Hever Castle Trip etc.

Today was Year 2's big field trip to Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn's childhood home.  The day started off rough, because the Year 2 teacher was out sick.  So, the headmistress had to take the class instead.  We all loaded into the coach (not bus, coach) at 915ish.  The coach had nice cloth seats (with seat belts!) and an air conditioner.  Much nicer than the big yellow school buses in America!  We only had one out of the sixteen get car sick on the way there, so that was impressive!  Riding in a coach on those tiny windy country roads is not at all enjoyable.  I sat next to a little Year 2 girl on the way there who kept asking me things like "Do they have coaches in Australia?" and "Do you have to wear seat belts in Australia?"  She could not remember that I was from America, not Australia!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

We tried to take a class picture when we got there, but they were a tad bit distracted by the moat.

Before lunch, we all sat down to sketch different parts of the castle.  Castles are a theme in the Year 2 classroom this term, so we were focusing on the different parts of the castle and drawing detailed sketches (with some help from Mums).

Really concentrating.

One little boy thought he needed a closer look, so the head walked him closer.

Then he took a seat in the middle of the gravel and did his sketching from there.  Adorable.

They worked beautifully.

After the sketching, we had lunch and then explored the castle.  We were on the look-out for Tudor roses in the decorations, and managed to find quite a few.  It is amazing how children that age have to touch EVERYTHING.  Even if it's not something cool.  They literally had to touch every wall and every rope and every sign they could!  It drove me crazy!  Overall, they were pretty well-behaved.

Here are some pictures of my classroom:

We're learning about creation in RE, so we made different flowers out of tissue paper, made animals out of K'Nex, drew and coloured animals, made leaf rubbings, and made sky pictures on the computer.

Here is the art corner.

Part of the classroom (with one of my teachers).

Tables and the children's pegs.

That's the end of the excitement for the day!  I did hear that Grams and Gramps have been reading my blog - hope you guys are feeling better!  Glad you're home!  And no Grandpa, I don't have a boyfriend yet.  Gimme a few weeks and I'll see if I can change that!

Today is Megan's birthday, so we're going to celebrate by not doing homework!