Our first week in Sonneneck - the work

So - here we are at last.  After all the planning and preparation, we are really enjoying staying in the lovely Sonneneck Centre in Berlin with Kids und Co.  Everyone loved the lovely gardens, and the bedrooms and common areas were really welcoming and the people friendly.  It really was a "sunny corner" with beautiful blue skies shining down on our first week in Germany - we saw all the sights of central Berlin and the great Gardens of the World in nearby village, then got down to the real work we had come for.

Laying a path in the Gardens of Sonneneck - bricklaying skills

Lambeth College tutor, Leslie Brereton is showing Grant how to measure up the blocks before laying the path the construction team were building - working with German tutor, Dieter.

Tyrone works as a team with Nathan and Richard from level 2 construction maintenance to get the path laid.

The German brick laying tutor,  keeping an eye on the quality, and planning where to cut bricks with Grant.

Nathan and Richard really took to the work laying the brick paths, and plan to continue developing their skills in this area - potentially useful for laying driveways when they get back to the UK.  Nathan has been breaking up and taking up the old concrete ones using different equipment.

Leslie shares a moment with Adelaide who is brushing the sand into the brick paths to seal them.  She showed the necessary patience and care needed and although this is the first time she has taken part in construction work, she really enjoyed it.










Carpentry Workshop

Dominic is working on sanding down the side panels of the large planters they are making for the garden, and has followed the tutors instructions carefully using the electric sander.  He is really enjoying learning a new skill and everyone is impressed with the quality of his work.  








Daniel, on the second year of a construction maintenance course, is putting into practice his skills in cutting out a joint for the wooden posts with a chisel.  The whole carpentry team work together to make the finished product, under the guidance of a German tutor and with a Lambeth College staff member to support where necessary. 

Darryl also tried carpentry out for the first time under the careful guidance of Clifton Mclean from Lambeth College.

Sandra was keeping an eye on the work in the carpentry workshop, and filming them on the Flipcam.  We have found these cameras really useful for catching the moment. they are really easy to use and download..

Craft Workshop

 





Card making workshop in progress - it requires great concentration and control.  People were making German Christmas cards to take back to the UK.  Tyrone, Dominic, Darryl, Sandra and Adelaide took part this week.

Tile Panel - after Sandra and Adelaide had make a large tile panel by glueing plain white tiles to a wooden board, Rob was decorating them by painting with acrylic paint.  He likes drawing, but this is the first time he has taken on a large scale project like this - "The World in a College".  He worked with Julia who is a trainee with Kids und Co, and we are looking forward to seeing the finished product.