I had a slightly unusual booking this week, a Medieval Day at Burton Manor Primary School, in Stafford. Now this isn’t one of the periods I cover, but it is my favourite area of English History, so I wasn’t going to turn it down. It took a little mixing and tweaking of kit and Hey Presto! We were on.
The children took part in a law court. experiencing the crimes and punishments of 12th century England. The jury were a harsh lot, the found everyone guilty! Then we took a more relaxed approach playing some games from the period and making felt.
Wool was a common material at this time, many homes were rural and people had sheep. By the 12th Century wool was fast becoming the country’s greatest asset http://sheepcentre.co.uk/wool.htm . People were spinning and weaving at home, and raw wool was a huge export. Felt was also used in clothing, hats, boot linings, jackets. It is a warm, waterproof fabric.
So having given the children a quick history of wool, we got down to having a go at making some. The results were very good. I love making felt with children, but as it is usually part of the Neolithic show, I don’t often get the coloured stuff out. Today we were using coloured merino and the children came up with some stunning designs, as you can see from the pictures. They are far more adventurous with their colour choices than adults, and will mix things that I would never even think of. I hope they will take them away and create purses and pockets from their pieces.
The school are going to pass on some more pictures of the day so watch here and my Facebook page for updates.
Thank you Burton Manor for a great day.
Mrs. Meredith’s. Even the teachers had fun.
Holes can be good. Back the felt with sparkly material to strengthen it and add glamour
The Cat In the Hat’s socks!!
Some fantastic colours
