For once in a YEAR I had a Free Saturday this past weekend. After a year of weekend classes, I just finished my EMBA classes last Friday. Phew! To celebrate my new-found freedom , on Saturday I spent THE ENTIRE DAY with the girls, doing shopping for this Holiday Camp which Bunny is going to , starting Monday.

Rain coat ? check . Sports shorts? check. Torch ? check. Epi pen ?

“What is epi pen?”

We were kind enough to give the pharmacist a moment to Google. 🙂 By the end of the day , we had everything required.

Forget my exams, also starting on Monday ; it is the Big Hill Camp that is causing a buzz at the Mwiti house this week. 

I don’t remember my first day at boarding school but I remember the second day. I remember the song we sang at assembly that Monday. Up to this day, it brings back memories of a 10 year old girl away from home the first time, standing at assembly filled with much excitement and even more homesickness.

But it was easy to get used to Fred’s academy. At Fred’s, we had hot showers, and sausages and chapati were part of the school menu. At Fred’s, they washed your clothes for you so you could spend your time reading and exploring. I still have scars on my knees from Fred’s…

Fred’s may have been all that but the atmosphere at Fred’s was nothing compared to Pembroke. Pembroke House , as the name suggests , is a house first then a school. You feel at home at Pembroke. In fact , before Pembroke House was a school , it was a home. I took these two shots of what was the main farm house , with my phone :

I do not intend to take her to boarding school anytime soon , but at almost 8 , I feel my daughter is ready to experience that – that feeling of independence that builds courage. At Pembroke , they are warm and welcoming and the expansive grounds on which it stands provides more than enough ground for kids to explore the outdoors.What’s more , all this in a safe environment. For my daughter’s first stay away from home, that’s exactly what I was looking for.

Big Hill Holiday camp

I was sold when I read on their website that , Big Hill holiday camps’ mission is to “provide children with a chance to gain confidence through experience, meet and make new friends, develop new skills, challenge themselves through adventure and realize their abilities”. What’s more? “Big Hill camp is a great place for building and developing life skills, such as team building, communication, independence and responsibility…”.

And of course being at Gilgil , it helps that , it is just an hour’s drive from home .

I wonder how she will handle it though. As for Kajune , well , she is still mummy’s baby. Let’s see how this week goes!.