him up to the place where he would swing from. Then he pulled the black lever and he dropped... Luckily, he was wearing a harness and he was swinging. We had all had our go by now but I went in the middle because I was a bit anxious. This is a trip I will never forget. While I was at lakeside I did kayaking, abseiling, climbing, raft building, archery and lots more but my favourite was the kayaking because I was really fast and soon got the hang of it. We also played games and had hot chocolate it was super fun. I wish I could go back again it was so fun and had a great time with my friends. Fog reaching over the dear, silk water of Lake Windermere isolated, by hills you can climb. I had a spectacular time with Chestnut class so far and we challenge our self’s. Diner was better than you think and every one was thrashing it down their throats. As I got of the long bus, I found out the tents were tremendously big. I strolled down the jagged stony pathway. Suddenly our surprise was here: our tent was magnificent, with our big fluffy mattress keeping us snuggly and toasty warm. We went straight to the first high activity. As we walked down the jagged path way , as we saw a gargantuan king swing with loads of thick heavy rope attach to tree to tree with pegs in the tree to support the heavy rope . Although I enjoyed the king swing l will never forget abseiling and climbing .As I got clipped into the carabiner and had my supportive team mates and they were tugging it really hard also not break a single bit of sweat and did not give up. As I felt like I was the summit rite at the top I put all my power on to the releaser then I pulled it like a crocodile and whoosh I was an eagle gliding on tips of the soft air. I didn’t believe it. As we woke up on a still spring morning everything was isolated by mist you could not see the over side of the silky lake, but we all started to take an interesting stroll through everlasting woods. It was full with jagged rocks |
AuthorChestnut Class is a year 6 class in East Harling Primary School. Although our teacher - Mrs Wills - will be posting our posts; our writing is all our own and will not be corrected by her. Please comment on our posts as we love feedback. Archives
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