Den-building
This week's session was all about teamwork.
The children's first challenge was collectively to form different shapes out of a rope - harder than it sounds! Just as they were getting the hang of that, things got harder when all but one had to wear blindfolds! This highlighted the importance of working together, communication, leadership and patience.
Next, the children were split into two teams and asked to build a shelter for the Iron Man (size of a child) whose main concern was to stay dry in order to avoid rusting. They were only allowed to use natural materials and, with minimal input and advice, they set about their work.
All adults were impressed by the way the children rose to the challenges that this task presented: conflicts of opinion arose, negotiations had and compromises reached; different strategies were tried, tested and evaluated; problems were considered, discussed and solved; roles were allocated according to individuals' skills, abilities and preferences.
Most importantly, lots of fun was had by all, especially by Mr Grobel when he got to test the effectiveness of the shelters' waterproofing with a bucket of water and children cowering inside!
The children's challenge: to apply all these teamwork skills back at school and elsewhere - they've shown they can do it amazingly well.