Y3 - Butser Farm - Oct 2024

Today Year 3 visited Butser Ancient Farm and experienced many activities first hand, to support their current topic - The Stone Age.

The day started with a talk about life in the Stone Age and a visit around buildings on site to see and handle artefacts.  The first house they sat in had a fire and was very atmospheric, if a little smelly and dark!

The children then took part in a chalk carving activity. They used natural resources such as coal and leaves to give some colour and then used a hard flint to carve patterns into the soft chalk.

Next the children used natural clay found at the site to make bowls or objects of their choosing. The children were encouraged to roll the clay into balls, getting rid of any sharp stones, to thin the clay out, to form their shapes and to decorate them as they saw fit.

After lunch, they learnt the art of ‘clunching’. This consisted of bashing chalk and breaking it down into a powder (lots of fun as you can imagine!!). This was then mixed with straw and water to create daub. Using the daub, the children helped to build part of a wall.

Finally, they took part in an archaeological excavation, where they hunted for different materials in the sand. The children had to use a trowel to dig through the sand and find items such as bones, metal objects, flints and stones.

We were very lucky with the weather and a big thank you must be extended to those who came along and supported Green Class. Our guide was very complimentary about the children’s behaviour and emphasised how engaged they were with their learning.

A good day was had by all.