Today, the children had a special visitor—Florence Nightingale! She introduced herself and shared her inspiring story, sparking curiosity among the children.
Florence asked lots of questions, and the children eagerly shared their knowledge. They also introduced themselves and their future aspirations, including: dentists, zookeepers, vets, scientists, police officers, cartographers, firefighters and teachers.
To experience the life of a nurse, the children pretended to be busy and exhausted. They then envisioned themselves at the Scutari Hospital, imagining the harsh conditions and the vital role nurses played in caring for the wounded soldiers.
Later, they split into groups for a fun challenge—recreating pictures in just 10 seconds! They depicted Queen Victoria with her guards and a glowing lamp, symbolising Florence as the ‘Lady with the Lamp.’ Lastly, they worked together to replicate a train, adding an extra layer of excitement to the activity.
It was a fantastic, interactive session that left the children inspired and excited about history and healthcare!
The next part of the session involved the children pretending to be nurses and soldiers entering the Scutari hospital. The children used their imaginations and their senses to envision what it would be like walking through the doors of the Scutari hospital. They then came back together as a group and discussed what they might have seen, smelt, heard, felt or even touched.
The children then got into partners for the next activity, which involved one of them imagining we were an injured soldier and the other was the nurse looking after the poorly soldier. The nurse had to bandage the wound, reassure her patient and ensure they were ok. The soldier had to act as if they were in lots of pain and struggling to cope. After this, the children swapped roles. They thoroughly enjoyed using their acting skills and being very dramatic!
After their acting skills had been put to the test, the children moved on to discuss Mary Seacole and her life. The children had an abundance of knowledge to share as well as absorbing lots of new knowledge too. They role played Queen Victoria honouring her with an award.
The final activity involved the children performing a story; the story was all about a soldier who had been fighting in the war. It followed him as he was injured and needed to go to a hospital. The hospital just so happened to be run by Florence Nightingale.
The children had an excellent time during the workshop and loved meeting the inspirational Florence Nightingale!
