Pupils opted into their final topic for Home Economics this term, sewing or local produce.

The sewing group have learned to thread a machine, change the settings to sew different styles of stiches and troubleshoot a few problems! They started off sewing with paper and no thread to build up confidence with the foot pedal. Then they had to pass a driving test before moving onto using thread and fabric.

Over the next few weeks they were working towards making a weighted door stop. They developed a number of skills including how to draw out and cut the pattern, pin fabric, iron a hem and a lot of troubleshooting and patience!

We made our own stuffing by cutting up scraps of material left and used rice for the weight. Their doorstops look great and they all did a super job!

The local food group have been learning about local seafood and agriculture. They used the localwebsites  https://seafoodshetland.co.uk/ and https://www.tasteofshetland.com/ to support their learning and investigations.

They learned about seafood exports and researched local species for a display. They have watched the taste of Shetland videos and used Peter Walkers video on Saat fish to write instructions in Shetland and to make saat whitings. We used Mrs Johnson’s raffle donation of whitings and the bairns did a super job of preparing the fish for the salt. They had no fears cutting the heads off and took their time cleaning the blood and membranes from the flesh and rigs. They then layered the fish with salt in 2 containers and left it overnight. Miss Irvine took them home to rinse, pair and hang in a drying box rather than outside because of the weather.

We watched a video about Pearl Johnson and the different uses for beest and how to make kirn and butter. This week made bannocks using Shetland produce where possible and clined Shetland butter on them!