This month has seen both Rowling and King Class being honoured by the presence of King Henry VIII and his wife Jane Seymour to dine and celebrate in Royal Banquet style. The feasting and drinking element of the banquets occured in front of the King and Queen.
The celebrations began with the making of Pomanders (oranges and cloves) to disguise the awful smell left in the Tudor streets. The children practiced Calligraphy writing in order to make place tags for the feast – they had such honored guests as Lord Antonio of Islington joining us for the day.
The feast commenced with the servants serving their royal guests and toasting the King and Queen. Between courses they were entertained by court jesters and towards the end of the feast all guests and servants took part in some traditional Tudor dancing. In King Class, Ayomide and Paige took the roles of King and Queen, and in Rowling Class, the roles were played by Jed and Merve. The children all deserve a special mention because they all played their parts without embarrassment or worry, and as a result they all thoroughly enjoyed the feast.
A great day was had by all. This experience of role play and first hand experience, which works so well in embedding learning in our Early Years, also has a powerful place in the learning of our older children. The Tudor feast day was a vivid example of this.