In the evening the whole group gathered to discuss their day with Khruu Khenmtong working hard to encourage the children to use their English to describe their activities.

There was more singing and after dinner it was Party Time. Whilst the 2 Dutch trainers went home to sleep, Sue and myself stayed and Sue really got into the spirit of the Party with an impromptu dance that got all the kids on their dancing toes to.
Just before the party started a large fire was lit as the evening went on the children cooked kaow lam and toasted crackers on the fire.

It was great to see the respect the kids had for the fire; with many rural families still using open fires to cook over , I guess they learn that lesson early.

All the children appeared to have a great time and were a very social crowd.

Every now and again one of the students would run up with either kaow lam or a cracker and politely offer it to one of us.
Karaoke singing was popular. although I was surprised to see the best singer hiding under a table whilst performing, clearly shy to perform infront of his friends.

This is most surprising as I recalled having seen this lad performing with the upmost confidence at Chiang Mai Sunday Market some months ago.
When the party wound down at around 9.30pm the children went off to their alotted tents and for the most part settled well and were all very well behaved.
I got the best sleep I’ve had in a long time, maybe i should buy a tent and put it in the garden.
It was lovely waking up to the peaceful surroundings and relaxing atmosphere of the Hot Springs gardens. Joining the children soaking our feet in the warm waters of the stream helped counter the chill of the early morning.
Sunday was much more of a free day and the first activity of the day was swimming in the pool. Although all the kids were there it was mostly the boys that got into the pool, the girls possibly too shy.
After breakfast and roll call and singing the camp song we split into our groups for a final ‘work’ session.

Later, all the trainers confirmed having a similar experience in that most of the children seemed transformed in confidence and willingness to use their English language.

At around 11.30 the school Director, Mr Hirun Chainu,came to officially close the camp and it was then time to leave.

I think Khruu Khemtong deserves much praise and congratulations for working so hard to produce an excellent confidence building experience for the students. I look forward to working closely with her on further plans for expanding on this experience and giving these students and others more opportunity to encounter situations where they can practise their English with English speakers.
If you are interested in volunteering, either as an English teacher or maybe even, planning ahead, you think you maybe interested in helping with next years English Camp then please contact me. Khruu Khemtong is keen on the possibility of being able to accommodate more students on the camp but obviously this means a need for more trainers to make this possible.
In the meantime we would also be happy to hear from anyone planning on coming soon who would be interested in teaching at a local village school. There are many that would welcome an English speaking volunteer. If you contact us here we can supply details of requirements for the correct visa and work permit, depending on your planned length of stay, and offer assistance in arranging these documents.

For all the photos from the weekend please visit our photo album here.

 A couple of weeks back, at Jacks sportsday, I was approached by Khruu Khemtong Punyoyai from Huay Sai school. She told me about a weekend English Camp, that she has been running for the last few years. This years camp is taking place this weekend at San Kampaeng Hot Springs. At the time she was simply interested in me going a long to observe and possibly advise on further improvements for the future.
Unfortunately one of the Dutch volunteer teachers, who was supposed to be taking part, has had to return home and so Khruu Khemtong has now asked me to take her place.
Not only that, but, thanks to a very nice , constructive conversation today, it is my hope that we can work closely together on a common objective.This is to help improve English language use, understanding and pronounciation throughout the local area.It appears that we have very similar views on this subject and have discussed numerous strategies that we may employ in the future.
Although the main aim of the Stratton ABC Foundation is to give a safe, secure and caring home to disadvantaged and at risk children in and around Chiang Mai, looking around I see that the term disadvantaged could relate to many many children in the area of Education, and especially English language learning. To this end I am happy to use what spare time I can find to work in partnership with Khruu khemtong to further her efforts.
Any organisation looking to help the disadvantaged has to look to the future. It is very much the case that fluency in the English language leads to much better career opportunities,  which would hopefully then lead to a lessening of the sort of circumstances that leads to children needing placements in homes such as our own.
It has to be the best aim, not only to offer the placements to those in need, but to do all we can to reduce that need.

Fridays mean traditional costume at May and Yongs school.

This was the first time they had worn them and May had a bit of a struggle getting hers on properly but we got there in the end.

You can see why some poorer families struggle with sending their children to school as there are quite a few added costs, which may seem little to you and me, but can mean the difference between getting an education and not, here in the rural communities.

Some schools have 3 or more different uniforms and not all the costs are covered by government.

Still I do like how an effort is made to maintain the traditional culture, and don’t the girls look beautiful in them.

However, we have no wish to see a ‘couch potato’ culture develop and do our utmost to control the childrens allowed viewing times.

During school days no TV is allowed in the morning. On returning home, the strict rule is that the TV does not ge turned on until all homework is finished.

If some children are slower than others then for the ones who have finished there are chores to help out with or  physical leisure activities to partake in whilst waiting.

Jack is very keen to help out with the expanding vegetable growing and runs round with the watering can most evenings whilst waiting for Yong and Mae to finish their homework.

If homework is done, and behaviour good, an hour or twos cartoons or childrens movies are allowed.

On the weekend we aim to occupy the children with sports or art and craft as well as extra curricula English lessons, again limiting the T.V use to an acceptable level.

All the children are given plenty of positive attention, and assistance where nesseccary, whilst doing their homework and and are proud to show their finished work.