Year 3 had a wonderful time on their trip last Thursday to Headstone Manor. Even though it began as a rather wet morning, it did not dampen our excitement!
After a very warm welcome from the curators, we began to explore the museum and surrounding area using the trail to help us to discover what life was like hundreds of years ago. We listened to different film clips, had a go at all the quiz questions and enjoyed hunting down the artefacts to find out more about them.
Our next session, which was taught by Annie and Laura, was held in the Great Barn . We learned about the history of Headstone Manor and how it used to be a farm. We learned how hard it was to work on a farm during the Middles Ages, and all the jobs that a farmer would have to do during the year. This learning helped us make links with our current topic (Ancient Egypt) as we are learning how the Ancient Egyptians depended on the River Nile and farming in order to survive.
As the farmers in the Tudor times wove willow to make fences, we learned how to weave string onto our fingers and then transferred this skill using willow to make a fence or a basket.
The willow was very flexible, cheap and strong and therefore a great material to use for many things. We had great fun weaving with willow rods on a frame, even when some us got tied up in knots!
We learned how the seasons affected farming and we had fun role-playing the jobs that a farmer would do during each season (for example sowing seeds and milking sheep). Unfortunately, sometimes the hard work by the farmers would be spoilt by the large birds that came and ate the seeds sown by the farmers.
After that, we learned how to make blackbirds using black card, pegs and string, and we used these as props to continue with our role-play. We imagined being a farmer in Harrow many years ago, and we had to use all our efforts in scaring the blackbirds away so that our seeds may grow.
It was such a busy day that we were very grateful when it was time to eat our lunch! Thankfully the sun began to shine and we were able to enjoy a playtime outside on the brand-new equipment.
Categories: School News 
