Primary School

Meldreth Primary School

Harvest Time!

At this time each year Meldreth Primary School would usually be getting ready to come together and celebrate the harvest. Drawing inspiration from a variety of poems, books and songs, as well as religions and cultures all over the world, the children of Meldreth Primary would – in a normal year - be delighting their families by showing off their Zulu Bracelets wonderful artwork, acting skills and beautiful singing voices. Despite this not being possible this year, due to the current climate, the staff and pupils at Meldreth have not let this stop them from enjoying the harvest season.

To go along with their Africa topic in Osprey Class, the children in Year 3 have been learning all about harvest in Africa. They have talked about the importance of the harvest all over the world, and discussed how the harvest can be particularly important for people in different parts of Africa. In some parts of Africa, they have ‘The Festival of Yams’, usually in August, when they share yams and dance. Yams are a vegetable, like a sweet potato. In other parts of Africa, people celebrate the Homowo Festival, a celebration of a traditional harvest festival from the Ga people of Ghana, West Africa. For the Ga people, the word Homowo means "hooting at hunger". The Homowo Festival commences with a traditional Ghanaian procession in which people assume the roles of kings, queens and followers of the royal family of each of Ghana's ethnic groups. To help us celebrate all the wonderful foods harvested in Africa, the children took part in some drama activities, where they re-enacted the story of 'Handa's Surprise'. They also discussed the importance of rain for the harvest to be

successful, especially in the hottest countries in Africa. The children listened to, and discussed, a variety of African texts about rain, including: 'Lila and the Secret of Rain', a story set in a Kenyan village; and 'Marriage of the Rain Goddess', a story based on the beliefs of the Zulu people. Osprey Class then had a go at making their own Zulu bracelets, each bead containing a different meaning. Having discussed the African Harvest, the Year 3 children then wrote some super acrostic poems entitled 'Harvest in Africa'. A few examples of these are given below. Harvest in Africa is different to us. Are you ready so let’s get started. Roaring lions, hungry hippos and stomping elephants. Very poor, some are rich. Every day it’s hot and humid even when it rains. Some have one meal, some have two if their lucky there. Tinned food, pasta and water can be given to them. By Esmee

Happy harvest for Africa Arranging harvest carefully Ripened red mangoes Vitamins and goodies Elephants, lions and hippos Sun every day in Africa Time is changing every day In Malawi it’s boiling hot Now it’s up to harvest Africa is so hot Food is so yummy Rains is what the crops need It is very hot Can the crops grow And a happy harvest in Africa

A doctor healing people Far in Africa they are praying Reasoning with each other I know they’re hoping for water Calling for a good day A pumpkin and an orange. by Millie

By Samuel

It has been wonderful to see the children engaging in learning about other cultures and beliefs, while being able to see the parallels in how we celebrate our Harvest Festival at school, and have some fun too! Happy Harvest from Osprey Class!