The fun we had!

I have attempted to make slideshows out of the photos that were taken last week. With 5 different cameras snapping away there is a considerable amount to sort through! Apologies if some of the photos seem duplicated.No fancy editing either I'm afraid - just pictures and music!
I have split the slideshows into activities to make it easier to upload as they would be too big otherwise.

The Churchill Barriers

The Churchill Barriers were very important to the defence of Scapa Flow in World War 2 so we have been investigating how they were built and who built them.
We had a go at making our own models using wooden blocks of different sizes.

making the models ...

completed and painted!

Playground Design

As an introduction to a real life project that we will be tackling soon, we tried out a challenge to design an imaginary playground.
Working in groups we each had an area of the playground to measure. Next we decided on a scale to use for our plans which we were drawing on squared paper.
We needed to design a piece of playground equipment to put in our playground. to do this we used multilink cubes.
The designs needed to be drawn in plan, side and front view.

Shelter building and canoeing

We had some preparation to do before we were ready to embark on our outdoor adventure. First we needed to be sure that we could build ourselves a shelter should we need it! We practised in school using modelling materials. We were allowed 15 spills, 1 metre of string, some matchsticks and a bin bag sized piece of plastic. Working as a team, sharing ideas and cooperating was very necessary for success in this task.

We tried different shapes of shelters and used the techniques we learned from Kim Foden's visit earlier in the term.
The next challenge was using real sized sticks and building shelters we could fit into.

See more shelter building photos in the slideshow below.


Now we were ready to try the real thing in the wilds of Harray! The weather was reasonably kind to us although the wind rose a peedie bit and meant we had to keep our canoeing close to the shore.
We managed to build two shelters of different types.

After the shelter building, it was time to get the canoes in the water. When we arrived at Harray loch we had to unload the canoes and learn how to carry them properly down to the water's edge. The Voyageurs in Northern Canada had to carry their canoes and supplies over many miles of rough country and snow. This is known as portage. Luckily we didn't have to carry our equipment very far. We were well dressed for the task with our waterproofs and buoyancy aids.

At last we were ready to launch!

We practised trading goods with our teams at the trading posts.

And all this before lunch!

There are some more images from our day out in the slideshow below:

We had a great day even though we didn't quite manage the campfire building due to time and weather. Many thanks to Ron and Ms Mackay for the experience and also to the parent helpers.

Drama

Mr Giles has been helping us to set up family groups for drama. We have chosen characters and roles for our family members and given the families traditional Orkney names. 

We have been investigating the jobs and chores various family members would have had 200 years ago on a traditional Orkney farm.
When we go on our visit to Corrigal farm museum we will 'work' in our family groups and get some idea of what it was really like. 
Our costumes are almost ready and next week we will have our family photographs taken. We have learned that we must look serious and try not to smile too much! 

We did a great job of pretending to walk solemnly into church and wait quietly for the minister. It doesn't seem like people had much time for fun in those days.