‎"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

Knowing Witch Books The Children Will Like

 Foundation Blog  No Responses »
Mar 102012
 

A pleasant meeting yesterday, at Ratchadamneon Coffee, in the old city, resulted in a very kind donation of brand new copies of the first two Harry Potter books, in Thai language, from a visiting Foundation supporter, Rick Carbert.

Rick has expressed his hope to supply the complete set in time and maybe donate further with a view to building up the children’s reading library.

Having always been a great believer in the value of reading I have always done my best to ensure a supply of various books, so this is a very welcome donation

Big thanks to Rick.

Term End Approaches

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Mar 072012
 

We are in the lead up to the end of the school term and , indeed, school year. We have been very happy with our childrens progress in their respective schools this year.

As is always the case at this time, the childrens homework and study load has been quite high and if they are not studying for tests they have been busy with projects that also go towards their final grades.

The Kids Go Equestrian

 Lead  1 Response »
Mar 062012
 
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Monday afternoon brought a brand new activity for the children thanks to our friends Des, Pui, Jochen and Ran who organised a horse riding session at Abenteur Farm, situated in the grounds of Mc Keans Hospital.

Going straight from school we drove over to the farm ready for the session booked for 4.30.

Des, Jochen and the girls were all there waiting with the friendly staff at the stables.

After greetings and refreshments some of the children went with the staff to begin grooming the horses ready for the riding, whilst the others played on the trampoline.

The children soon overcame whatever nervousness they might have had and did a great job with the grooming.

With four horses available they all had to take their turns, but this was no problem with the swings and trampoline to keep them happy as they waited.

Everyone had a go and they all thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m sure it will not be the last time.

We would like to say a big thank you to our friendly hosts at the farm and to Des , Jochen and all the gang for making this fun activity possible. And of course, a big thanks to the horses:)

A B C Art, The Mural Progresses.

 Lead  1 Response »
Mar 062012
 

This last weekends work sessions have been a bit of light relief for the kids after recent hard work at the Foundation land.

Sunday morning saw more effort to progress the A B C Mural, instigated by our recent Volunteer Emilie.

Some great effort and lots of fun.

Mural A B C and the Angry Birds

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Mar 032012
 
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This mornings “work” session for the children was not to forget their promise to our recent volunteer Emilie. She had started a pictorial AB C using animals as our latest Mural painting efforts.

They all had a lot of fun bringing this project along.

Tai, who had been otherwise occupied at the time Emilie instigated this project, chose to work on his own idea having sketched out “The Angry Birds” on 2 walls earlier this week.

Chilling Out At Stratton House

 Foundation Blog  1 Response »
Mar 032012
 

As end of term approaches there has been a lot of extra study for the kids here in preparation for their tests, but they have all been encouraged to ensure they get plenty of chill out time in between and not to stress too much.

To do your best is all you can do .

You will spot young Nu is sporting a sling after a fall out of bed. Good news is that the resulting fracture does not appear to be too serious and she hopes to be out of plaster in just two weeks.

Can You Help?

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Feb 062012
 

Single Mattress

Up until now all the children have been sleeping on the basic “cardboard” filled matresses.

These are adequate enough for the younger children but our teenagers are now in need of better quality support for their health and welfare.

They are now getting to the point where the present mattresses won’t support their weight which leads to sunken mattresses which I am concerned will then lead to possible back problems.

There are many outlets in Chiang Mai selling basic , good quality mattresses at very reasonable cost.

Thankfully, due to a generous donation from a Faa Gamma Fund raising team supporter, our children have now received their new mattresses. 

Another Special Sunday

 Lead  1 Response »
Jan 292012
 
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Yet more thanks to Pui for helping to put us in touch with our new friend and supporter Jurgen,

Today we had a very welcome visit from Pui, her family and Jurgen and his friend Ohs. Jurgen has expressed an interest in helping our Foundation, liking our core philosophies and our work so far.

Our visitors came with yet another great lunch for the kids, with green curry, chicken, noodles and much more. Jurgen and Ohs also presented us with a huge supply of toothpaste and toothbrushes for the children, donated by a dentist friend of theirs in Switzerland. Sorry I failed to get your name, but we all say a big thanks for that.

After a fantastic lunch Jurgen offered a return visit to Childrens World at the Night Safari. And so there followed a wonderful afternoon for the kids and a relaxing time for the adults with chance to discuss several ideas in connection with onward funding and development.

This includes a kind offer to help design and produce drawings for our ” permanent facility”.

We would like to thank Jurgen, Ohs, Pui and all her family for their generous support and I look forward to ongoing discussions in the near future.

 

 

An Inquiring Mind

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Dec 262011
 

A couple of days before Xmas day our microwave was discovered to be unusable anymore, as its inner lining had deteriorated.

It wasn’t long before it found a new use, feeding the curiosity of an inquiring young mind.

14 year old Tai, already established as a grade A student at school,  soon had at it with a screw driver, investigating its workings.

This is just the sort of activity we have hoped to encourage with our style of doing things at Stratton House, and I would very much like to further support this new found interest in electronics.

We would very much like to purchase an electronics starter kit to facilitate further , safe, learning in this field, giving Tai and any of the other children who may be interested, a chance to look into developing a new skill.

Having surfed the internet I am posting a link to one such kit that comes in at $94.95. 

If you feel you may be able to help please consider either donating  $100….I have been so far unable to establish shipping costs… or visit the link and purchase direct on our behalf….shipping address 36/1 ( Stratton House) Moo 7, T.Chompoo, A. Sarapee, Chiang Mai 50140

Or if you find another similar kit that is aimed at beginners this would be most welcome also.

A Mary Xmas and A Brucey New Year

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Dec 192011
 

Sorry about the lousy title, a little bit of Xmas madness creeping in…its been a long year..:)

This years festive season comes with many positive notes for the Foundation as friends, old and new,  step forward with their support.

This post is to say a big thanks to our old friends Mary and Bruce who, having visited our Foundations home last year, recently donated a significant amount of money with a view to sponsoring each and every child here to the tune of 10 pounds a month for the whole year, to include 1 new child who is expected to join us in May.

They have also indicated that they are prepared to consider help with funding extra educational needs for our hardest working students.

I am moved and delighted by this gesture and all here at Stratton House wish to say a huge “Thankyou” and wish the Grays a very enjoyable Festive season and a very very Happy New Year.

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