The Educationsense Gathering 2002

Click here to see my favourite photograph from the camp. There is also a poem inspired by this camp in the Inspired Mind section of this site.

After nearly a year of wondering whether we would or we wouldn't, we did! The First Educationsense Camp took place in a secluded campsite in the south of England. Some very exciting workshops were lined up, from music workshops and 'Lord Of The Rings' discussions, to Mushroom Walks and group talks about the Joys of Home Education!

Families unable to attend the camp were invited to participate at home by pitching a tent in their gardens, or even by throwing blankets over their dining room tables and crawling under! By coming to the website during the Camp week, they were virtually there with us!

Why not try this out for yourself now? It's easy to get that festival feeling at home!

Wherever they were in the universe, virtual attendees were able to read what was happening each day in the camp, to join in with synchronised activities, send virtual Telegrams to people in the camp, and read virtual Postcards from the real world attendees. The daily newsletter also provided some entertainment and there is a gallery of pictures from the camp, including workshops in progress.

As well as suggesting things to do at home, I have lots for you to see and do here on the website. Read the programme and daily newsletters from the Camp, be entertained by the pictures, laugh at the virtual Postcards from Camp attendees, and read the messages those at home sent throughout the week to the Camp attendees 'roughing it' in the New Forest! Another Educationsense Gathering is being planned, so come and join in the fun!

Note to the 2002 attendees: I have a lot of lost property. If you notice anything missing, please contact me.

The Programme

Friday	Opening Circle, Games, Story Time, Words and Pictures
Saturday	Morning Meeting, Dressing The Camp, Mushroom Walk with Claudia, Tots Song and Movement, Face Painting, Beginners Music Workshop with The Minstrel, Performing Non-Boring with Wendy, Story Time, Words and Music
Sunday	Reiki and Relaxation with Wendy, Morning Meeting, First Aid Demonstration with Maria, Negotiation with Wendy, Craft Market, Craft Activities with Jenna (Eyes of God), Treasure Hunt with Helen and Annie, Communal Meal, Story Time, Home Educators Entertain!
Monday	Morning Meeting, Craft Activities with Jenna (Cup and Ball Game), Jamming For The Terrified with The Minstrel, The World of Harry Potter with Lyn and Lucy, Story Time, Jamming
Tuesday Magic Day!	The Lord of the Rings Drawing/Painting Competition, Morning Meeting, Craft Activities with Jenna (Magic Pictures), Face Painting, The Lord of The Rings with Lyn and Lucy, Stories From Middle-Earth, Middle-Earth Music
Wednesday	Morning Meeting, Mushroom Walk with Claudia, Tots Song and Movement, Face Painting, Kitchen Science Experiments with June, Fiesta!, Communal Meal, Parade, The Pancake Lady Cooks, A Little Of What You Fancy, Home Educators' Peace Circle
Thursday	Home Education Discussion, Swallows and Amazons with Annie, Craft Activities with Jenna (Spoon Puppets), Closing Circle

Virtual Telegrams sent from those at home, to the campers in Magicland.

The attendees were able to send virtual Postcards from the real Camp to those joining us on the website from home. Did they Wish You Were Here, or Wish They Were With You?!!

Sit down with a cup of herbal tea and read each edition of The Magicland Gazette, our Camp newsletter. It may be old news, but it's no fish and chips wrapper!

Yes, she has just taken a picture of herself!

Click here to see dozens of photographs of the camp and workshops. Nearly all the pictures were taken by the younger members of our community, and I have left each image quite large so that you can see the detail. Forgive me if you have a slow connection, but they are worth the wait.

Each day, I noted the comment that made everyone laugh...

Special Thanks

Thanking everyone who should be thanked would mean listing all the attendees.

Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm, especially: Lyn and Lucy, Jenna, Chris, Lyn and Daisy, Jackie, Bob and Maria, Helen and Annie, Amanda, Claudia and Shaf, June, Shan and family, Rose and Sara, Tula, Paul the marquee man, and Jane at Green Pastures Farm. Much respect and thanks to everyone who ran scheduled or spontaneous workshops, and entertained us in the evenings.

Peter - Thank you for being there and saying that, ‘if you build it, they will come’!

Susannah and Isabel - Thank you for all your help with the Camp, for telling me when my designs were pants, and for steering me towards home education. You make the world wonderful simply by being in it.