Year 4 have been busy learning about the story of wool. We started the topic by looking at a range of photographs and artefacts and the children enjoyed acting out the story from sheep farming to weaving a range of cloth. We then learnt how a spinning wheel can be used to produce balls of wool to use in weaving, knitting and crochet and discussed how this process had changed over time.

We then began to look at different landscape paintings and photographs of our home county, Lancashire. The children then used their sketchbooks to produce quick, Lancashire landscapes using oil pastels. We discussed how the rugged landscape had influenced the way farmers had used their land for sheep farming over the centuries which contributed to Lancashire’s famous textile industry.

Over a period of two weeks, the children created a clay loom by rolling out clay, imprinting different patterns and piercing holes around the central space. These were then painted using acrylic paint. The children then used this to weave a pattern that was inspired by Lancashire. Unfortunately, some looms did not survive so the children made their looms using strong cardboard instead.

The children then worked on a large roll of paper to enhance the visual story. They worked in groups to paint the rolling Lancashire hills, complete with weaver’s cottages and mills, sheep, fences and fields.