Elfin Takeover - Den Building (13th October 2014)

We met on the Green…

The weather forecast was diabolical… 

We felt proud that we had finally been hardy enough to do a proper session outside in the elements, though actually the weather calmed down considerably and we weren't braving high winds and pelting rain at all....

It was Elfin take-over, and they had chosen to do den building...

We started off with a circle, where all the kids went round and said what their favourite kind of accommodation was....we had all sorts, from tents  to houses, from tree houses to tipis, from home made dens to home made eco-houses. Nick introduced the idea of refugees who had lost their homes and we had a brief chat about why people might lose their homes and become homeless or refugees and our Elfins came up with some pretty good reasons - wars, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, when people split up, poverty....

We then went into a little wooded bit of our usual Woodcraft turf, which was a little more sheltered from the rain, and two groups set about putting up dens out of tarps, ropes, string….

and here's what we built! 

One group made a very large diamond shaped tent by tying the four corners of a large tarp to four trees and propping up the tarp with long sticks. The other group set about making a 'shed' for the large tent, which was a lot more involved with ropes and home made pegs. They didn't get quite as far as the first group, but then they were having involved discussions about refugees. 


We ate cheese and grapes and mulled on our good fortune….

…it had hardly rained at all.

Session Leader: Lucy
Leader: Amanda
Helper: Clare

Making Juggling Balls (6th October 2014)

It was the first day of rain - so we decamped to the Hall - which had had something of a face lift :( - in fact it was still in mid-lift so to speak. It definitely will be much better with its newly plastered walls and the damp gone - but just now it is a might dusty with no carpet tiles and a crumbly cement floor…

So, we avoided games and running about and got straight on with our news circle and then down to making balls with balloons.

1. make a funnel out of newspaper (or use one you already have).

2. pour rice and/or lentils and/or split peas etc into a plastic bottle.

[TIP 1: You can cut the bottom of the bottle off so that the bottle itself becomes funnel shaped.]

3. choose your first balloon colour and put the balloon over the opening of the bottle.

Then comes the tricky part...at least it was for us...

4. get the lentils into the balloon....

[TIP 3: We held the bottles upside down and shook and shook until eventually someone figured out that you have to squeeze the air from the top of the empty bottle - so inflating the balloon - and then the rice etc simply falls into the swollen balloon while the air is driven out back up into the plastic bottle!]

5. fill the balloon to the required size (bearing in mind some small hands for catching).

[TIP 3: You can measure out cups of your chosen filling - so if you're making juggling balls they all end up the same size.]

6. cut the neck off the balloon and tape closed the opening. Add on a couple of extra balloons - so if one gets punctured the ball still stays intact.

7. add your decorative layers.

Put a different coloured balloon over the ball and snip a couple of holes in it. You can do this with 1 - or 2 - or more balloons - each time cut off their necks as before and stretch over your ball. You'll end up with spotty balls with the colours of the lower balloons showing through the upper layers.

Repeat until you've made a full set of jugglers!







NB because we forgot to take photos - I've put up a couple from elsewhere so you get the idea - these are courtesy of the craftlounge.com

Session leader: Amanda
Leaders: Clare, Catrin
Helpers: Catherine, Tei, Amanda, Chris

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

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...

Woodstock Olympics (16th June 2014)

Oops... apologies for another out of order post...this should have been before the Butterfly Feeders!

Anyway ... on this particular day we got together later than usual and bundled into cars on our way to see the Woodstock Elfins for a joint Olympics.

This was our third session together - but the first time we'd been to their place - and when we got there we were welcomed into a lovely playground by Ian, Penny and the Woodstockers. We sat around a giant painted circle and shared our names; then sang My Name is Joe - with all the actions - before numbering off into mixed North Oxford and Woodstock teams for the serious business of the night.

GAME ONE: The first game was a relay - two large teams each with their own 'monster feet stilts'. It took such a long time for everyone to lumber up and down the course on their new trotters that we ditched legs two and three of the relay and moved on to game number 2.








GAME TWO:This involved a lot of shouting I think... but I was too far away collecting water buckets to see what the shouting was all about...














GAME THREE: Another relay - each team member had to dip a cup in a bucket and run up the course to deposit as much water as possible in a bucket at the other end.






GAME FOUR: Water balloons!

4 teams spread along the course - players had to toss the balloons from one to another until they reached the end. Of course, a lot broke...and people got wet…. and if they didn't break there was always someone on hand to give them a second throw.... and a third…. until they did.

Best of all was Ian's surprise final challenge - we nominated Nick as the catcher from North Oxford without knowing what we were letting him in for….

It turned out to be Toss the Egg.

Ian and Nick threw it from one to the other taking a step back each time…there were oohs and aahs…cheers and applause…and smiles on all our faces as they got further... and further…and further... apart … and were still catching it…. until in the end... it was Ian left with egg on his hand.



Some Elfins were still not quite wet enough and so poured water over their own heads until they were.

Then a speedy Woodcraft Folk Song before dry clothes and home.

Thanks very much Woodstock. It was great! See you at Camp - or next time.

Session Leaders: Ian, Penny, Catrin, Kate
Leaders: Alison, Claire
Helpers: Nick, Lili, Matt