On Tuesday the 18th of October, we took part in a fantastic Viking Workshop run by Lauren from Portals to the Past. It was an exciting and engaging day with lots of hands on learning. In the morning, we learnt about the history of the Vikings and their travels - did you know that the Viking Leif Erikson was the first person to sail to America from Europe? We looked at a large map and saw just how far the Vikings sailed in their longboats - an extraordinary feat. After that, we did a quiz where we found out lots of information about the Vikings - we have begun to understand just how much change happened in England in a very short period of time - the many skirmishes with the Saxons and how some Vikings came to raid and others came to trade and settle. Following the quiz, we did a Viking burial which was very interesting - we learnt that when a Viking King died, he would sometimes be buried with a long ship (for onward journeys) as well as with his armour; weapons; food; slaves and animals, including his favourite horse. We then played a Viking boardgame called Fox and Geese which was good fun.
In the afternoon we looked at Viking weaponry - each Viking would have carried a longspear and a shield that was made from wood and was really heavy. Some Vikings used Dane axes, which were axes with very long handles. We then went out onto the playground to take part in a Viking battle where two teams were trying to scare each other through shouting and stomping, just like Viking armies would have done when fighting the Saxons or at times each other. We also did some Viking games to see who was the strongest and learnt some Norse language. The children looked amazing in their Viking outfits - it certainly was a fun, action packed day, where we learnt lots of new knowledge about this fascinating period of British history.
