Children's University

This year, the children in Years 3 - 6 will have the opportunity to learn and develop a new skill through our exciting Children's University.  There will be five sessions throughout the academic year; keep checking this page to see their progress! 

Wednesday 9th October

First Aid

We had a lovely first session!  We began by discussing what the children already knew about First Aid, how important it is and made a poster.  We then looked at a First Aid kit before focusing on dangers around the home, including the garden and kitchen.  We created instructions on how to be safe using a kettle and then we used these steps to go and make a hot chocolate.  Yum!

Cake decorating

Today we covered the basics of working with fondant and how to manipulate and colour it. We used cutters of different shapes to make a base of a cupcake topper and then the children were free to create a design of their own to place on top. They all had a great time and the time flew past so quickly we ran out of time to get onto the next stage!

Macrame

​In their first session the children learned to do a simple (but effective!) knot and created a key ring decoration.  For the decoration, I first prepared, cut and knotted the thread.  However, after they had finished their decoration, I taught them how to prepare the threads themselves in order that they can make their own at home. 

Juggling

True juggling is quite a difficult skill to pick up. The children made a fantastic effort and kept persevering throughout and encouraged each other as well. Firstly, we practiced throwing and catching with bean bags, soft balls and plastic carrier bags (which float much slower than bean bags and balls). The children then chose what equipment they were most comfortable with and spent time trying to juggle one ball, two balls and some even got onto using three balls. The key is to get those throws just right: relaxed, at a consistent speed and at the correct height (just above the head). All the children need to keep practicing before the next session, when we will pick up where we left off and hopefully introduce a new challenge.

Archery

Today we had an introduction into the history of Archery (when and why was it created and how is it played today).  We then made posters in small groups to show the information. In the next session we will put theory into practice and learn how to shoot the bow and arrow. 

Ceramics

Today in ceramics the children researched using the internet to gather inspiration, to create their models/creations.  The children planned their drawings on paper and used different technique when moulding the clay. They have created some amazing works already and we have been so impressed with them all.

Fashion Design

In this session, we began with a lesson in anatomy! We explored the ‘9 head model’ to develop a figure outline. Once this was in place, we could use it create our first designs. The first brief was for a ball gown. The children drew some beautiful designs and created a range of textures using watercolours. You could even get a feeling of the textiles being used! The next challenge was to design an outfit with culottes and Breton stripes.

Latin

We spent a lot of the afternoon discussing: etymology, Romance languages, the applications of Latin today, why it is useful, why we still study it, its influence on English and other languages  and how it used to be taught.  We also had a quick look at some ancient Greek, being the other language of classics.  We started our book: Minimus, and have given ourselves Roman names and know how to say 'I am...' in Latin.  We have met the family in the book and understand they are a real family, from a real Roman town.  We looked at the Vindlandae website to see the excavations.  We understand the order of verb and subject, gender of nouns and the use of capitals.  We understand inflexion, and how this gives Latin its exactitude.

Majorettes

Our first session of majorettes was fantastic!  The children learnt how to march in time with each other and were even incorporating their arms too.  They also learnt some twirls using a baton. They all mastered horizontal twirl (flat spin) and a few even showed off having learnt to do a wrist roll!  Most had a taster of some other equipment such as flag baton, pompoms and ribbons.  All in all a great start!