On Tuesday 2nd October we had Portals to the Past come in to help us celebrate Greek Day. The children we able to dress in traditional Ancient Greek attire and really looked the part in their outfits. The children were summoned to meet with our guest speaker who shared stories from Sparta. The children were enthralled and horror stricken to learn about how boys as young as 7 were taken away from home to train to become an able and talented Spartan.
Thereafter the children in their class groups were able to take part in an Archimedes tangram puzzle which really boggled them and pushed their mathematical thinking. They were able to work in small groups to build given puzzles but also investigate making other shapes. They were then asked to complete a quiz about a range of Ancient Greek topics including philosophers, Olympics and even the politics and Gods. The children worked tirelessly to find all the answers and tried to aim for the top scores. Lastly for the morning the children were invited to play a game of Ancient Greek Chess. They had to use strategic thinking to block and beat their opponents.
To end the day the children were invited to look at the types of armour and weaponry that would be used. I think they were fairly surprised of the weight of some of the things Ancient Greek soldiers were expected to carry into wars and battles. To end the day on a high the children had their very own indoor Olympics using foam javelins. The day was a great success and the children really engaged well with our guest and participated eagerly which further progressed their deeper thinking skills in our creative topic. Thanks to all parents who helped with providing costumes for the day.
