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  • Comment on Temple Fair Day by Mum/Grandma/mama
    enjoy seeing the children having lots of fun. xxx […]
    Mum/Grandma/mama
  • Comment on The Foundation by John
    Hi Selwyn, In case you don't see this I will email you direct also, early this week. I think the best i can reccomend is that you contact the RICD(Royal Institute For Child Development) (http://www.ricd.go.th/) close to Mae Rim. This is an excellent facility with expert Doctors , social workers and all the access and knowledge of the sort of help you ar […]
    John
  • Comment on Another Special Sunday by Mum/Grandma/mama
    just seen your last three updates,with all the hard work done by everyone it was good to see there was also time to relax and have fun, thankyou to all who made this possible xxxx […]
    Mum/Grandma/mama
  • Comment on The Foundation by selwyn wilson
    Hi John My name is Selwyn Wilson a soon to 66 year old UK pensioner. I have been the only carer of 10 year old Arissa Sompamit from Omkoi since she was struck down with JEV in September 2009. She is brain damaged and has all that accompanies this Disease.I met 2 Thai ladies at the Mc Kean rehab centre where I have taken her for Occupational Therapy until Mar […]
    selwyn wilson
  • Comment on Spaghetti and Meatballs Curtesy of Ray and Tak by RAY& tAK
    sO hAPPY THAT YOU CAME BY..... WE WILL DO IT AGAIN […]
    RAY& tAK

 

February 2012
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‎"telling someone what they have to learn is a long and tortuous road, often ineffective; giving someone the opportunity to explore what their brain finds particularly interesting at the time opens the gateway to optimization of that individuals potential" anon
 

A direct antidote to mild exhaustion is overseeing a fun filled day for the kids. Seeing so many smiles and so much laughter blows all the cobwebs away, and today has been such a day.

After all the kids had done their bit with the mornings work project of building a shade for the fish pond most of them then set to having fun on their recently serviced bicycles.

Proving their ever growing senses of responsibility I was most pleased to receive several offers of help in the kitchen preparing the midday meal.

However, as I had a simple lunch planned I was happy to hand the kids over to our volunteers Angela and Alexi, who arrived mid-morning.

Shortly after this we were treated to a visit from Li Li Tan and our latest friend Blue.

A friend of LiLi’s , and fellow artist, singer, poet, Blue is a lovely bubbly lady who throws out warmth and was an instant hit with the kids as she and Li Li soon had them all crafting shapes and animals out of special balloons.

It gives me much delight that Blue has expressed a great interest in helping out here on a regular basis and I look forward to meeting up again very soon to discuss this further.

Li Li and Blue left as we had lunch.

After lunch, and a democratic vote with choice between Huay Tung Tao, Huay Kaow Waterfall or San Kampaeng Hot Springs we set off for an afternoon at San Kampaeng.

It was very busy there today but the kids all had a great time; boiling eggs with Angela and Alexi, dipping their feet in the hot springs stream; playing in the playground and doing a “Draw What You See” English language session.

It was an energy boosting day for me with “Small World” magic going on. Whilst enjoying the bustling atmosphere we bumped into other friends doing the same. First there was Ray and Tak with their little lad Mik, who we first met sometime ago at Huay Tung Tao. They very kindly bought Ice-cream for our whole party and also donated extra funds that helped cover the days expenses. They have also extended a generous offer of lunch at their home sometime soon and we look forward to that very much.

We also bumped into Boons friend , Bap, who painted the Winnie The Pooh Wall art at Stratton House.

Wanting to ensure plenty of chill time for the children to make the trip worthwhile we decided to give them the rare treat of dinner out at at around 5pm we popped into the onsite Thai restaurant, finally heading home once everyone was happily fed.

A truely Funday Sunday:)

 

 

This weekend it was Huay Tung Tao time again. not only did we have our volunteer Brendan but we also arranged to meet our friend Faye Mitchell and her family.

Faye has been helping with our Re-cycle project and joined us at Huay Tung Tao with her partner and her two sons.

It all added to a great “Family” day out with the children getting together for a great game of soccer as well as the usual water fun.

 

Volunteers, Zoe and Rhianna returned on Saturday and got totally worn out spending an active Saturday afternoon playing with the children.

They generously donated  many small gifts, such as playing cards, skipping ropes and colouring pencils.

In their short time volunteering they were rapidly very popular with the kids , especially the younger ones who really enjoyed the time spent with these 2 ladies.

Zoe and Rhianna had a pre-booked tour set for Sunday, much to our children’s disappointment. However, the childrens smiles returned when told that the girls had sponsored an extra trip to Huay Tung Tao in their absence.

Thanks so much, Zoe and Rhianna, hope your onward travels go well and please feel free to return anytime. As you can see the kids had a great time on Sunday as well.
returning home to give the truck a good clean too…well done kids.

 

So our latest volunteer, Melissa, finished her week here at Stratton House Childrens Home, in Chiang Mai, yesterday and is now off to holiday on Koh Tao down south.
Melissa was a very welcome addition to the household for the week and especially popular with the girls.

She spent a lot of time chatting, playing games and helping with homework, which was all very much appreciated.

Sunday afternoon Melissa got to enjoy the ambience of Huay Tung Tao where the children enjoyed more cooling off time at the lake.
And it won’t be just our kids that miss her, but also the children at Mae Salaab School, where she made many visits during her time here.

She spent Sunday evening at the Sunday Market in Chiang Mai , shown around by Somboon.

After another morning at Mae Salaab School and a short time playing with the kids here at Stratton House it was time for Melissa to go and catch her bus so we all jumped on the bus to take her to the bus station in Chiang Mai and say farewell.

We all hope she has a great time down south, stay safe, have fun and keep in touch:)

Thanks again Melissa.

 
chiang mai childrens homeDSCF0078

After all the hard work on the weekend it was good that we had a dry and sunny Sunday afternoon to head off to Huay Tung Tao and cool off and relax.

The rains have certainly continued to make a difference, with the water being right up to where we normally sit.

As usual the kids had a great time, all in attendance with House Mother, Wasanaa, and even Wispa along to.

 
childrens home chiang mai 2504

Sunday saw us at Huay Tung Tao once again.

At long last the water in the lake has increased again. Instructions were given to the children to bare this in mind and to be careful not to go too deep.

The parks administrators also had this in mind with supervisors spotted around keeping a watchful eye and blowing whistles if they thought children may be about to pass the safety line.

Although I often think about changing venues , it has to be said that Huay Tung Taow is the best for our purposes so far.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

 
childrens home5

This weeks bai tio was abit of a mess after we had decided on a change from Huay Tung Tao. We had decided on a visit to Wiang Kum Kan, the home of many ancient Temple sites, close to Sarapee.

I had made the mistake of mentioning the pony trap rides available there, and the kids were very keen on the idea.

Once you turn into the side road off the old Chiang Mai- Lamphun Rd, that leads to Wiang Kum Kan, you enter a bit of a labyrinth of narrow roadways and it is easy to get lost and drive round in circles , as I did for a whilw. Eventually we found one of the sites where the pony traps are stationed. Unfortunately they wanted 200 baht a ride. With the pony traps being made for 2 passengers, (4 at a squeeze), and us with 9 kids and 2 adults, it was way above our Sunday budget.

The kids were very understanding and suggested we divert to the usual, Huay Tung Tao.

Although our time there was shorter than usual all the children squeezed as much fun out our time as possible.

Another great day, on which Wasana came along for a change.

This week I gave an old digital snap camera to the kids to take their own photos, which can be seen in their own photobucket album here.

My own efforts from this week can be seen here.

 
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So after taking part in the local Tambon ceremony it was off to our favourite haunt, Huay Tung Tao.

This week we had a full quota of children, with general behaviour having been very good alround.

The only one who was not there was Jack as he is at home at the moment.

I would like to ask you to spare a moment to send you best wishes to Jack as he attends his mother who is very ill at this time.

Our thoughts and love are with you Jack.

As usual the kids had lots of fun in the water and out.

I’d like to apologise to Khruu khem and her friends who came to visit only to find us not at home. Maybe you will come again soon, and even come on the trip out with us if you like. The kids would love it.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

 
may2som

So another week gone and time for the Sunday trip out.

With summer weather back for the day, it had to be Huay Tung Tao again.

Wispa only needed calling once and ran over to jump in the truck with the kids, clearly looking forward to the day out as much as they were.

We had a near full quota of children this week, general behaviour having been very good all round.

The children have pointed out a need for a fan in the back of the truck , as when the sun is up it gets very hot back there.

We will see what we can do.

We spent 3 and a half hours there this Sunday with the children building sand castles, playing in the water, and spending some time in the playground, on the swings etc.

Not forgetting eating kanom and drinking pop.

One minor, problem after about five minutes of being there , was  poor little May getting a bloody nose after some over exuberant play on entering the water.

A plus side to this happening was seeing the care between children as Tai applied make shift first aid with the ice we had brought for drinks.

I stepped up my exercise, with much more serious swimming whilst there, but also found time to chill as did Boon.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

 
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It seems like we’ve got stuck in our ways with Huay Tung Taow having been the weekly Bai Tio destination for several weeks now.

Must be because its perfect for our requirements.

Lots of space to run around and play;

plenty of food and drink available if you need it;

the beautiful lake for swimming;

and general all round ambience, with the views of the mountains behind, means I get a chance to chill out to.

On the 10th of May Tai was the first to go back to school, starting Mattayom 1 at his new school in Sarapee.

Tai proved himself to be a good student when he first arrived and finished Prathom 6 at Pasak  School.

He did very well in the entrance test for his new school , getting an overall mark of level 4 out of 5.

Already it is clear that this level in Mattayom 1 has much work and Tai often spends 2 to 3 hours every evening doing homework.

Keep it up Tai, you’ll go far.

A week later Mae Salab school opened and the rest of the children who had attended Pasak School last year,  started at their new school;

which is much more convenient, being just 3 minutes walk away from home.

New girl Jor also joins the crew at Mae Salab.

Gu, our oldest child, at 14, took a little longer to start the new school year as there was some delay getting all the necessary paperwork from his old school in Nan.

But he eventually started at the same school as Tai two weeks later. Gu has started Mattayom 2.

He has started at the lower level but we hope that with extra support here at Stratton House we will see an improvement in his school grades over time.

He certainly appears to be putting some effort in already which was apparently a problem back at home in Nan.

The start of the new school has been quite a drain on the Foundations funds, what with Thai schools having several different uniforms for the children to wear.

Also term fees for the Mattayom level boys as well as money for lunch everyday which is not free in the Mattayom school.

All the children seem to have settled well in their new schools and all are very good at getting their homework done every evening; the ‘no TV until homework is finished’ rule helps alot.

Check out our photobucket album here for more photos , including general activities in the house; playtime; homework; cooking and more.

© 2011 The Stratton ABC Foundation Childrens Home Chiang Mai Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha