Today we took the whole school down to Saunton Sands. Initially the clouds were low and we had the occasional drop of rain with a light shower at lunchtime. Then it cleared up and started getting very hot. I was glad that I had decided to throw my dignity to the winds and wear a pair of running shorts though I did have some joggers in my bag as back-up. Last year I chickened out at the last moment and then regretted being stuck in jeans for the day.
I would quite like to live in one of these houses up on the cliff but they have been gradually losing their gardens over the years so perhaps it is not the best spot.
The colourful beach huts brightened up what was rather a drab scene. Above, up on the cliff is the white facade of the Saunton Sands Hotel. Linas enjoyed his evening there and was busy serving wine for a big party for the Military Wives' Choir. That's another of those connecting strands that I always seem to be coming across in our small corner of North Devon. The mother of one of the children in the Year 2 class is in the choir. Because of this connection and the fact that they are based at Chivenor it was interesting to watch the progress of the choir on the television and the rise of their record in the charts. I did chat to this mum after school today but she said it was one event that she hadn't been able to attend much to her regret. Linas also found that another of the staff was one of his skateboarding friends from Barnstaple. It was late, 11.30, when I had to collect him last night but apart from being tired I do enjoy driving on the country roads at night. At the top of our drive I surprised a badger running along the verge. I didn't get to see much more than his muddy bottom but seeing live badgers is rare so I was quite excited.
We had a number of activities for the children to do on the beach but for most of the time they were happy to dig and create sandcastles. Even though we are only a few miles from a number of beaches some children don't get much chance to go to them. One little boy said that it was the best day of his life! The highlight of the day, for the children at least, was when we took the whole school down to paddle in the water. It was surprising the number of children that 'happened' to fall in the water though I don't think they were expecting it to be so cold. This was where I was grateful that I had short shorts on and could wade out to yell at the too adventurous kids. We had to be so strict because there is a big difference between watching a few of your own children swimming and surfing in the water and being responsible for 30 children.
After lunch it was back to digging. Some of the mums organised a game of rounders and a group of boys played football but most of my class were involved in a Who can dig the biggest/deepest hole? competion against another class with spies being sent over from the digging sites and traps being dug for the willing to fall into. Our hole was small but deep so we stationed an adult there in case of any emergency.
I would quite like to live in one of these houses up on the cliff but they have been gradually losing their gardens over the years so perhaps it is not the best spot.
The colourful beach huts brightened up what was rather a drab scene. Above, up on the cliff is the white facade of the Saunton Sands Hotel. Linas enjoyed his evening there and was busy serving wine for a big party for the Military Wives' Choir. That's another of those connecting strands that I always seem to be coming across in our small corner of North Devon. The mother of one of the children in the Year 2 class is in the choir. Because of this connection and the fact that they are based at Chivenor it was interesting to watch the progress of the choir on the television and the rise of their record in the charts. I did chat to this mum after school today but she said it was one event that she hadn't been able to attend much to her regret. Linas also found that another of the staff was one of his skateboarding friends from Barnstaple. It was late, 11.30, when I had to collect him last night but apart from being tired I do enjoy driving on the country roads at night. At the top of our drive I surprised a badger running along the verge. I didn't get to see much more than his muddy bottom but seeing live badgers is rare so I was quite excited.
We had a number of activities for the children to do on the beach but for most of the time they were happy to dig and create sandcastles. Even though we are only a few miles from a number of beaches some children don't get much chance to go to them. One little boy said that it was the best day of his life! The highlight of the day, for the children at least, was when we took the whole school down to paddle in the water. It was surprising the number of children that 'happened' to fall in the water though I don't think they were expecting it to be so cold. This was where I was grateful that I had short shorts on and could wade out to yell at the too adventurous kids. We had to be so strict because there is a big difference between watching a few of your own children swimming and surfing in the water and being responsible for 30 children.
After lunch it was back to digging. Some of the mums organised a game of rounders and a group of boys played football but most of my class were involved in a Who can dig the biggest/deepest hole? competion against another class with spies being sent over from the digging sites and traps being dug for the willing to fall into. Our hole was small but deep so we stationed an adult there in case of any emergency. All too soon it was time to gather up our many belongings and trudge off the beach. The short coach trip back to school was unusually quiet, I think we finally manged to wear them out.
1 comment:
Looks like a fun time on the beach. Must be so nice just to walk along there by the water.
Great houses up there on the cliffs. What a view they must have.
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