Grow the Grown Ups – Family Camp May 24th – 29th 2015
Building on last year’s successful camp, we again had a fully booked camp with 16 families filling the site.
One of our partner countries visited (Hungary) - with one partner participating as a parent, and one partner working on the play team.
The staff team included several people who’d received the Parenting by Connection training last August, which supported our delivery, and this year the Parenting by Connection tool “Listening Partnerships” were used more effectively as everyone was already more familiar with them.
The team leader working with the children, Katie Kendall, and our Programme Host, Tim Hall brought skills from the Parenting by Connection training they’d received in Hungary, especially around Setting Loving Limits.
Our Opening Circle, outside in the Stone Circle the children light the Children's Fire, encircled by the adults
parents learning Listening Partnerships
Playwork volunteers and camp children sitting outside the felting tent
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adults working in small groups
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with babe in arms
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parents considering their core values as parents in the adult workshop part of the week
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Christoffer holding a Moving Sound session with families and play workers
Participant Feedback:
"The magic of our week on Grow the Grown Ups is still bubbling within us. We have all come back home feeling rejuvenated and with a greater sense of centred-ness. Before coming, with having experienced so much sadness and stress in such a short space of time, Charlie and I were on our last reserves and starting really struggling to cope with our needs individually and together. We had become wound as family tightly like a corkscrew, any small thing could set us off leaving us exhausted and frought. Personally I’m now carrying a heavy tiredness but this is more because of all the deep work from last week, whilst I process and release these tensions and I feel beneath it a renewed flow of energy and aliveness. Arriving back in London I feel tentative to get back into the stride of things - I feel I still want to hold onto so much of the beauty of last week, keep the smoke in my skin, and I know it’s very easy in London to get distracted and fall back into unnecessary stresses."
Sophie Young, parent
"Embercombe and you taught us about leadership, listening and connecting. For me too about it being fine to be who you are born as.....this really has not been fine over the last 14 years and I am starting out, but the intention is there."
Lucy, parent
"Being surrounded by community and other parents and feeling supported...
Helen was great with practical advice about Gracie 4....
The childcare, the activities as a family, the food and the place were massive highlights for me as I felt I was able to enjoy being a family by relaxing for the week!"
Jessica, parent
Team Feedback:
"Really felt that the team was very strong from the outset this year. Virtually everyone was a ‘known quantity’ and had worked on camp before, which helped build trust and communication. I found the training day was a powerful way of connecting us as a group before the participants came. It was brilliant to establish Listening Partnerships with other staff members at this point, and that was a valuable resource for me during the week. The training day also gave me a series of totally unexpected personal insights that altered the week for me - in a beneficial way!"
Sophie Hunter, Host Family
FOR ANYONE INTERESTED in future "Grow the Grown Ups" Camps at Embercombe, please see http://embercombe.org/explore-our-programmes/personal-development/growing-the-grownups/
"The magic of our week on Grow the Grown Ups is still bubbling within us. We have all come back home feeling rejuvenated and with a greater sense of centred-ness. Before coming, with having experienced so much sadness and stress in such a short space of time, Charlie and I were on our last reserves and starting really struggling to cope with our needs individually and together. We had become wound as family tightly like a corkscrew, any small thing could set us off leaving us exhausted and frought. Personally I’m now carrying a heavy tiredness but this is more because of all the deep work from last week, whilst I process and release these tensions and I feel beneath it a renewed flow of energy and aliveness. Arriving back in London I feel tentative to get back into the stride of things - I feel I still want to hold onto so much of the beauty of last week, keep the smoke in my skin, and I know it’s very easy in London to get distracted and fall back into unnecessary stresses."
Sophie Young, parent
"Embercombe and you taught us about leadership, listening and connecting. For me too about it being fine to be who you are born as.....this really has not been fine over the last 14 years and I am starting out, but the intention is there."
Lucy, parent
"Being surrounded by community and other parents and feeling supported...
Helen was great with practical advice about Gracie 4....
The childcare, the activities as a family, the food and the place were massive highlights for me as I felt I was able to enjoy being a family by relaxing for the week!"
Jessica, parent
Team Feedback:
"Really felt that the team was very strong from the outset this year. Virtually everyone was a ‘known quantity’ and had worked on camp before, which helped build trust and communication. I found the training day was a powerful way of connecting us as a group before the participants came. It was brilliant to establish Listening Partnerships with other staff members at this point, and that was a valuable resource for me during the week. The training day also gave me a series of totally unexpected personal insights that altered the week for me - in a beneficial way!"
Sophie Hunter, Host Family
FOR ANYONE INTERESTED in future "Grow the Grown Ups" Camps at Embercombe, please see http://embercombe.org/explore-our-programmes/personal-development/growing-the-grownups/
