We had a visit from Vanya on Tuesday 1st. March. It was a great opportunity for the children to meet her at last! I had been talking about her and the “Virtually There” project since our initial meeting in the Ulster Museum months ago. We decided to have a Winter Hat Day, and Vanya arrived after a 3 hour journey from Sligo in her nifty green van – resplendent in her bright yellow hat.

The children had come to school wearing a variety of hats and caps, including a fox, a character from Star Wars, and a very fancy riding hat with a feather.
Vanya asked the children to examine the hats to see if they could suggest how they were made. A lot of interesting answers were offered and it made us think about things which we generally take for granted. She then spent quality time getting to know each child, and finding out their interests. The children had an opportunity to ask their own questions and found out some things about Sligo and the fact that Vanya has 2 dogs called Juno and Oscar.

After lunch the practical activities began! Paper was folded, scrunched, coloured and formed into a wide and creative array of head adornments. Lots of photographs were taken as a record and these will be added to our notebooks.

No scissors had been used, so tidy up time was relatively easy!
We had a plenary before home time and the overall consensus was that everyone had enjoyed a fun day! The hats and children went home, and Vanya stayed to check out my PC and talk about our forward plan. It was a great day and a catalyst for more “good stuff” to come………………..to be continued.