Explorer Dates

Dear Parents
Here are the dates for Explorer Days in the holidays and other dates:
February half term, Monday 13th through to Friday 17th Feb, 10am - 4pm.  Drop off and pick up  at our place in Upper Swainswick.
Special Explorer Days - Inset day childcare cover: 
These days coincide with INSET days at a particular school.  We start and finish the walk at your school.  We meet outside the school, at a safe and appropriate place, and do not go onto the school site at all that day.  Please enquire if you want us to do similar for you.   
Friday 3rd Feb and Mon 16th April, 9am - 3pm, Combe Down Primary, with drop off and pick up outside the school.
Monday 20th Feb, King Edward's Schools, 9am - 3pm, with drop off and pick up outside the Junior School.  FULL.
Monday 16th April, Inset Day Cover for Oldfield Juniors Primary school, with drop off and pick up in Swainswick.
Easter holiday dates: 
TBC but we expect to do at least one full week and some additional days will be Explorer Days with drop off and pick up at the Paragon school.

Swainswick Explorer Open Day
Drop in to see us on Friday 24th Feb, 9am - 3.45.  Upper Swainswick House, BA1 8BU.

Explorer days are 6 hour 'play' hikes in the countryside, for children aged 5-7, 8-12, and 12-16 years old.  
During the day, we'll take a leisurely walk through different landscapes, talk, eat wild food, make our camp in a wood, campfires with cooking, have opportunities for play and making things with tools and crafts.  Older children and young people can use more advanced tools for shaping freshly cut wood.   The cost is £35 per day and the day runs from 10am - 4pm, with provision for an earlier drop off/later pick up (£6 per hour).   We are registered with Ofsted and received 'Outstanding' in our 2011 inspection.  This year we were recognised as 'Play Champions' by Banes.  We accept childcare vouchers.
Group size ranges from 8-12 children with 2 or 3 leaders, younger age groups having greater adult-child ratios.  All food for the day is included, and there is lots!  Explorer Days start and finish at our house in Upper Swainswick, 2 miles north of Bath.  Depending on numbers and ages of children booked on a particular day, we'll be running up to 3 groups based on age groups.
Please contact us if you would like to book a place for your child or a small group. Please take a look at our sites for further information: www.playingoutdoors.org or search for write ups of past explorer days on our blog: http://swainswickexplorers.blogspot.com/
Please feel free to forward this email on to others and if you'd like us to take you off our email list please let us know.
Best wishes
Edward and Rachel

after school, Mondays in January 2012

An after school club for children from different schools in and around Bath; with opportunities for free play both outdoors in wonderful gardens and indoors in a beautiful house.


30th Jan:
Today was a cold session, even though the snow didn't turn up.  Phoebe and Fleur dressed up in fine dresses and pretended to be at a ball.  Jack, Finlay, Ollie, Dylan and Phoebe loved having a fire in the garden with Edward.  A song thrush was noisy in the tree, we had a game wondering what it could be saying to the other birds.  I think the smoke off the fire alarmed it.  Ollie and Jack had a little running game, they counted how many seconds it took to get from one goal post to the other.
16th Jan:
Jack, Ollie and Fin were in a 'rebellious' mood and ran down the garden and hid from us, as we called them in for tea.  They came of their own accord in the end.  We chatted round the table, with much high spirits especially from Jack and Fin. After tea everyone decided to be outside.  There was a beautiful clear sky and it was cold. They played a game of hide and seek tag in the fading light.  Fleur followed the chickens around, who are wandering freely round the garden.  Fleur, Phoebe and Dylan went inside and Danny and the older boys played football.  Rachel and Louise were sweeping up leaves under the walnut tree and putting up a fence to protect the emerging daffodills.  Inside Arthur played Kliko and when I came in Fleur was drawing and Jack and Ollie were playing the marble game.  Happy Birthday to Phoebe for tomorrow!
9th Jan:
Fleur and Phoebe made paper chains, paper aeroplanes and later they played with the African doll. Both the girls enjoyed strumming the guitar. Finlay, Dylan and Edward played Qorridor. Danny and Dylan had a couple of games of draughs. Jack and Ollie had lots of fun in the garden playing hide and seek. They were pleased that Barney was really enjoying the game. Later, Phoebe, Fleur and Dylan joined in. There were a few torches. The children enjoyed the DARK and playing the game in torch LIGHT. Ollie and Jack hid under the canoe. "That was a great hiding place!"