Session 23 - Gimme Shelter

Well the forecast was rain, rain and more rain so we decided that shelters were the order of the day today.

We began our session by going over how to tie a reef knot. After a bit of practice, we played the reef knot trust circle game. Each person has a piece of rope. They use a reef knot to tie their knot to the person’s next to them. Eventually you end up with a circle of rope. Everyone holds on to the rope and leans backward. If you have tied your reef knots properly, you don’t end up on your bum!

The ground was very wet, but thankfully the rain held off. The group began by looking at all the different places where they could build a shelter. They ruled out the vegetable garden and the den building posts because the ground was far too wet. Eventually, SL and SS chose the log seating area and JA, NK and FS chose to use the multi-sports pitch.

SS and SL used one of the tarpaulins as a ground sheet, pegging it down with tent pegs to stop it blowing around in the wind. Next they used bungee cords and rope to attach the roof tarpaulin to the log seats and fence. They decided to add some home comforts, so they made a welcome mat from a piece of carpet and added some kneeling pads as seats. SL used some twigs to spell out the words ‘Home Sweet Home’ on the welcome mat.

FS, NK and JA made a triangular shelter by attaching a tarpaulin to the multi-sports frame. They used another tarpaulin to provide a second layer to their shelter to make it warmer and more waterproof.

When the shelters were completed, the children took some time, hot chocolate in hand, to share them with each other and discuss what they could do to make them even better next time.