Young cave dwellers were out in force when the Stone Age returned to Upton Junior School in Broadstairs.
The journey of discovery to prehistoric times saw Year 3 pupils dressed and daubed in clothing, accessories and face paints from the historic period as they celebrated their topic Rock Bottom that focuses on Stone Age Britain.
An immersive programme for the ‘wow day’ gave children the chance to delve deep into the past with a series of hands-on workshops.
They became hunter-gatherers in special drama sessions with Ian from KiC Theatre which in which they used their imaginations to explore their space, facial expressions and body language to convey their characters.
Ges and Di from the Trust for Thanet Archaeology brought history to life enabling pupils to handle artefacts and replicas from the Stone Age through to the Bronze Age that would have been used locally.
In Art they investigated rocks and fossils with magnifying glasses before sketching them from observation, adding colour with watercolour paints.
They also used Plaster of Paris to create their own fossils after learning about how they were formed over time.
Head of Year 3 Fran Pellett said Stone Age Upton was a great way for pupils to engage with their topic.
She added: “Pupils and staff dressing up to create a real sense of the past was a great foundation for the rest of the day’s learning programme.
“It was an excellent way to help them link their knowledge from their English text ‘Stone Age Boy’ to a ‘real life context’.
As part of the topic children are learning about the development of early man in history, creating cave paintings of stags, horses, bisons and birds paintings using pastels, as well as investigating patterns in nature (linking to animal prints).
In Science they will conduct investigations into thermal insulators before using this knowledge during Design and Technology to design and build their own shelters of sticks and branches.
They will also research into different types of rocks before locating mountain ranges and rock formations across the world in Geography.
Mrs Pellet added: “Themed days really encourage children to create a deeper understanding through interesting, practical activities.”