02/10/2026
🌿 This week at Acorns 🌿 the trees provided a natural canvas for hands-on learning, emotional growth, and community building. From culinary experiments over the fire to gentle moments of peer support, every corner of the woodland hummed with activity.
🍴Culinary Adventures & Teamwork: We like to get the young people involved with making their food as much as possible. Our weekly DIY pizza is always a hit, each week the young people show better involvement and confidence. We've also added more baking sessions as this is a valuable skill to learn (plus the bonus off baking being a fantastic maths session 😀)
Woodland Stewardship: lots of our young people got involved daily with collecting wood and even helping to chop it, learning the importance of preparation and safety while keeping the camp warm and functional.
🐓Animal Care & Connection: Feeding the goats and ducks down the farmyard is always a fun experience for the young people, teaching patience and responsibility. Up at Acorns we welcomed a couple of chickens, who have given so much joy already! Meanwhile, our camp dog Mia was a constant, comforting companion during activities.
⚽️Physical Energy & Coordination: Sports took center stage with energetic sessions of penalty shootout and basketball, alongside friendly games that specifically focused on mastering turn-taking and teamwork.
🌳Risk-Taking & Balance: Tree climbing, rope swings, and relaxing in hammocks allowed the children to test their physical boundaries, build core strength, and find moments of quiet self-regulation.
🫂Empathy & Emotional Growth: Beyond the physical activities, this week shone with emotional milestones. The children practiced active listening by reading books to each other, and showed deep empathy by consoling one another during tricky moments.
🖐🏻Sensory play areas offered a grounding space for those who needed a moment to reset.
This week highlighted the profound impact of a natural, semi-unstructured environment paired with supportive guidance. The children did not just learn practical life skills—like cooking and animal husbandry—they learned how to be better friends, communicators, and caretakers of their environment ☺️ Team Acorns are so proud of our young people!