Swimming - The Stratton ABC Foundation Childrens Home Chiang Mai

February 2012
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Tai Chi Comes To Stratton House

Dec 172011

Today we had a run into DK Bookstore in Chiang Mai, ostensibly to look for a Trumpet music book for Gu. Unfortunately they didn’t have a trumpet book so Gu selected a “learn Saxophone” book instead, complete with dvd.

Whilst looking around the store Tai came along with what i was led to believe was a Karate instruction manual. Keen on the children taking an interest in healthy exercise and self defense I ok’d that going into the shopping basket to.

On getting back home I was over the moon to discover that the book, complete with 3 VCDs, was in fact a Tai Chi starter course.

It is many years since I practised Tai Chi but I have not forgotten how effective it is, not just as a self defense method but also excellent for general fitness, co-ordination, a balance of body , mind and soul.

It is and excellent book and the televisual demonstrations very good and easy to follow.

Having long thought of returning to this discipline myself I am very happy that the children have shown an interest as well, and we intend to start regular Tai Chi practise from tomorrow.

Knowing that for best practice of this discipline other complimentary exercise is very beneficial we are also hoping to begin weekly swimming sessions. As the nearest swimming facility suitable is around 12 kilometers away it would good if we could find a sponsor for the transport costs and entrance fees, approximately 320 baht ( 6.50 pounds)

We do intend this to be a serious exercise programme which will be open to those children who take the Tai Chi course seriously and ; whereas fun time will not be banned; go to spend time swimming and not just messing about in the water.

Our trips to Huay Tung Tao give that opportunity.

The children have also been told that if they take this activity seriously then we will look at getting the appropriate martial arts clothing.

Chill Time At Huay Tung Taow

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Dec 152011

Its been a while since the kids have been out, budget restraints have cut down the trips out. But having watched them all work so hard on their Projects, without complaint, I was determined to give a break off site, and with Monday being a Universal day off school for all our kids, we had an early lunch and got over to Huay Tung Taow just after Midday.

It was a beautiful fresh, sunny day. Very cool by Thai standards but some of the kids still braved the water for a short time.

As further reward I spent a little extra on the kanom from the lady vendor. The kids got a further nice surprise when a Thai family sitting close by sent their duaghters over with more kanom for them, good healthy seaweed snacks

They were a lovely family and they all spoke very good English too, so I was able to have a nice chat with them

I’m so sorry , we did introduce ourselves, but I’m hopeless with remembering Thai names, I’ll remember to write them down next time we meet.

They were very interested in the Foundation and expressed a wish to come and visit and we are all looking forward to that.

And the pleasant surprises weren’t finished yet, as a little later in the afternoon Greg Kennedy, who recently donated plants for the childrens “Villa”, turned up with his two wonderful dogs, Biccy and Song See,(hope I got those names right).

They arrived right in the middle of a drawing what you see session. Two of the Thai fanily returned at the same time, they had forgotten their mat, and were very impressed with the childrens drawing and English writing.

Huay Tung Taow But No Swimming

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Sep 192011

After having promised to take the kids out for the last 2 weeks I was determined to make true on that promise this weekend. The previous 2 weeks had been hampered by bad weather and then an unexpected hit on our budget after one of the dogs got out and caused a lady to fall from her bike.

With reasonably good weather this Sunday and no other hiccups we headed out to Huay Tung Taow in the early afternoon.

Unfortunately all the recent rains had obviously taken their toll at our usual swimming spot, raising the water levels to a point that it was unsuitable for children to do much more than splash around at the edges of the lake whilst I kept an eagle eye out for the increased risk of snakes.

With mid term tests happening this week Tai refused my advice of a break from his heavy study schedule and took his books with him. We are sure that he will do very well and may well move up to the top stream in his year, (Class 5, he is currently in Class 4), but I have also tried to counsel him on not putting too much pressure on himself and letting him know that we will be very proud of him whatever the results, as his effort can not be denied.

Becca Discovers Huay Tung Taow

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Aug 032011

After lots of hard work in the kitchen on Saturday and Sunday the children got their favourite reward of a trip out to Huay Tung Taow.

Despite recent heavy rains that continue still, Sunday afternoon was reasonably dry, if a bit grey.

So along with our Volunteer Becca, we all jumped into the truck after lunch and went of for a welcome bit of rest, relaxation and fun.

Once at Huay Tung Taow we were soon joined by Oscar, who came along to get some shots of the kids enjoying their time out.

Wispa came along too and had herself a good run around whilst the kids jumped in the water for a swim.

Yet again we hit it lucky as the heavens opened throwing torrential rain on the way home.

A Well Earned Afternoon at Huay Tung Taow.

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Sep 282010

After all the hard work the children had put into preparing the Garden project, there was no way I could refuse their request for a trip to Huay tung taow to cool off and chill out.
Whilst there the children were joined by a young boy who has seen them there before and came, with his mother, armed with a big pack of Kanom that he wanted to share with his friends.
Thankyou very much.
Another great afternoon at Huay Tung Taow, swimming, relaxing and playing checkers.

Sand Castles,Swimming and a Bloody Nose

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Jun 212010

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.

April Holiday.

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Jun 162010

A few days after our volunteers left, it was time for the kids to spend time with their families during the end of year holiday. Yong and May(1) went home for a 3 weeks and Jack went for 2. The rest of the kids, who all come from Nan Province had 7 days, during which Boon and myself had a well earned break fromthe day to day running of the home.

We left Chiang Mai on the 8th of April, getting an early start at 4am, to give the kids as much time with their families as possible.

Its a long haul to Nan, especially with just one driver in the April heat, so there were lots of rest stops on the way.

We finally got to Pua in Nan at around 1pm after dropping May(2) off at her village near Tung Chang.

Needing to keep to a low budget Boon and myself booked into a guest house in Pua at 300 baht a night.

The holiday had been delayed due to Tai needing to sign in at his new school in Sarapee, so our original plan to get home for Song Kran was scuppered. This was maybe a good thing as it meant that the children got to celebrate this important cultural celebration with their loved ones.

Me and Boon spent most days at the nearby Silaphet Waterfall, a beautiful spot to stay cool in the summer heat…and free!

Its very popular with the local population, but luckily the stream is accessible for quite a distance up the mountain. This means that with a bit of trekking you can always find a spot that’s not so overcrowded.

On the 13th we went into Nan city to join in the Song Kran celebrations ourselves.

We booked into a guesthouse there for one night and rented a motorcy for the day.

In many ways Nan was quite a relief from the mayhem you tend to get in Chiang Mai.

We spent the day riding around the town, getting doused with the rest of the revellers. Once we’d had our fill of getting soaked we took refuge in a coffee shop in the main street and took time to get some photos of the fun.

Whilst on this break we got two new enquiries, one for a 12 year old girl, friend of Mays; and one for a 14 year old boy from Santisuk.

On the 14th we drove out to Santisuk to assess the boys case. This involved a long hard drive to his very remote hilltribe village.

In the end we agreed to take both children, Jor,the girl and Gu, the boy.

On the 15th we collected all the children and returned home to Stratton House.

Already friends with May(2), Jor settled in quickly. Gu took a few days to find his feet and come out of his shell but is now well established as part of the group.

The April Holiday is a long stretch and we are thankful for having the small river so close which gave daily respite from the sweltering heat. Weekly trips to Huay Tung Tao also helped.

The rest of the time we kept the kids occupied with art, karaoke, English language lessons and playing with the board games they had made with Mikki and Siva. We also purchased a version of Monopoly which became almost as popular as Uno.

Chess has also emerged as one of the childrens favourites and Tai even made two chess boards from some perspex we had left over from making the collection boxes.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

Huay Tung Taow Revisited

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Jan 102010

With New Years day done with we decided on a Saturday trip to Huay Tung Tao. Unfortunately we had had a few behavourial issues that meant that our original 3 children remained at home with House Mother Wasana.

I’m happy to report that the clear message that the trips out are a reward for good behaviour seems to have worked as things have improved again, with the children keen not to miss out.

As expected the children that did go had a wonderful time.

We were there for a total of about 5 hours so they had lots of time to enjoy the water and run around and play inbetween times.

There was plenty of Kaow Pat in the lunch box as well as snacks and drinks.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here

Short Swim and Growing Up

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Dec 152009

swim1 Sunday has so far been swim day and, after a mornings play at home, the children chose it again; given the choice between swimming and the park. As it was they all cried off after just half an hour, saying the water was too cold.
It was certainly on the chilly side when we first got in but I think it may have been more to do with us being the only ones there this week.
We were in need of a trip to Macro and, this still being quite a novelty for our kids, I think the shopping trip was almost as popular as the swimming or the park.
Once again they were all very well behaved today, heeding requests to sit properly when in the vehicle and not asking for things whilst we were shopping.
I may be repeating myself here but we have really seen rapid improvement in general behaviour, not that its been so bad, but just those simple things like politeness, clearing things away, learning when to stop an argument before it goes to far.

In particular this week we saw one of the children begin to grow up in a big way. The child in question has clearly had a tendency to go into crying fits if reprimanded or not getting their own way. Having had a couple such incidents I decided it was time to take steps to curtail this behaviour, with rapid results. The last time it happened I instructed everyone, children and staff alike, to ignore the crying , which went on for quite some time and was quite distressing at times. Eventually I asked Boon to explain to them that they needed to calm down and apologise for the behaviour that had started the incident. This did the trick at the time and we explained that, as they were growing up, they needed to accept and understand when they had done something wrong without such a fuss.

A couple of days later there was an incident at the dinner table with the same child. When reprimanded they stopped the row they were making and sat properly when asked, without the previously expected tears. Later House Mother Wasana told me that the child had said that I had taught them not to cry when they got told off. Later that evening we had a ‘Gold Star’ ceremony with the award going to the child in question to acknowledge their important step in growing up…..the smile of pride that resulted could have lit up the City.

Because You Care

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Dec 092009

DSCF5126 Due to heavy colds we didn’t go swimming this weekend so on site activity was called for.

A great liking for art already established we decided to try the children at producing some seasonal greeting cards.

Using some simple designs taken from the internet we set the children to work with felt tips, latex glue and tinsel, with some great results.

This proved such a popular activity that we now hope to establish a range of greeting cards for purchase in our, soon to open, on-line shop.

Because we are only caring for 3 children at the moment and the activity is on a totally voluntary basis, the volume of original handmade selections will be limited but we also hope to soon be in a position to produce quality prints of the originals.

DSCF5122 These will be on sale at bargain prices. They may well be too late for use this year, with Christmas so near and postal services under the usual seasonal strain. But hey!…why not think ahead and have that extra special card to send next year?

In the same vein we hope to use prints of the best of the childrens general artwork to extend the range with cards for all occassions.

The general art work will also be available as A4 poster prints.

For connoisseurs amongst you, although none of the designs are Picasso or Renoir standard, in my eyes, they are none the less beautiful because each one is done with heart and soul by children who are deserving of the nurturing care that you can help us provide.

DSCF5128 With a view to producing an ongoing line of cards we would like to welcome you to a preview of the first offerings in the ‘Because You Care’ range.

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Tai Chi Comes To Stratton House

Chill Time At Huay Tung Taow

Huay Tung Taow But No Swimming

Becca Discovers Huay Tung Taow

A Well Earned Afternoon at Huay Tung Taow.

April Holiday.

Huay Tung Taow Revisited

Short Swim and Growing Up

Because You Care

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