just another morning here

Being as I’m off work today I thought I would write a bit about some of it; I always feel a bit strange blogging about work as obviously I can’t say too much about the children, but this is different. I’ve mentioned the Donkey Sanctuary before, so here’s a bit more about it.

All of the younger classes at our school take a turn to visit the Donkey Sanctuary each week, so our class’ turn comes round about once every four weeks. A bus comes to collect us just after we’ve done our normal morning circle time/say hello routine, and it takes about half an hour to get there. Bus journeys are fab, the kids are all settled and happy on the bus, just a little bit of chatter going on, but quite relaxed really.

At the sanctuary we go to a special building operated by the Elizabeth Svendsen trust. There is a great outdoor play area as well as lots of toys in a big room indoors, plus a sensory light room. When we first arrive there’s normally another group of children there from another school, just finishing their morning session. They leave shortly after we arrive.

The children all get a ride on a donkey; for some of them this is enough in itself but others do activities while riding (choosing colours, numbers, etc. on activities around the ring). And while it’s not their turn to ride, they get to play with all the lovely toys. We get to supervise playing (and do the obligatory toilet/changing runs), and sometimes help with donkey riding too, for those children who need extra support, which is good fun, even if it does make your arm ache while holding them up!

After that it’s lunch time, and first the children have their lunch, with the usual assistance necessary all round, then it’s our turn. This is why the staff like donkey days so much – not only is it a break from the normal school routine, but we also get a delicious dinner cooked by the lovely Norma in the kitchen, for the princely sum of only £1.85. Of course, while we’re eating our dinner, recently we’ve had to put up with one of our children wailing because we won’t let them outside while we eat (as we can’t keep an eye on them properly and one of them has been known to jump the fence!), but that’s beside the point!

There’s usually a bit of time to play again after lunch, the afternoon group of children arrive, and then the bus takes us back to school in time for the end of day routine.

The children love Donkey days as much as the staff do, it really is a highlight of their school life, and it’s lovely to see them enjoying it. At Christmas the whole ring was transformed into a grotto, and instead of riding on a donkey they had the donkeys pulling a cart (done up like a sleigh) and each child visited Santa and received a gift that had been well thought out for them individually – it’s touches like that which make it really special.

My own family rib me mercilessly each time a donkey trip comes around though, as I once let it slip (in my best Exeter accent) that I was ‘going donkeys’ the next day, as opposed to (with my Queen’s English accent) ‘going to the Donkey Sanctuary’. What can I say?!

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 10:00 and is filed under while at work .... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.