Month: August 2026

As part of our Big Question learning, we have been finding out about some of the different jobs people had in Ancient Egypt. This week, we focused on the important work of potters… and, of course, we had to have a go ourselves!

We talked about how pottery wasn’t just made to look nice; it had to be useful too. The bairns had to think about what their pot might have been used for in Ancient Egypt, perhaps to  collect and carry water, store food or help with cooking.

Then it was time to get our hands messy!  Using clay, the bairns shaped their pots by hand, using pinching techniques to carefully form them. Once they were happy with the shape, they used different tools to add their own patterns and details.

It certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked! There was lots of concentration, patience and a few pots that needed a little reshaping along the way, but everyone kept going and did a fantastic job. I was really impressed with the care and creativity they showed.

Our Ancient Egyptian pots are now having a well-earned rest while they dry… and next week the bairns wll get the chance to paint and decorate their creations.

Another lovely bit of hands-on learning in Primary 3/4, although I think we may have discovered that being an Ancient Egyptian potter was harder work than we first thought! (And not sure Miss Hunter will attempt clay on a Friday afternoon… special thanks goes to Val, our wonderful cleaner!)

This week, we have been combining our Big Question learning about Ancient Egypt with our writing.

We have been learning about what everyday life was like for people living in Ancient Egypt, but there was also a little extra challenge involved!

The bairns were given different sentences containing information about Ancient Egyptian life. Their job was to read each one carefully and choose just two or three key words to write down. They then had to use only those key words to help them create a new sentence in their own words.

This is a brand-new skill for us, so I suggested that everyone aim to create at least three sentences … and they certainly didn’t disappoint!

I was so impressed with how well they took on the challenge. There was lots of careful thinking about which words were actually important, as well as some fantastic discussion about how we could use those words to create our own sentences rather than simply copying the original.

For our first go at this, they did a brilliant job — and some were so determined that three sentences definitely wasn’t enough! 😊

A lovely piece of learning that brought together our Ancient Egypt topic, note-taking and writing skills all at once.

We had a very busy (and very dog-themed!) International Dog Day in Primary 3/4, with lots of different activities throughout the day. The bairns worked so hard and did a fantastic job!

We started with some dog-themed maths challenges, and they certainly weren’t easy! The children really rose to the challenge, showing lots of determination and great problem-solving skills. It turns out that four paws are also very handy when you’re practising your 4 times table!

Next, we got creative with a dog drawing challenge. I was so impressed with the results… we definitely have a very creative bunch in Primary 3/4! There were so many brilliant drawings, each with their own little personalities.

We then moved on to our literacy learning, where we practised note-taking and identifying key words from information. The bairns then used their notes to create facts in their own words and they did not disappoint! It was lovely to see them beginning to understand that good note-taking is about picking out the important information rather than trying to copy everything.

Finally, we brought all of our learning together to create some fantastic dog fact posters. The finished results were brilliant and really showed just how much learning had taken place throughout the day.

A busy but great day with lots of maths, literacy, creativity and, of course, DOGS!

Well done, Primary 3/4… you were paw-some!

As part of our Big Question learning, we have been finding out all about the role of an archaeologist and how they carefully uncover clues and artefacts that help us learn about the past.

Of course, we couldn’t just talk about being archaeologists… we had to have a go ourselves!

The bairns were given their own archaeological challenge: armed with their special “tools”, they had to carefully and safely excavate their newfound artefacts… which just happened to be chocolate chips hidden inside a chocolate chip cookie!

Who knew a chocolate chip cookie could bring about such a quiet spell in Primary 3/4?! The concentration in the room was brilliant as everyone carefully chipped, scraped and worked away, trying their very best not to damage their precious finds.

It also led to some fantastic conversations. We realised that if it took us quite a while to carefully excavate one little cookie, just imagine how much patience and time an archaeologist needs to excavate an entire site! It really made us think about the care, determination and patience involved in their job.

I was so impressed with how carefully everyone worked and how determined they were to complete the challenge. We definitely have a few budding archaeologists in Primary 3/4!

Although, I think it’s safe to say that the clean-up of our archaeological sites was considerably quicker… those cookies seemed to disappear in record time once the challenge was over!

Here’s a little update on what we’ll be getting up to in P3/4 next week.

Have a look at our weekly update to see what we’ll be working on, and pop back to the blog next week for some photos and a little peek at what we’ve been up to in the classroom!

We had a super first day together in Primary 3/4.

The bairns settled in so quickly, and it was so lovely to have everyone back together again, catching up with friends and getting used to our new classroom and routines.

We certainly kept ourselves busy! We enjoyed a variety of fun literacy activities, got creative during Art with Mrs Burr, did some drawing and even became archaeologists for the afternoon.

There was lots of excitement as we got stuck into a little archaeological dig to see what we could discover… a great way to begin our new learning about Ancient Egypt.

It was a lovely, happy first day with lots of chatting, laughing, creating and learning along the way. A brilliant start to our year in Primary 3/4, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings!

I hope everyone has had a really lovely summer break and has managed to enjoy plenty of fun, adventures and hopefully a little bit of sunshine along the way!

I’m really looking forward to welcoming everyone back tomorrow and seeing all those familiar faces again. I can’t wait to hear about what everyone has been up to over the holidays and to settle back in together.

The classroom is all ready and waiting for you (and currently looking suspiciously tidy… we’ll see how long that lasts!).

I thought I’d share a few photos so you can have a little sneak peek before tomorrow. There are some familiar things, a few changes and lots of lovely spaces ready for us to learn, play, create and work together.

For anyone feeling a little nervous about coming back, please don’t worry… we’ll take our time, get settled in and find our feet together. There will be plenty of time to catch up, get used to our new routines and enjoy being back with our friends.

Enjoy your last evening of the summer holidays, and I’ll see you all tomorrow!