THERE cannot be many schoolchildren who have lessons in wattle and daub.
But that’s exactly what these Holmfirth youngsters did yesterday, as they stepped back many centuries in time.
The Year 5 class from Holmfirth Junior Infant and Nursery School moved out of their classroom to live like Vikings for a day.
And to make the experience a little more memorable, they helped build their own homes – using sticks, willow and an unappetising mixture of mud, straw and horse manure.
“We did all wear rubber gloves,” said teacher Jane Perrons – better known under her Viking name of Ingrid.
“The structures for the huts were there from last year but we renovated them and had some extra time this year to build the walls with daub. That was why we used the mud and manure, and certainly the kids enjoyed it – even if they did get a little smelly.”
It wasn’t the only difference to a normal classroom.
The Viking village in the school grounds included a clay oven built by Matt Womerlsey, of Kirklees Council, which was used by the children to bake garlic bread, cook trout and come up with a natural stew of nettles, wild garlic, thistles and willowherb they had collected in the fields.
There were also a few lambs and chickens scratting around the village, loaned by a local farmer.
And Professor Liam Blunt, of Huddersfield University, turned up as a Viking warrior, after contacting colleagues at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
“It is a project we have been doing for six weeks and this was the culmination,” said Jane. “The children have been studying all aspects of the Vikings such as literacy, numeracy and art, and then moved into the Viking village for the day.
“There have been 31 children re-enacting the lifestyle of the Vikings, such as looking after animals, foraging for food and cooking, and fighting off invading forces.
“We had help from a lot of adult volunteers and they made up a raiding party to attack the village.
“It is a great way of teaching the children about history and geography and it’s certainly a lesson they will remember for a long. long time.”
