Our 1940s party! Monday 8th January 2018

Today we had a 1940s party as we have been studying this period in British history. As you can see from the photos, the children dressed up in historical costume to mark the occasion.

The class made authentic food to reflect the wartime situation when food was rationed and not always available:

Uncooked chocolate cake (see recipe below)

Vegetable salad (using cabbage heart and grated carrot)

Corned beef and spam 

Cucumber and grated cheese sandwiches

In addition, the children made decorations to add to the party atmosphere - Union Jack placemats, name cards, flags for the sandwiches, bunting and World War 2 posters.

The recipe for the chocolate cake is as follows:

No-cook Chocolate Cake

For the cake:

8oz (225g) digestive biscuits

3oz (85g) plain chocolate

3oz (85g) butter or margarine

1oz (25g) caster sugar

Few drops of vanilla essence

1 level tablespoon golden syrup

For the topping:

2oz (50g) butter or margarine

Few drops of vanilla essence

4pz 115g) icing sugar

Approximately 2 teaspoons of milk

1-2oz (25-50g) chocolate drops

Cake

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs.

Break the chocolate into small pieces, put in a heatproof bowl and melt over hot water.

Cool slightly.

Add the butter or margarine with the sugar, vanilla and syrup to the chocolate. Beat until soft and creamy.

Add the crumbs and mix well.

Place a 7-8 inch (18-20cm) flan ring or flan dish on a serving plate and fill with the crumb mixture.

Press down firmly and chill overnight or for several hours.

Topping

Cream the butter or margarine for the topping with the vanilla.

Sift in the icing sugar and mix well.

Gradually beat in enough milk to give a fairly firm spreading consistency.

Coat the top of the cake then decorate with the chocolate drops.

The cake was delicious - just goes to show what you can make with only a few ingredients!

Here are some photos from the day - food preparation first, followed by decoration creation and then the party. Enjoy!

The Blitz- an Art project

As part of our topic on World War 2, we have looked at art work from the time of the Blitz and how the artists or photographers use shape, line, pattern, colour and texture to make an impact on the viewer.

 Then we recreated some of the artwork, using watercolours...

...before making up our own, simpler design, using some ideas from the art we had seen. It needed to be simpler, to enable us to created it from fabric...

Here are some photos of the beginning of the fabric collage process...finished pieces later...

They are looking dramatic, which was part of the purpose and the stitching practice will be useful for a DT project later in the year. 

We will blog some of the finished pieces when they are done.

Kestrels visit The Houses of Parliament and the National Gallery in London!

In connection with work in class, Year 5 and Year 6 visited London today. Not only did we visit these two historic venues, but we also saw many of 'the sights' of London!

At the Houses of Paliament, we visited both The House of Lords and the House of Commons! We weren't allowed to take photos, except for at the very beginning and end of our visit, for security reasons. Here we are!

When we left we knew a lot more about democracy in our country.

After this we walked along Whitehall to the National Gallery, via...

Big Ben

Downing Street

 

Horseguards' Parade (we even saw the changing of the guard)

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square

Admiralty Arch, through which we could see The Mall and Buckingham Palace

At the National Gallery we enjoyed a workshop about landscape painting, collecting ideas that we can use when we paint landscapes. We saw some very famous paintings!

The Haywain by John Constable

The Bridge at Giverney by Claude Monet

Time for home, with many new memories to enjoy!