Move over Terry Deary’s Rotten Romans, the Holy Redeemer Rowdy Romans are here!
Yesterday, in their outdoor learning session, Year 3 became Roman soldiers for the afternoon. After striking camp in the Forest School area, Mrs Andrews appointed some Centurions and second in commands to head up units of foot soldiers.
The children spent some time learning about Roman shields (scutums) and bosses; how they would have been made out of wood, canvas and animal skins, and painted using only primary colours. They also found out that the commanders would have had more elaborate shields than their men, as they used their shields to display the battles they’d fought in.
Afterwards each unit set to, making their own Forest School replica shields, using the same patterns and colours that the Romans would have used. Each centurion and second in command appointed a lead designer, three painters and a group of collector/foragers, who then worked together to make their shields. The collector/foragers did a fantastic job finding natural things to decorate the painted shields with, including some lovely borage flowers-which are currently very plentiful in Forest School.
At the end of the session they talked about how hard it would have been to be a centurion, and what qualities they would have been looking for in their foot soldiers. It was generally agreed that having a unit that listened and didn’t wander off, would be very helpful.
Well done to all of our Rowdy Romans and thank you to Mrs Andrews, Connie and their Year 6 prefect, for supporting the children in such a wonderful afternoon of learning.
