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Crocodiles

Our Project Aim


Exploring the realm of ancient Rome will be an exciting adventure for the Crocodiles as it will unveil a rich tapestry of culture, society, and customs that shaped human history. The study of Roman civilisation offers a captivating glimpse into the daily lives of people who lived millennia ago, from their elaborate festivals and intricate social customs to their innovative engineering feats and enduring artistic legacy. By immersing themselves in the world of the Romans, the Crocodiles will embark on a journey of discovery, unravelling fascinating facts about gladiators, emperors, and everyday citizens. This exploration enriches their understanding of history and cultivates an appreciation for the diverse perspectives and experiences that have shaped human civilisation over time. 


The beginnings of our Roman adventure

With the success of the Crocodiles Save our Futures event in April, it was time to cast our eyes on our next project. As usual, we had a group discussion about what this could be, generating ideas, questions and vision for the direction of this adventure. We only had one criterion to follow: our next project area had to be focused on a historical civilization - the Crocodiles chose to focus on the mighty Romans. 

Our Roman-focused project will be centered on the below project steps. These steps will help guide us towards the LWS 5th birthday party on Friday, 5th July, where we will showcase a Roman celebration typical of the time. 

Over the coming weeks, the Crocodiles will learn about the remarkable Romans, their culture, customs, way of life, impressive contributions to society, art, music, food and even the similarities and differences between their time and current day. 

Project Goal
To create a snapshot in time of a Roman festival 

Steps to Success 


Step 1: Who were the ancient Romans? (location and time)


Step 2: What was daily life like for the ancient Romans? 


Step 3: How and why did the ancient Romans celebrate?


Step 4:  What will our celebration look like today?



May 9thRoman Shields 
The first craft the Crocodiles turned their hands to was their fantastic Roman shields. We began looking at the detailing and embalms the Romans used on their shields, discussing their meaning and significance. The Crocodiles then sketched their designs before adding paint and handles. With the shields complete, we began creating togas and Roman helmets.

Lights, Camera, Action! 

Our Roman theatre workshop with The Rainbow Theatre

We had a truly wonderful time during our Roman theatre workshop. We all participated in our very own Roman show, which covered many aspects of Roman life and adventures. From learning to count to ten in Latin to what foods the Romans indulged into the Roman conquest of Britain - it had it all!

The Crocodiles loved every moment, playing various characters alongside professional actors all whilst wearing their togas and crowns.

Questions to answer at home

9th May

07.07.2024
Roman Mosaics
What is a mosaic? This was a key question and starting point when we began creating our Roman-inspired designs. Before beginning our designs, we first looked at how the Romans designed and used mosaics. We used a small piece of wood as the base, mixed sand and glue as the mortar, and dried pulses as the tiles. It was great to see the Crocodiles take inspiration from the Romans and use their creativity to create fantastic art pieces. 
p.s. we are also creating one very special giant mosaic which we look forward to revealing at the LWS celebration at the end of term.

Preparing the base

Applying the mortar

creating our mosaics

Our Roman Mosaics
Butser Ancient Farm
We excitedly headed off to Butser Ancient Farm on the first day back after the half-term break. Butser Ancient Farm is an open-air experimental archaeology museum and active research centre, learning about the past by recreating it. Their experiments are world-renowned, and their buildings include a Roman villa, Celtic village, Stone Age farm, and Saxon halls — all reconstructed from real UK archaeology and are open to being explored!
It was a truly terrific experience for the Crocodiles to walk amongst history, where we saw a full-scale replica of a Roman villa, lararium, formal garden, giant floor mosaic, Iron Age roundhouse, triclinium and hypocaust! We even got to feed some very rare English goats!
Lararium 

The main deities honored at these shrines were called the Lares, who were responsible for the well-being of the family


Snakes are protective spirits of the house, decorate the surfaces of the shrine 

Roman Villa

Step 2: What was daily life like for the ancient Romans?


Our visit to Butser farm gave us an insight into what daily life would have been like for Romans. We had some in-depth discussions with our very informative guide, Adrian, about the highs and lows of Roman living, from how they softened their leather with urine, preferred to eat (and then vomit their food), to the significance of their jewellery, why they came to Britain and much more!


Our Roman Workshops

Flint wall building

Roman JEWELLERY making

Roman Pottery

Questions to think about at home

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