On Friday 22nd November, Year 3 went on a trip to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. We had a hands-on mummification workshop, where we learnt how to perform mummification, and we learnt about the Ancient Egyptians beliefs about life after death. It was very fun, and everyone got involved (even Pharaoh Smith and Pharaoh Cupper!). We also had the chance to have a look around other parts of the museum, including the Staffordshire Hoard , art galleries, and Birmingham through the ages. We had a brilliant day out, and learnt lots! 

Year 2 have been discovering how Victorians spent their leisure time by exploring old photographs and discussing similarities and differences. We were very surprised to find out that some of the photographs actually showed the Lickey Hills! We found out how the hills were bought from private ownership and gifted to the City of Birmingham. Victorian Brummies would take the tram out of the city and up into the Lickeys for picnics, walks and bilberry picking.

On Friday, Year 3 were evacuated to the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster – we were transported to 1940’s Britain, in the midst of WW2! The children spent the day dressed as evacuees, experiencing what it would have been like as a child in WW2. They learnt all about rationing, home life, shelters, the Blitz and were immersed into 1940’s life. The highlight of the day was definitely getting to ride on an old-fashioned steam train, going through the tunnel and imagining what it would have been like during a Blackout. We also got to watch a demonstration from WW2 firefighters, and learnt how they would have put out fires/bombs (whist getting a little wet in the process!) during the war, and rode an old-fashioned bus. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and we all learnt a lot! 

Year 3 had a fantastic day today at their Stone Age to Iron Age workshop with their Neanderthal teacher. They learnt about the developments from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, and how people’s daily lives changed with the development from using stone, to bronze, to iron. 

They were able to be deer and woolly mammoth hunters; they held real woolly mammoth bones; they learnt about communication within tribes; they looked at different types of settlements; they handled and drew Stone Age fossils and rocks; and they even built their own Stonehenge!

A brilliant time was had by all!

3AS have been building stone circles and finding out how Stone Age people may have used them as calendars. We looked at how shadows changed with the position of the sun and found out about how the sun rises in different places depending on the time of year. In this way, Midsummer and Midwinter could be found.

Year One had a great time when the Red Knight came to visit us on Wednesday.

We learnt all about where knights lived, the weapons they used, and the important job they did.Doc1

Finding animals gathered around a watering hole, our hunter-gatherers searched for the smallest and weakest and moved in for the kill!

Here we are being Stone-Age people and using a hammerstone to shape flint into a useful tool.  Flint is a sharp stone so we had to wear safety goggles to protect our eyes (even though Stone Age people didn’t use safety goggles!)

Today we travelled back in time 500 years as we held an Aztec market. Developing our trading skills, we got to practice lots of maths as we thought about which products to put special offers on. And it wasn’t long before we got into our roles as market traders as we also learnt lots about the different foods the Aztecs ate.

I have discovered a scheme that Sainsburys are currently running, which will support learning in Geography. Cards are given to you each time you shop and there is a collection book, which has many interesting facts. What great alternative to football/Pokemon collection cards!