Today we were delighted to welcome Sharon Kelly to our class. She has visited our school many times over the past few years but this is the first time she will be meeting the children from P3/4. The plan was to meet the children individually, get to know the names and the faces and to discuss our expectations for the project. There was a great buzz of excitement in the class as the children were aware of brothers or sisters who had been involved in previous years and the fun activities that had taken place. An real artist is much more impressive than a teacher who shows you how to draw! So from the very outset expectations were high.

Firstly, after the introductions were made, Sharon and myself established the ground rules for using Collaborate: taking turns, listening , being careful to look at the camera and speak into the microphone.

Sharon left us a little parting gift to discuss at our Circle Time. It was an old accounts ledger belonging to the previous owners of her new art studio. The building was previously a fishing tackle and gun shop and the book dated back to 1903!

We explored the book using a variety of senses: sight, touch and smell and we had very interesting and thoughtful discussions as to what was in the book…

In preparation for our first Art Session, we looked at the cursive script and tried to decipher some of the names and dates and coinage recorded in the book. We talked about what writing materials were used in the book as ballpoint pens wouldn’t have been invented.

The book held an air of mystery because it was so old, and was like a problem waiting to be solved. what did it all mean? We found the names of all the people who worked in the company and how much they earned. One of the people who worked there had the same surname as one of the pupils in our class: ‘Murray’. The cursive script was of interest to the children because we have just begun to learn joined-up writing in our own class.