Wednesday 15th July 2009

Well it is nearly the end of the term, and so that time has arrive when we take the boys on a trip. This year we did things a little bit differently and gave them seperate trips. So one of ther boys went to Beamish on Monday and the other went to The Great Yorkshire Show on Tuesday. Both trips seem to have been a success as they both went home talking about it. The Beamish trip took us back in time to how things used to be done, on farms, in school, in shops! Our boy was amazed at how sweets were made and stood and watched for quite some time, although this may have had something to do with the crumbs of sweets that they put out for people to try!! The trip to the School was also a success,which is quite a step baring in mind our boys aren’t to keen on Schools in general. We might be winning them over?!
The Yorkshire Show showed us what show cattle should look like, as well as new machinery and trailers , which Jack, one of our team, was most impressed with. It also gave us chance to check out the sheep, goats, rabbits and horses. We were left a little disappointed when it was discovered that the poultry section would not have any poultry in it until today(Wednesday). Never mind there’s always next year.
Lee is on the market stall today selling his wares, Robbie chose not to go and is at this present time making sausage rolls as an experiment for next term. We like experiments especially if it is of the food variety.
Well that’s it from me for today. I will speak to you before we break up to let you know when we are coming back to school. Have a lovely evening.
Sarah

Thursday 9th July 2009

Big Team Effort

How amazing is this going to be? We are making our very own grass badmington court in one of the top fields. The boys have had a great day mowing and strimming trying to get it ready to use and they have done a fantastic job. The picture is of our two boys along with Chris and Jeanine. Look how long the grass was before they started? Havn’t they done well so far. We will hopefully finish it tomorrow.
The market stall was pretty quiet yesterday so the boys didn’t take much, which is a shame as they are really starting to get a feel for it and are building up a good stock of things to sell. The idea behind the stall is to encourage them in their life skills and communication as well as to help them learn how to handle money and accounts. It is something that, at some point, we have done with the majority of our students, although this is possibly the most ambitious project yet. The boys will eventually have some profits to spend on whatever they choose whether it be a trip away for a few days or something simple like a skateboard. It is up to them. As long as they put the effort in then they will reap the rewards.
The weather is still glorious and hopefully will stay fine for next week when we take the boys on a day trip each. One of them is hopefully going to Beamish for the day to see how life used to be, and the other is hopefully going to The Great Yorkshire Show where he will get to check out the Agricultural side of things. I’m taking a day off on Thursday next week to take Jodie to the show so keep your fingers crossed for good weather all week!!
Tomorrow is a quiet day for one of the boys with Reading and  then Fishing in the afternoon and the other is Reading and then having Agriculture with the group from Mowbray. Hopefully there will be some spare time for them to finish the badmington court.
Anyway that’s all I have to tell you for now so have a lovely evening and I’ll speak to you soon
Sarah

Friday 3rd July 2009

Our very own expert at work!

Hello everyone
Sorry I havn’t written in such a long time, things have just been a liitle bit hectic for me recently.
The boys are all doing well and are enjoying the good weather, well they were until today when it decided to rain really heavily, I think that may have been my fault as I wore a vest top and 3/4 length trousers to try and get a tan, so sorry all!!
We had some local guys in last week to shear the sheep and the kids on NVQ Agriculture wrapped fleeces for them all afternoon which was a huge help, so thanks kids.
Our own boys have had quite a good week overall with just a few glitches here and there. They went for a good paddle in the river on Wednesday to cool them off after such a hot day as well as going up to Druids for a little while.
Yesteday Chris and I took Robbie for a walk up Ilton Moor to see if we could find the source of the River Burn. It was a really good walk and Robbie really took in the surroundings.
Lee has been busy making more produce to sell on the stall with John our Joinery Instructor, so the stock is building up nicely again and we will be back on the market at Masham on Wednesday.
We havn’t had Jeanine with us for the last week as her and Jack have been away on holiday, it was a huge relief to have her back, we have missed her so much.
As you can see it has been a busy week and so I am now going to go and see my horse and then Jodie and I are going out for dinner with my parents and my brother who is home for a couple of days.
Enjoy your weekend and keep your fingers crossed for sunny weather.
Sarah

Wednesday 24th June 2009

These are the girls who came from Halifax High School yesterday.

“Thank you so much for yesterday’s trip the girls (and the staff) had a fantastic time, the feedback is great. The girls are so keen we are thinking of sending some of the group again next term to go one step on and ride! Brilliant”
Bracken Hunter, Halifax School

Tuesday 23rd June 2009

Well what can I say, the sun is shining, the boys all had a good weekend and we had a group of girls from Halifax High School with us today. And what a group they were, they made our day, so thankyou girls.
We had them doing some herding with Black Jack and Matilda, a bit of teddy throwing and crawling under Todd through his legs. For those of you that came to the Open Day Todd is the horse Alex worked with in her demo and he is a star.
Some of the girls were a little bit nervous of the horses to start with but they did themselves proud and all had a go at doing something. Coming from somewhere like Halifax they don’t have the chance to do anything like this so it is a huge thing for them, and even if it is only stroking the pony’s nose it is a huge step for them. We were very proud of them. Catch up with me tomorrow and I will have a couple of pictures on here for you.
Tomorrow is a big day for our boys, it is their first day on the Learning to Listen Local Produce stall so fingers crossed and wish them luck.
It has been a long weekend for me so I’m going to see my mum and daughter and sleep!!!
Enjoy your evening

Sarah

Friday 19th June

Pitch and Putt

Well it’s the end of another week and what an up and down week it has been, more up than down I must point out.
We went to Swinton Park Hotel yesterday afternoon for a game of Pitch and Putt. The Hotel is a stones throw from where we are based and the proprieters were very kind to let us go an duse their facilities. We walked through our fields to get their and then showed the boys some of the park as we walked to the hotel. We really are very lucky to live in such gorgeous surroundings and there is a lot of things to do in the local area.
As there is only one hole in the hotel grounds the boys had to make up little routes around the green, which was great fun and made them use their brains a bit.
We will have to think about something good for next week, any ideas let me know.
The farrier is on his way to see our pony so that is it for me tonight, well that and a party tonight, look at me go, having a night out on a Friday!
Hope you all have a good weekend.

Sarah

Wednesday 17th June 2009

Lead Teacher Chris showing us how it's done.

 I can’t believe nearly a week has passed since I spoke to you all last, time is just flying at the moment.
We took the boys to an Army Open Day at Marne Barracks yesterday and as you can see from the photo it wasn’t just the boys who had a good day! The weather was glorious for us and the Army had made sure there was something for everyone, including a respite tent for teachers, not that we made use of it, we were having to much fun watching the boys have a go on different stands. Lee got to sit in an helicopter and Robbie blew us away with his rugby skills. A good day was had by all.
Today has not been such a good day, but as they say bad usually follows good and one of the boys didn’t have a good day today which resulted in us using our 12 point behaviour plan and following it through to point 7, ‘Lockdown’. Fortunately this seemed to have the desired affect and things returned to normal after half an hour of abuse being thrown at the team. It is in situations such as today that we learn how to help the boys and how they can help us, as we look back later and ask ourselves how we could have done things differently and if we were listening to them properly in the first place. It is the best way to learn.
Tomorrow is a new day and we are going to do a bit more work towards the enterprise, making Lemon Cheese and wine racks from horse shoes.
Well that’s it from me for tonight, just a few e-mails to send and then home for dinner.
Enjoy your evening

Sarah

Thursday 11th June 2009

The boys are making wine racks as part of their enterprise scheme so here is a picture of a not quite finished one.

Birthday celebrations

Aaaaaaw cute.

Hello everybody, what a long time since I spoke to you last. I hope you all had a lovely half-term and were out enjoying the sunshine.
The boys are back and in good spirit after a good break, they seem to have been fishing a lot and have caught some big fish.
Paul is nearly up to date with his paperwork for his construction course. He will have a fantastic career ahead of him if carries on the way he is doing.
The other two boys are working on their enterprise scheme, which is a veg patch, and are getting ready to plant some veggies, although they are finding the going rough because of the hard ground they are making a good effort. Let’s hope it grows so that they can sell it on a market stall or in the farm shop, when we get it up and running!
I’m going home now to see my pony and help Jodie revise.

 Speak to you soon
Sarah

Friday 22nd May

Well, here’s to the end of a busy week and a busy half-term.
The boys were all excited today because it was the last day of half-term and that means that it is wages day. The boys earn money for looking after some of the animals, it helps give them a sense of responsibility and of course they look forward to being able to spend their hard earned cash.
Lee has finished his coursework for his Food Tech today and I have never seen him so happy, it has been a long hard slog for him but he has got there and we are very proud of him.
Robbie has been building some bookshelves in Design & Build today and has also started reading another book called ‘War Boy’. I wonder if he will finish this one as quickly as the last?!
All in all we have had a good term so far so lets hope the boys have a good week off and come back with the same enthusiasm as they left with. Me, I’m taking a week off as well to spend some time with Jodie, who is out training a horse with Alex, so I will love you and leave you for now. Hope you all have a fab weekend, the weather is supposed to be glorious, and I will talk to you soon.

Sarah

Thursday 21st May

One of the boys checking out his find using a microscope.

Wow it seems like such a long time since I said “hello” to you all but it is only two days, and what a busy two days it has been. First of all we took the boys on a trip to Bradford on Tuesday to the Imax. We set off after the boys had seen to their animals so didn’t get to Bradford until lunchtime, good timing I thought. Chris and Jeanine know Bradford reasonably well so decided that we would treat the boys to some Indian cuisine, what a fab idea that was, the boys loved it and were trying to outdo each other in the ‘Who can eat the most of the hot dish?’ competition. It was a close run thing and I think I would have to call it a draw. After lunch we headed to the Imax and Media museum where both the boys knew which sections they wanted to look at before we went in to the Imax itself. The museum is amazing and I wish we could have had more time there so maybe another trip before the end of the school year is in order. The Imax is huge and the short 3D film we saw was amazing, although I did find it a little strange when the astronaut threw something straight at me!!!
Today we have had Dave Higgins who works for the Yorkshire Dales River Trust. He came last night to set some pots in the water on our land to see if we could catch any Crayfish or Bullheads. When he came today he had brought a net and some trays with him so the boys could find some creepy crawlies in the water. They found loads, from water beetles to fresh water shrimp, and then they found a Bull head in one of the pots Dave had set. Unfortunately we didn’t find any Crayfish but Dave says he might come back another time so with a bit of luck next time we will do better.

Well that’s it for me for tonight, the animals are fed and Jodie has done her revision so it is time to head for dinner and a night in front of the fire.

Sarah

Monday 18th May

Well what a weekend it has been, I don’t know about you but I would love to see the sun for a few days!
The boys all arrived back this morning fit, fine and full of fettle as my Dad would say. Lee had an appointment with Connexions this morning to talk about what he would like to do next, as he is 16 in a couple of weeks, and due to got to college in September. It is sometimes really hard for the kids to think about what they are doing next as it means that they are moving away from their comfort zone, but he was an absolute star and talked to Julie about his ideas.
Robbie stayed at the farm with Jeanine and did some History and English. This involved him reading a book called ‘Private Peaceful’ by Michael Morpurgo. It is a very endearing book and Robbie has fallen in love with it so much that when he was given the choice between coming and helping me with planting a window-box or reading some more with Jeanine, he chose reading with Jeanine. How fab is that, a week ago he wouldn’t even look at the front cover of the book, never mind open it and start reading! We are very proud of him although poor Jeanine now has quite a sore throat form reading her share as well.
We are going to the Imax in Bradford tomorrow for the day to have a look at the museum and watch a film in the afternoon so everybody cross their fingers for sunshine and no rain please, then we can eat lunch outside in the sun.
Well I’m going to love you and leave you as the animals are to feed and we are going campfiring with Guides tonight, well I say we are having a camp fire but we decided that because there will be no dry wood to light a fire, we will use the oven in the chapel kitchen, full of good ideas us Guiders!!

Have a good night

Sarah

Friday 15th May

This is one of the boys with his pet lamb

Just a quick note tonight as time is getting on, we have had a good day all round today, with the kids from Mowbray here as well to do Agriculture. Paul isn’t here on a Friday so both our boys got the chance to do some Design and Build today. Robbie is making a dog kennel for Musha (Sarah K’s dog) which is looking fab and Lee has been repairing wheelbarrows. Jack took the Mowbray group off to check all the sheep and lambs and the cows and calves. It has been a really wet day so we didn’t want to subject them to too much outside work!!!! Mucking out cow sheds is always a good plan on days like today.
The day was rounded off with a game of football in the indoor school for all the kids and Mr Staple (we made him go in goal, those footballs are hard!)
Alex has gone to help Jo with the lambs tonight so I’m going to get packed up, ready for them coming back so we can all head home.

Have a fantastic weekend, hope the weather is good wherever you are.

Sarah

Thursday 14th May

Well yet again it has been an eventful day, after a dubious start to the day when one of the boys didn’t want to engage in his lessons we managed to turn things around and had a fantastic afternoon with Ben, who is in the picture above with one of the boys. We only went down the track but the boys were amazed by the Harris Hawk Ben had brought with him and got the chance to have it land on their arms, with the aid of a bit of chicken and a gauntlet (big glove). Ben is full of information and had the boys hooked to what he was telling them so a huge thanks to him for such a fab day.
Sorry it’s short and sweet tonight but duty calls and the lambs and calf need feeding before I can head off home.

Speak to you tomorrow

Sarah

Wednesday 13th May

Well, what a day it’s been. It seems to have been very hectic with one thing and another.
One of the boys was late in today so the other two fed the animals on their own and decided that they were going to try to tame the calf that they have been feeding. This meant that they had to sit in the calf pen in near silence for quite a while, not an easy thing for our boys to do! Paul very nearly got the calf eating out of his hand so maybe he will have another go tomorrow.
Lee came in late today and his first lesson turned out to be an English assessment, poor lad, he coped admirably. Lee has also finished his shelves that he has made for the new dining room. He wanted to make something to put the tea, coffee and sugar on. It looks fab and as soon as I get my camera back off Chris I’ll put a picture of it up on here.
Robbie has been off looking for evidence of World War One this afternoon with Chris and Jeanine. They have found a local site where the Leeds Pals camped out and did their training. With kind permission of the farmer, they were allowed to go and measure out the size of the huts and have a look to see where the train track ran that brought supplies to the troops. A good afternoon was had by all.
Plans for tomorrow, the boys are hopefully going on a Hawk Walk with an old friend of mine, Ben Potter who has a host of Birds of Prey and displays all over the country with them. It should be good fun.

Well it’s off to help my daughter with the lambs and the calf and then home for me. Parents evening went well by the way, not nearly as bad as she thought it would be!!!

See you tomorrow,

Sarah

Tuesday 12th May 2009

Hi there everybody,

Again it’s just a quick note for today as it is my daughters Parent Consultation evening. Hmmm wonder what will be in store for me there?
We have had a busy few weeks with our Open Day and an Ofsted inspection, my fourth and my first respectively, both of which went really well.�
We have also welcomed Chris to our team as the new Lead Teacher and he has been fantastic.
The boys have had a busy few weeks helping us get ready for the Open Day as well as looking after their lambs, a calf and the chickens, who are giving us loads of eggs, which in turn means loads of cakes mmmmm! If any one wants to buy any let me know, we have plenty.
Anyway my daughter has just rung from the bus stop to ask where I am so I had better go.

Have a good night

Sarah x

Hellooo,

I’m Sarah Midd and I’m the school co-ordinator here at Learning to Listen.
I’m going to use my blog to let you know what the school kids are up to, where the school is heading and any other things we’ve got going on.
For tonight it’s just a quick note so come back and see me again tomorrow and I will fill you in on what has been happening over the last couple of weeks.
Have a good night

Sarah