Elfin Hostel (28th - 30th March 2014)

(Apologies for the delayed blogpost!)

The weather broke just in time for North Oxford Elfins' first Elfin Hostel. We joined up with Iffley Fields and Woodstock Elfins for a beautiful sunny weekend on the theme of the Iron Age.

Appropriately - accommodation was primitive and conditions were harsh…

and - bright and early the next morning - everyone was sent off on a forced march...

only to find - on a distant hilltop - this Roman centurion - far from home in time and space

...and in need of some friends.

Back at base there was a lot of work to be done...

grinding flour in a quern .... and then making the bread...


...learning to walk on a slack rope in the beautiful woods...

...making bows and arrows...

...weaving, making friendship bracelets, making hand moulds in plaster of Paris and so on and so forth.

Then a Merry Moot before bed.

 The next morning there was time for more things to do outside before home...

at the end of a glorious couple of days.

Thanks to all who made it possible - and to the Blue Skies.

(Thanks to Ian from Woodstock and Lucy for the photos - for more pictures see Iffley Fields blogpost).

Planning (28th April 2014)

We kicked off the Summer with a new game on Wolvercote Green - Clothes Peg Tag. It was a great success (despite one minor injury and some cheating...). It involves taking off the clothes pegs pinned on to each player by chasing each other and then pegging the pegs onto oneself (good to start with 3-5 pegs each). The winner is the one who after a certain period of time has the most clothes pegs. Jessica was the clear winner with 11!

When we came together for our news circle we formally welcomed the new Elfins: today's winner Jess, Benjamin and Sophie. Next we did one word news - 'my favourite thing about the Easter holidays' - and then had a quick recap on the rules we have all agreed - concentrating on the main three:

1. Be Kind
2. Listen (when others are speaking)
3. Respect (the thoughts and feelings of others)

We agreed that if we manage these - then rule number 5 is easy - Have Fun!

We talked about what was coming up this term including the District Camp in June and reminded all parents that we encourage them to join Woodcraft Folk and have a DBS done so that they can come to camps and hostels with us.

Then it was time for the ever popular snacks (apples and biscuits today) and getting on with the main job - session planning. We split into 3 groups to discuss: the spare session, the Summer Celebration and the Elfin Takeover. Each group drew their ideas on big sheets of paper and then fed back to everyone else. There were masses of ideas:

Spare Session Ideas

Making things:
- woodwork
- fluffy hedgehogs
- instruments
- weaving
- natural tie-dye scarves
- dream catchers
Out and About
- foraging
- den making
- tree climbing
Food:
- s'mores
- different adults teach cool ways to make food
Visits:
- botanical garden
- zoo
- swimming pool
Activities:
- music making
- juggling

The Summer Celebration Ideas

- 'I say, I say, I say' - the best joke ever
- talent show - merry moot - do what you want
- drama
- singing
- gymnastics
- dressing up
- parade
- party games
- barbecue: sausages and marshmallows

Elfin Takeover Ideas

- Go Crazy
- Games: e.g. Dead Ants, Football, Cricket
- Sweet Picnic: Coke, Fanta and lots of sweet things

We'll try to include lots of today's ideas in the next few weeks and save others for the autumn. More on the Elfin Takeover next time.

We ended with a furious game of Dead Ants and the Woodcraft Folk Song.

Session leaders: Alison/Amanda

Leaders: Lucy, Catrin

Helpers: Christine, Jo, Joanna, Teresa, Tei

Merry Moot (24th March 2014)

We met on the Green for the last Spring session and kicked off with a frenetic final game of Octopus. Vidar and Millie were the last fish swimming.

We had snacks at the firepit - marshmallows, tortilla chips, blueberry and chocolate muffins, grapes and hot chocolate, fruit flakes and hummus (not necessarily in that order).

Then we held our Merry Moot:

Connie, Bibi, Ruby, Zena, Millie et al formed a group...
















….and did a 'mystery act'….

…starring at least one rabbit;

                                                  Seren and Millie sang a Dinosaur song;

Nick and Jago did a crazy chase scene...

 ...featuring a large red wig(!);





Bibi sang 'For the First Time in Forever' from Frozen; Lucy, Arthur and Nick did a fabulous version of 'The Silly(?) Song' - and then again very fast... Tei did a card trick called 'Hand Sandwich'; Seren sang 'Let It Go' from Frozen. 

By which time - despite the fire - and extra hot chocolate - we were all well and truly frozen.

So we got up and played the Hula Hoop Game 




...with 7 (yes 7!) hula hoops going in both directions around the circle.
















Special thanks to Arthur for the closeups!

And we ended our sessions with a belting Woodcraft Folk Song. 

Some off us will be meeting up again at the Iron Age Elfin Hostel next week - and we are all looking forward to many (warmer) days on the Green when we get back after Easter.

Thanks to all the Elfins - helpers - and leaders for a lovely Spring.






Session leader: Amanda
Leaders: Lucy, Catrin
Helpers: Nick, Claire, Marie, Tei

Elfin Takeover: Favourite Games (17th March 2014)

This was our first Elfin Takeover. The Elfins led the way voting on their favourite games to play on the Green.

Session leader: Kate
Leaders: Lucy, Alison
Helpers: Marie, Claire, Sophie

Tin can cooking (10th March 2014)

This time the Elfins had their first go at cooking on tin cans on the Green. Thanks to Tim from East Iffley Elfins for the idea!

Kate stepped in at the last moment and led a fantastic session.

Each Elfin had a can that had been pre-pierced with holes to draw air around the top and a little door at the bottom.

They used tea lights as a heat source and cooked a variety of tasty morsels on top of the cans.

And ended with a spirited Woodcraft Folk Song.

Session leader: Kate
Helpers: Marie, Claire, Lili

Woodstock and Dampers (3rd March 2014)

This was our first time at the Green since last year. It was a boggy welcome back to our spiritual home! The bottom half was awash with marshy pools but fortunately the top half nearer to the firepit was merely very muddy indeed. Congratulations to all parents who managed to deliver their children across the morass!

Since we were last there the firepit itself has acquired a standing army of silent sentinels - tiny chestnut trees wrapped in coccoons of white plastic. One day they will form a copse at the north end of the Green around the clearing where any walker along the woodland trail would happen upon our firepit - but that's a couple of years away. In the meantime we told all the children to take care of the baby trees - and weaving crazily in and out - they did.

We started later than normal at 17:30 because this was our second hook up with Woodstock Elfins. 

They came with four fantastic lanterns made from willow and many-coloured tissue paper - hung on sticks planted behind the pit - they were the four turrets of light framing our beacon fire guiding people across the Green as darkness fell.


We kicked off the session with the Name Train game. Everyone mills around until they bump into a partner when they play Rock, Paper, Scissors (have you noticed how many of our games start this way?). The loser grabs on behind the winner conga style and they both chuff around chanting the winner's name until they bump into another player's train when they play Rock, Paper, Scissors again - the losing train joins on behind the winning one and they all move off chanting the new winner's name. Eventually there are only two trains left - and the winner takes all. We followed this up with the ever popular I Am the One and Only. 


Then everyone set to making dampers

 - first rolling out bread dough with optional white and milk chocolate buttons or raisins

 - then wrapping the dough sausage around a stick 







- before holding it over the fire to cook. 

Once again the dampers took longer than we imagined to cook through - but that didn't seem to bother anyone. Some people stayed cooking them for most of the evening while others went off into the dark of the Green with Alison to play torch lit games...


We started with Torch Statues where one person is 'it' and the rest strike a pose and pretend that they are statues. The person who is 'it' walks up to each statue one at a time, shines a torch on them and tries to make them laugh without touching them. The first statue to laugh is the next person to be 'it'. Funny faces and strange warbling noises seemed to work best.

Searchlight followed. One person is 'it' - they turn their back - the rest go and stand on the other side of the field. Then they all try to creep up and tag the person who's 'it'. The 'it' person turns round randomly and shines their torch at the creepers to try and catch them moving. If they're caught moving in the torch beam, they're out.

Lastly, we played Story Torchlit Tag - one person is a storyteller and chooses a word as their 'trigger'. The other players all stand around the storyteller with one finger touching them. The storyteller has a torch. As soon as the storyteller uses their 'trigger' word in the story, the rest of the players have to run away and the storyteller runs to try and catch them.

Then there were flasks of steaming hot chocolate for all and marshmallows on sticks for those that wanted them. Finally it was back to standing around the firepit to sing Bog in the Valley, Campfire's Burning and The Woodcraft Folk song.

A big thank you to Woodstock Elfins for helping us with the spring awakening of the Green - we're hoping to see many of you again at the Hostel in a couple of weeks' time.

We left the firepit surrounded by its chestnut saplings and tiny earth mountains moved by mining moles - they've even popped up inside the circle of stones. It was good to see the changes the seasons are bringing to our nook - we're looking forward to spending as much time as we can there as the weather improves - and to blue skies and blossom walks in a couple of months.

Session leader: Alison
Leaders: Ian, Penny, Barry, John, Catrin, Lucy, Debbie
Helpers: Nick, Claire

Music Session (24th February 2014)

We started with a new game that Bibi taught us called Splat! One person is in the middle of a circle holding an imaginary splat gun. They spin around, point at someone and say 'Splat'. The person they are pointing at must duck. So far - so good... but... at the same time, the players on either side of them must point at each other and say "splat!". If the first person does not duck in time - they are out - and the last of the two on either side to say "splat!" is also out. If these two speak at the same time - they both stay in. Once a player is out they sit down in the circle. You still with me? Ok - when only two players remain, they stand back-to-back in the centre of the circle as in an old-fashioned duel.  As the two walk apart from each other the group leader says something like "orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, apple!" Then both players must turn and shoot, the quickest on the draw winning the game. (For good reasons - some people don't like shooting games - so you can play Splat! with imaginary custard pies instead…).

We followed Splat! with a free vote game and Octopus won.

Then we all sat in our circle and Lucy introduced Matt and Hamish. We told each other about our favourite instruments while eating apples, cheese and crackers. Matt liked bass trombone; Jago, Louis and Vidar also liked the trombone; Louis also liked maracas; Felix liked trumpet; Arthur liked rock guitar; Stan liked drums; Martha liked the violin; Catrin and Amanda liked the harp; Alison liked saxophone; Emily liked recorder; Bibi liked the voice; Bethan wasn't sure; Kate, Zena, Marie, Kira, Seren and Claire all liked the piano; Seren also liked ukulele and voice and Kate also liked the lute; Hamish liked the bouzouki; one Nick liked guitar and the other Nick liked the bongos!

Hamish passed around percussion instruments so everyone could have a go: maracas, reindeer bells, claves (Cuban pair of wooden sticks), ghungroo (Indian ankle bells) and many others including pots filled with chickpeas - one of which exploded while being shaken showering peas all over the floor! Stan, Hamish and Nick started a rhythm on drums and we all joined in until Matt split us first into two groups playing two contrasting rhythms and then into four groups to sing and play Campfire's Burning accompanied by the violin.

Then we made our own shakers:








We used plastic bottles and pots…












                               With plenty of rattlers inside.








Hamish and Matt played…

...and when anyone knew the song - they joined in.



It was like Woodcraft Woodstock.







When all the shakers were made and decorated we sang and played a few requests together...

...including a memorable We Will Rock You and Let It Be ending with an unusually musical Woodcraft Folk Song.

A very big thank you to all but especially the brilliant Matt and Hamish. What a talented bunch we are!

Session Leader: Lucy
Leaders: Kate, Amanda, Alison, Catrin
Helpers: Matt, Hamish, Marie, Nick, Claire