Welly Wednesday
We have enjoyed a lovely afternoon up at Welly Wednesday camp. The children began the session by thinking about how we prepare and cook our food today using our electric or gas cookers and ovens. We then compared this to life in 1666 and thought about how ovens would have been a lot different. We discussed how fire would have been used to heat homes as well as cook and compared the Pudding Lane Bakery oven to some modern pizza ovens. Following on from our discussion the children worked together to make campfire bread, carefully following the recipe to measure out ingredients and follow the method to form the dough. We then got ready to head up to camp to bake our bread over a real campfire. Just before we left school the children noticed a message from Boxton the rat. He wanted some help to learn about the fire triangle! The children headed up to camp wondering how they could help. Once at camp the children helped to create sparks using a fire steel and we discussed all the elements a fire needs to burn. The children also thought about the three factors of the fire triangle in relation to the Great Fire of London. They considered how the wind provided oxygen for the fire and the many houses made from wood and straw provided lots of fuel. The children created a fire triangle using twigs from the forest floor while their campfire bread cooked on the fire. They then enjoyed tasting their bread with a nice cup of hot chocolate to finish the session. A brilliant session everyone, Boxton will be very pleased to have such helpful friends.
PE - Unihoc and Multi-skills
This half-term the children are enjoying a new sport 'Unihoc' every Wednesday morning as well as developing a range of skills and techniques in their multi-skills session every Monday morning. So far they have practised many fundamental movement skills including balancing, running, jumping, throwing and catching through a variety of exciting games and activities. They were even introduced to 'Body Surfing' which was an instant favourite!
Science - Everyday Materials
The children have explored, grouped and classified different everyday materials. They have all contributed to our class display and they even wrote and performed songs to describe the properties of some everyday materials.
Materials Song
(Sung to the tune Frere Jacques)
Glass is strong, glass is strong.
It can be sharp, it can be sharp.
It is very breakable, it is very breakable,
And transparent, and transparent.
(Ava, Willow V, Annie and Erin)
Metal is strong, metal is strong.
But it can be flexible, but it can be flexible.
It can be sharp, it can be sharp.
Sometimes it can rust, sometimes it can rust.
(Evie, Finlay W, Everest and Poppy)
Wood is hard, wood is hard.
Sometimes spikey, sometimes smooth.
You can use for fires, you can use for fires.
And it’s rigid, and it’s rigid.
(Archie, Finlay T, Millie and Edie)
Plastic is hard, plastic is hard.
Sometimes it is sharp, sometimes it is sharp.
It is very rigid, it is very rigid.
It can have holes in, it can have holes in.
(Charlotte, Willow M and Jack)
History - The Great Fire of London
The famous ‘Great Fire of London’ started on Sunday 2 September 1666 in a baker shop in Pudding Lane. Thomas Farriner, the baker, forgot to put out the fire he used to bake bread. Some of the firewood was set alight and the fire began. Key Stage 1 explored this terrible event and were gripped by this significant historic event from the 17th Century. They studied the buildings of the period to create their own buildings made from wood and straw.
The children transformed in to authors and stepped into the shoes of the famous writer Samuel Pepys. They wrote their own diary extract portraying a day in 1666 when London was gripped by fire.
During our time at Welly Wednesday, we baked fresh bread on an open fire just like Thomas Farriner would have in 1666. Then we put out the fire using buckets of water from the river, imitating the people of London trying to save their homes and valued possessions.
The children sharpened their pencils and gave Christopher Wren some competition! They redesigned St Paul's Cathedral which was largely destroyed by the Great Fire of London. The children then made their design from junk modelling and papier mache.
The Great Fire of London was devastating for the people living at that time, they lost their homes, pets and most valued possessions. As a result of great devastation, a Fire Service was born. The Fire Service has developed over the centuries and is now a valued emergency service which everyone is very grateful for.
