As part of Black History Month, our Reception children read the story of Handa’s Surprise. Afterwards, the class looked at the different kinds of animals that you can find in Africa, and discussed what living there would be like.
The story allowed for discussion about how our children's lives differ from the character Handa's and was a great way to introduce an awareness of other countries, cultures and languages in our youngsters. The class even acted out the story themselves!
Following this, Reception then looked at some artwork by The Ndebele people in South Africa who have a tradition of painting their homes with strongly geometric patterns that have thick black lines and bold colours. The children enjoyed colouring and making their own African art styled patterns to finish off the day.