holiday clubs for young people
These sessions will be full-day (10:30am-5:00pm) holiday clubs during the Summer holidays. All run by me, Vicky, a qualified teacher and wellbeing coach, on our lovely working small-holding farm in Mount Hawke.
All groups will be warm and welcoming, spending time in our wellbeing room as well as outdoors. There will be farm jobs on each of the days which means the children get to relate with the animals as well as look after them. They will engage in meaningful jobs that give a sense of responsibility and reward.
The clubs are a chance to make new friends in a lovely environment, learning about the farm and its inhabitants. We will also spend time in the veg plot, collecting any food that can be included in our lunches. We will prepare and eat lunch as a group, connecting with the food and the delight of sharing a meal together.
The ages for the days are as follows:
Wednesday 24th August - ages 8+
Wednesday 31st August - ages 11+
The group can either be formed of individuals (so you can come on your own) or you can get your friends together and come as a group. The group size will be 6 people.
£45 per child, per day. This includes all activities and lunch.
Please message me with any questions or to book a place.
Home education groups
I will be running 3 home ed groups in Autumn 2022: Farm Life Skills Club, Embracing the Quiet and Thriving Thursdays.
Farm life skills club (FLS Club)
This group will be exploring life skills on the farm through The Virtues (see https://www.virtuesproject.com/) as qualities that exist within each and every one of us. Working from this perspective, young people will learn to recognise these qualities within themselves and others and practise them during their time on the farm.
Each week, the group will learn about a specific Virtue and practise it through meaningful farm jobs, time in nature and creative activities. In doing so, young people will learn about these innate qualities within themselves, uncovering confidence, resilience and self-esteem. The group will also develop relationships and a sense of community as they recognise and honour these virtues within each other as well.
The virtues we will cover over the 7 weeks will be:
· Kindness
· Respect
· Gentleness
· Responsibility
· Determination
· Cooperation
· Patience
Every session will also start with a check-in, allowing the children to express how they are feeling and practising gratitude for something in their lives. This will cultivate a safe space for them to express themselves and be heard without being judged, which enables them to know themselves better and to build a sense of belonging.
embracing the quiet
This group will be an honouring of all things quiet – quiet spaces on the farm, quiet places within us, quiet time with the animals and quiet creativity. A gentle-paced and relaxed group, we will be embracing a thoughtful and reflective approach to the group’s time at the farm, honouring the slow and gentle way of being.
The group will choose the activities they include each week, making the most of the farm environment and the animals that are here.
The groups will include regular activities that they participate in each week such as visiting the chickens, cuddling the guinea pigs and taking a walk on the farm. Additional activities might include playing card games, baking or arts and crafts. The young people will stay together as a group and will be able to join in with those things they choose to, sitting and observing if they prefer.
This group is ideal for those seeking a calm and quiet place to be themselves, speaking up if they want to or staying quiet and observing. It is a place to honour the quiet within ourselves and in our environment, taking time to be quiet with other people and animals.
thriving thursdays
This group will be a wellbeing group for young people wanting to get to know themselves better, participate in self-care practices and connect with nature and the farm. Sessions will be structured to include these activities every week:
· Mindful and purposeful farm jobs, including feeding the chickens, feeding the pigs and collecting the eggs
· Grounding meditations, coming into the body and allowing the mind to settle in relationship with the natural world around us, tuning into the wisdom of the body and allowing the nervous system to find regulation
· Group conversations and reflections about mental health and emotional wellbeing, learning to explore and express feelings and hold space for others to do the same
· Building a nurturing, kind and understanding community, practising compassion towards ourselves and others.
· Reflective practices to help young people to connect to themselves – this might include journaling, art, quiet thinking time and meditation
To run this group, I will be drawing on and integrating my trainings in mindfulness, nature-based ecotherapy, classroom teaching, the Three Principles psycho-spiritual understanding, Buddhist compassion practices, m-BIT coaching, person-centred counselling and Gestalt coaching practices. The sessions give young people a space to realise their innate wholeness; the approach I always take is of revealing the mental health and wellbeing that exists already within each of them, not trying to fix or change them.
Young people will be expected to participate in each of the activities, reflecting, sharing and supporting others in the group through listening and respecting them. This builds their own skills and confidence and gives everyone a valuable and integral part to play in the group. Integrating nature-based practices means there will be a mixture of indoor and outdoor time.
Holiday clubs dates - 2022
Wednesday 24th August
Wednesday 31st August
location
Dunkirk Farm, Mount Hawke, TR4 8BH
Price
£45 per person, per day (includes lunch)
FLS Club Dates - 2022
Block 1 - Tuesday 20th September, Tuesday 4th October, Tuesday 18th October - all 9:30am-11:30am
Block 2 - Tuesday 1st November, Tuesday 15th November, Tuesday 29th November, Tuesday 13th December - all 9:30am-11:30am
Location
Dunkirk Farm, Mount Hawke, TR4 8BH
price
The cost of block 1 will be £45 per child, and the cost of block 2 will be £60 per child.
You can sign up for either or both blocks. Groups will only go ahead if 5 or 6 people sign up to them.
Embracing the quiet dates - 2022
Thursday 22nd September, Thursday 29th September, Thursday 6th October, Thursday 13th October, Thursday 20th October - all 10:00am-12:00pm
location
Dunkirk Farm, Mount Hawke, TR4 8BH
price
The cost of the 5-week programme will be £75 per child.
Groups will only go ahead if at least 5 or 6 young people sign up for them.
thriving thursdays dates - 2022
Thursday 22nd September, Thursday 29th September, Thursday 6th October, Thursday 13th October, Thursday 20th October - all 2:00pm-4:00pm
location
Dunkirk Farm, Mount Hawke, TR4 8BH
price
The cost of the 5-week programme will be £75 per child.
Groups will only go ahead if at least 5 or 6 young people sign up for them.
Retreat days
Retreat Days run for young people ages 9-16, with different days catering for different age ranges, during some of the school holidays.
This is a special day for young people to take some time for themselves. It is a safe space for them to make new friends and to be themselves.
The retreat day is based on our small-holding farm, taking place outside and in our special Wellbeing Room. The day gives young people a chance to connect with each other, with nature and with themselves.
We will take time to get to know each other, do arts and crafts, be outdoors, take care of the animals and enjoy some team activities around the farm. We also prepare lunch together and enjoy a shared meal.
The aim of the day is to give the young people a chance to slow down and take time for themselves in a mindful, gentle and loving way. In our groups, it's ok to speak up and to stay quiet; you are welcome here just as you are. These differ from holiday clubs as the focus is around having that retreat - a time to be still, reflective and to really nurture yourself.
The groups consist of 6 young people and day costs £45 per person, which includes all activities and lunch.
dates - 2022
TBC - please get in touch if you are interested
Location
Dunkirk Farm, Mount Hawke, TR4 8BH
Price
£45 per person, per day (includes lunch)