More exploration of fun things close to our house. Ogmore Castle which is believed to have started construnction in 1106 is an interesting set of ruins on the banks of a river about 10 minutes from our house. If offered fun scrambles for the kids and a little bit of sheep chasing as they roam the castle grounds as well. It could be a good place to come back for a picnic on a nice day.
We decided after the first week of sending Hunter to school that Noah should start too. We were going to wait till the fall, but after seeing the classroom and spending the time in we knew it would be a place Noah would love and would place where he would flourish. Mrs. Morgan is his teacher and has gone out of her way to make Noah feel comfortable in class. He is very excited to hear that the class will be going on a field trip to Barry Island in June to explore the coastal environment. Noah loves the beach, so this will be a perfect first field trip for him.
A very rainy and cool weekend in south wales. When we ask people when summer will arrive, they say this is it!... in a joking manner ... but only half joking...we never seem to get a straight answer.
On Saturday, we were running some errands in a local village just south of our place called Llantwit Major. A great seaside village with a really fun beach to explore on the edge of town. Here is a picture of the beach from up on the bluffs above.
The month of April has been a record rainfall here in Wales. Driving the children to school has been a wild water ride down the dirt road to the village where Hunter goes to school. Hunter started year 2, which is first grade in the US at Wick and Marcross Church in Wales Primary School. The school is in the town of Wick, or also known as “windy Wick." It is a charming village with a small store and post office and a couple of pubs, a church and the primary school. When it is not raining out you can see the sea from the playground. It is a very pretty setting. The school is very small, about 90 students to be exact. The classes are combined with two grades in one. Hunter is with year 2 and year 3 students. We could not be happier with the school and upon our visit fell in love with it right away. Mrs. Thomas the head teacher or principal reminds me of Mary Poppins, "practically perfect in every way," she is just delightful. Hunter's teacher is Mr. Turner and he seems to be a great fit for Hunter. He is excited to go to school each day and that is important to us as parents that school is a place that our children want to be.
The primary schooling here in the UK is heavily focused on learning through hands on activities, play and exploration. The children are exposed to cooking, gardening and art, as well as reading, writing, math and science. Seat work is done, however, not like in the American school system from what I remember being a teacher. Homework is given but not in excess. Reading is encouraged nightly, but hours of homework are not. Homework in their opinion does not make for more learning or a smarter student, but rather can sour children’s attitudes toward school. Homework in small doses builds study habits and self-discipline. Being a former teacher I did a little investigating and found that countries that have less homework tend to outperform countries on achievement tests than countries that pile the homework on. I thought this was interesting food for thought.....
It was a sad day in the Donaldson house today. Lulu left to go home. We will miss her very much. She was such a big help to us while she was here. She helped to make the transition of moving overseas an easier one. Traveling with 4 children under 7 was great for that added hand. Unpacking was a little lighter, and that extra body in the car telling me to get over on the right side of the road made me all the braver to tackle the roads. Thank you Lulu, we love you. We won’t say good-bye...just see you soon.
Today with rain and sun alternating at about once every 30 minutes we decided to go visit a 'living history' medievil village not farm from our house on the way to Cardiff called Cosmeston. The village as you see it today is resurected on the remains of the original village that dates back to the 12 century.
As the websites suggested, we were hoping to find people dressed in period costume giving tours and re-enacting parts of history, but once there we spoke with one of the guys keeping the grounds up and he said that due to budget cuts all work on the project has ceased except maintaining the grounds. He said that he would normally be in costume giving tours. He gave us a 10 minute talk and explained some really interesting history about the area, how houses of the time were constructed and all sorts of interesting facts. Its really too bad that its currently non operational, but we still had a good time exploring anyhow.
Also the pics of the kids by the water - tadpoles have just hatched and they are trying to catch one.
Date night at the local pub in Wick. - The Lamb and Flag. It's about a mile and a half from our house just down the street from where the kids will go to school. According to the (new) owner, this public house dates from the 16th century. The beef and ale pie was excellent!
The kids enjoyed exploring the towers and the surrounding grounds. It was also fun for us as well - It was Kelly and Sue's first castle! There was actually a wedding being held in the castle the day we were there. The little cathedral inside the castle holds about 30 people. A few more pictures below. Of note - Abbies secret door thats just her size. Also on the exterior shots see if you can notice the kids at the base of the wall.
