I have had a lovely week with all the Year 1 children from Bengeworth Academy. Our topic this week has been castles. The children recently visited Warwick Castle and told me lots of things about their trip. In addition to what they learnt at the castle, I was able to tell them about the food that people would eat in a medieval castle. On the farm the children could see real live examples of chickens, eggs and young pigs. Happily the pigs were playing in the wood rather than being part of a banquet! The children also learnt that bread was the staple part of the medieval diet and we looked at wheat growing in the field, ripe wheat and flour. The children had a turn at hand milling wheat, which helped them to understand why only rich people ate white bread in medieval times. 

During the farm walk the children had a run over some medieval ridge and furrow, which families in the local village would have grown their crops on. During the walk we also looked at the cows on the farm. The children could see that it would take a lot longer and more money to produce a cow ready for the table than a pig, which is why beef was eaten less in medieval times than other meat. 

On the walk we also looked at the electricity pylon on the farm and the children thought about what they use electricity for in their homes and what the medieval people did to keep warm and cook their food. We also stood on the saltway road, running through the middle of Sandfield Farm and thought about how in modern times food is stored in fridges and freezers. 

Once in the den building wood the children were split into groups and were asked to build something medieval. There were some great ideas including a fire for cooking venison on, castle walls, a kings grave and one child turned a stick into a knights horse. 

After lunch the children met the cockerel and the pigs before playing in the play wood. 

Tags: Castles