Trips

Linked to our previous History topic: The Stone Age, we visited Walton Woods in Wingerworth, led by Branching Out Forest School. We started our day off by having a lovely trudge through the woods down to our destination. We then split off into two groups and headed the other side of the river! To start off, we began by building dens, similar to those that the Stone Age people might have once built. We all worked as a team to locate, lift and place the correct logs around a tree. The children all got stuck in and built an amazing den! We then tried to find some foliage for warmth and to protect our den! The children absolutely loved scavenging for ferns and dried leaves! Some of them even made flags for our den!

We then moved onto fire lighting. The children learnt the elements to a fire and why it would have been so important to be able to build a fire back in the Stone Age times. Everyone made a fire square and was given some pieces of cotton wool. They then struck their flint and began to make fire! Everyone was successful in making a fire! We remembered to stay with out fires and to stamp on the embers once it was safe to do so. I think Bobby held the record for the most successful fires built in one session, with 17! It required a lot of perseverance and patience and it definitely paid off!

After a spot of lunch on a log and a quick check for wildlife in the river, we then moved onto making tools and utensils that might have been used in the Stone Age using clay. The children were very imaginative creating bow and arrows, hammers, bowls, tea cups and cutlery! The children then headed onto whittling: shaving twigs and sticks to create a sharp point. This was very therapeutic! 

Finally (and possibly the best part of the day), SMORES! The children toasted marshmallows and sandwiched it between two chocolate chip cookies to create a smore. This was an absolute joy to watch, everyone was smiling and sitting round a camp fire thoroughly enjoying their melted marshmallows. 

I hope the pictures do the experience justice, it was amazing to see so many smiling faces! Everybody got stuck in and had an absolute blast! 

We visited the Southwell Workhouse and Infirmary linked to our History topic of The Victorians. The children had such a fantastic time! They learnt all about the workhouse and what life was like living there. We visited bedrooms, the washroom, the kitchen, the cellar and the school room. We also saw the infirmary and found out what a basic hospital looked like. The children took part in playing with some Victorian games, picking oakum from rope and even had a go at writing letters like Victorian school children! They were like little sponges, absorbing so much knowledge that they hopefully can carry into our new topic! We received some wonderful feedback from the staff at the Workhouse about our children and how well-behaved they were, how sensible and polite they were and how inquisitive they were!