Toby jugs and seagulls

St John's Catholic Infant School

These toby jugs and seagulls were made by Reception children (four to five years old) at St John's Catholic Infant School in Norwich. Asked to consider the type of mug the captain of 'The Fighting Temeraire' might have used, they were inspired to design and make their own by a toby jug brought in by a teacher.

The children agreed that 'wherever there is sea, you'll find gulls!'. Having looked at images on the Internet and in books, they made models of gulls out of clay, which they carefully painted. They include Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls.

As well as a range of art projects and watery challenges, the children enjoyed re-enacting life onboard ship in the large boat they made. They decided that it was too sad that the Temeraire was about to be broken up, so they commissioned it as a touring ship. Children bought and sold tickets from the 'ticket office' to various destinations, including Monkey Island. They worked together to build this island in the playground: they hid treasure, made maps for others to find it, and cooked sausages on a real barbecue.