Skip to main content

The Iceland Family Adventure - post 2, The Snaefellsnes Peninsula. [@DTW_Holidays]

This is the second in a series of posts that will tell the story of our family adventure to Iceland. As regular readers will know, I've worked with Discover the World Schools for a while now, producing the award winning volcano and Norway study aids. This is the third adventure here this year but this time it's our own agenda!  When the company asked me to write a series of posts covering our family adventure I agreed as it will also serve as a record of our trip. 

Henry is four in July so is at that stage where he needs quite a bit of entertainment.  The weather conditions were going to prove challenging. 

Most the attractions of Iceland, and especially this part of Iceland, are outside.  Having said that, it was time for breakfast first.  Being the only family with a toddler in tow, we are easily identifiable.  The breakfast buffet was excellent as Henry could choose exactly what he wanted and did have some of the independence he enjoys at home. 

There was also plenty of coffee on tap for mum and dad.  Next was a circumnavigation of the peninsula. In total around 150km of driving. The weather was tough going, with only brief (15-25 mins max) forays out of the car. Having said that, once out of the brutal wind we were able to explore and Henry was more than happy for most of the day.  Or recommendation would be to pack warm clothes, Henry was happy inside his snow suit, hat, coat, gloves, although did find walking in the high wind tough going.  Here are a selection of images from the day:






Our favourite quote of the day was Henry saying that 'we're not camping because we're on holiday.' It's great to be able to climb and explore the countryside without many restrictions.  The locations are all safe when following some common sense rules (for example, hold on to your son in high winds). 

The Snaefellsnes Peninsula isn't full of your normal tourist infrastructure and it benefits from this. We hardy saw another soul and the natural beauty can really be appreciated.  However, do ensure that you're prepared with activty books ( H loves sticker books), stories, games and snacks, including water, as it can be a fair while between stops.  Also, nothing seems to open here until at least 11am, not great when Henry gets up around 6am. That meant trying to stay in breakfast for as long as possible and a little killing time. Petrol stations are a lifeline for coffee and snacks and for somewhere to sit when plotting the next leg of the adventure  Everything else, including the museums, don't open until later. Worth remembering for future. 

The highlight of the day was exploring the gravel road though the Bersekjahraun lava fields, stopping when we wanted to collect lava rocks. We also has some great fun in the high winds. 

We're now back at the hotel while I quickly write this and are about to head out to the shops and to find French fries and burgers.  All in all, a great day.  


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

High Impact, Low effort

This month is the start of the #29daysofwriting challenge.  I enjoyed this last year and will be using my Staffrm account to post.  I'll also be reporting here, both to give a little more detail and to keep a log of what I have written. The challenge developed a great sense of community last year, which is why I'm choosing to write on Staffrm. What I would say to those who are new to writing or don't want to run out of ideas is: Write for yourself. Clarify an idea, write something out loud. The process of distilling thoughts into writing is immensely beneficial to your practice. If other read, comment and respond, that's a bonus. Ignore the muppets who know nothing of your context, style or students. Mix it up - I like to read about real stuff from real classrooms and schools and also about other stuff.  If we always write about school, how does that work for workload? If you've nothing nice to say, don't say it. So, the following has been ...
5 comments
Read more

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey.  As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others.  Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up.  I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions.  From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment.  From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die.  How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach?  Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment i...
4 comments
Read more

Banned Word Board

Today I want to share some simple ideas that I have found to be very effective in the classroom. I can't say that they are my own original ideas, although I have played around with them. The first is the Banned word Board. This is a simple display in the classroom that lists a number of words that are not allowed to be used by pupils in their written or oral answers. The effect has been an increase in the quality of written work, and I have almost made comments such as 'Sir it's simple, the stuff just affects the thing and causes people problems'. Pupils are now more able to use specific language, something that is vital especially at GCSE. I have had to make a few modifications, such as the introduction of 'Heavenly Words' This is an additional display placed on the ceiling. I found this necessary as pupils needed some stimulus in finding replacement words. After advice received after posting the idea on the SLN forum , I have also introduced semi-banned words...
Post a Comment
Read more