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! 

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! 

3AS have been developing their geography skills as they created a 3D landscape before choosing where to site the Stone Age village. We had to think about where a lake was most likely to form, where rivers would flow into it from and what resources the villagers would need access to. After surviving a flood (maybe we shouldn’t have built right next to the lake after all?) the villagers decided to construct a stone circle.

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 3 have started off their Stone Age to Iron Age topic fantastically with their brilliant theme Home Learning. In school we have been learning about the types of shelters that Stone Age people would have lived in, and the materials that they would have been able to use. The children have then made their own models of these shelters, and they look very realistic! Well done Year 3! 

This month at Lickey, we are lucky enough to have two exciting theme days – Reading and Science. Here are some excellent book ideas to engage your child in both of these exciting subjects.

We hope you enjoy these suggestions.

Today Year One have found some mysterious objects! We found a burnt loaf of bread and a letter from someone called Samuel Pepys. The letter was dated, 1666. We also found a map of London. I wonder what the story is behind these items…

We’ve had a fun afternoon having a go at weaving like the Aztecs. Remembering to go over-under-over-under (or was it under-over-under-over?) we’ve started making colourful pieces of fabric while getting a feel for everyday Aztec life. We’ve also talked about how modern fabrics are made in a similar way.

To fit in with several of our topics, Year 4 went to Birmingham Botanical Gardens for the day. We had a tour of the tropical, sub-tropical, arid and Mediterranean glasshouses where we learned about the different places that useful plants actually come from, such as coffee, tea, rubber, cocoa and vanilla, as well as how they are adapted to survive where they live. For example, tropical plants have pointed, waxy leaves to help shed the heavy rainfall while Mediterranean leaves are soft and furry to protect them from the hot summer sun.

We also did a maths trail and explored the gardens including browsing the bamboo, rambling through the rock gardens and examining the exotic birds.

Year 4 had a fantastic day out and learnt lots too!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been really busy creating a 3D map of South America! We started by spreading salt dough on to a piece of cardboard in the shape of South America. We had to leave it for a few days to harden, but as soon as it was ready we painted each country. The final stage was to create flags for each of the countries. It was a huge team effort and I’m sure you will agree they look great! Can you spot the flag for Uruguay?