Both yesterday and today, I got to spend a couple of hours canoeing on the Mere after school with some of the pupils from Ellesmere Primary School. The funding for these sessions came from money given to the school to spend on pupils that receive free school dinners and we planned both sessions to be for key stage 2 pupils that fall into this category. However, only Monday’s session was filled with such pupils and, having already booked the second session, the school decided to open today’s canoeing up to their Year 6 pupils.

Both days were effected by a gentle breeze that had a surprising effect on the canoes, making it hard for the kids to control them. Monday’s group kept finding themselves being pushed into the trees and bushes at the edge of the Mere, which caused great hilarity (along with a bit of frustration!). However, we managed to find a relatively sheltered area where we were able to play a few games.

Today, one of the boats capsized fairly early on in the session and it was interesting to watch the different responses of the two paddlers concerned. Whilst one was set on getting on with things and making the most of the remainder of the session, the other showed no interest in continuing. As a result, we changed the planned format for the afternoon, and remained bank based in the main. However, we had lots of fun with tug of war paddling and various challenges which kept everyone entertained.