resilience residential week
A key part of our work involves taking people out of their familiar environment and challenging them to take part in activities that are outside their comfort zone. These are situations where adults and children need to use their resilience skills to overcome their fears and anxieties.
We work with Thurston Outdoor Education Centre who provide the residential setting for this and organise the adventure activities. The outdoor activity instructors understand the principles of our work and help us to use these activities to reinforce the learning about resilience
Activities include:
We work with Thurston Outdoor Education Centre who provide the residential setting for this and organise the adventure activities. The outdoor activity instructors understand the principles of our work and help us to use these activities to reinforce the learning about resilience
Activities include:
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applying resilience
The first outdoor centre residential week provides the opportunity to apply resilience skills.
Each day has a resilience theme which is introduced in a group session in the morning, reinforced during the day's activities and then forms the focus of a circle time reflection in the evening.
Theme One: Thoughts and feelings
This aims to help participants to recognise their feelings when faced with difficulties and to begin to link these with their thoughts. It also provides the group with examples of how different people might be faced with the same situation but experience different thoughts and feelings.
This theme is linked to a visit to Cathedral Cavern which involves scrambling up rocks and a pitch dark walk through a mine; there is plenty to cause anxiety including heights and darkness.
Theme Two: Pay attention to the positive
This aims to get participants to recognise positive feelings and behaviours in themselves and other members of the group. This provides the group with evidence of positive thoughts to help challenge negative thoughts.
This theme is linked with the creative landscape sculpture activity which requires groups to work together, sharing ideas and solving problems to create a work of art.
Theme Three: Changing negative thoughts
This aims to enable participants to change how they feel about a situation by looking for alternative positive thoughts when the experience negative thoughts. This theme is linked with activities that individuals will find particularly challenging. These are adapted according to the age and capability of the participants but, for example, could include extreme ghyll scrambling for adults and older children.
Each day has a resilience theme which is introduced in a group session in the morning, reinforced during the day's activities and then forms the focus of a circle time reflection in the evening.
Theme One: Thoughts and feelings
This aims to help participants to recognise their feelings when faced with difficulties and to begin to link these with their thoughts. It also provides the group with examples of how different people might be faced with the same situation but experience different thoughts and feelings.
This theme is linked to a visit to Cathedral Cavern which involves scrambling up rocks and a pitch dark walk through a mine; there is plenty to cause anxiety including heights and darkness.
Theme Two: Pay attention to the positive
This aims to get participants to recognise positive feelings and behaviours in themselves and other members of the group. This provides the group with evidence of positive thoughts to help challenge negative thoughts.
This theme is linked with the creative landscape sculpture activity which requires groups to work together, sharing ideas and solving problems to create a work of art.
Theme Three: Changing negative thoughts
This aims to enable participants to change how they feel about a situation by looking for alternative positive thoughts when the experience negative thoughts. This theme is linked with activities that individuals will find particularly challenging. These are adapted according to the age and capability of the participants but, for example, could include extreme ghyll scrambling for adults and older children.
family time
Families benefit from the outdoor centre routine with parents and children helping with serving meals, making their own beds, doing chores and taking part in the room inspection competition. This allows children to demonstrate their independence and capabilities.
Parents often report that they have maintained some of the outdoor centre routine once they have returned home. For example, children help with chores, make their own beds, or the family sit down and share a meal together.
Parents often report that they have maintained some of the outdoor centre routine once they have returned home. For example, children help with chores, make their own beds, or the family sit down and share a meal together.