Art & History

Prehistoric Art

When we visit art galleries or learn about art in school, we tend to think of paintings on canvas, sculpture or photographs.  Often these will be clearly recognisable as people or objects like food and flowers, and we can relate to them as familiar in some way.
Art and pictures have been around ever since people first were recognised as human by historians, in pre-historic times.  Prehistoric simply means history which dates before written accounts are available to study.  The earliest humans did not have writing with which they could communicate and this means that art and pictures were even more important to them.

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Written By You

Cat’s Bats

Cat is 10 years old and has recently moved back from living abroad. She is settling into school in UK and learning to read and write in English (until now she was schooled in French, so it is a bit of a change). Her favourite animals are bats, and here she tells us a bit about them.

 

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Home, Health & Style, Written By You

Lots of Socks for World Down Syndrome Day

Do you sometimes wear non-matching socks? When you can’t find ones to match or just because you want to?  Well on the 21st March you have the perfect excuse to and Agi is going to tell you why.
Agi has been making videos about her life with her little sister, who just happens to have Down Syndrome, for many years. We asked her to tell us more about this condition, and about life with Magdalena and to share some of her videos with us.

 

Firstly though who am I?

I’m called Agnieszka (Agi for short) and I am home educated with my little sister Magdalena, who is 7 years old. I have a website which I blog on about our life together and anything else I am interested in. I want to be a filmmaker when I’m older, and you can view lots of films that I’ve made on my website, and Magdalena wants to be an artist. She is one of my best friends. We have loads of fun together, and I don’t treat her any differently or treat her ‘specially’, even though she happens to have Down’s syndrome. Which is where the lots of socks come in…but first, let me explain.

I would never have known this unless my little sister, Magdalena was born with an extra 21st chromosome.

Have you worked out yet why World Down Syndrome day is on the 21st of March?

It’s because people with Down syndrome have three chromosomes on chromosome number 21, instead of the usual two. This is also known as Trisomy 21.

Why is it Called Down’s Syndrome?

So why call it Down’s syndrome? No, it’s not because people with Down’s syndrome are ‘down’ or grumpy, it’s actually because Dr John Langdon Down discovered the condition, and it was named after him.

Lot’s of people my age don’t know what Down’s syndrome is, (actually lots of adults don’t either) and that can make them scared of what they don’t know about, so they ignore Magdalena or talk ABOUT her instead of TO her or say something unkind thinking she won’t understand or be hurt by it. So before I get onto the socks, I want to tell you a bit about what Down’s Syndrome is and what it isn’t!

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Home, Health & Style

Easy Origami To Make Beautiful Decorations

If you fancy being creative today and you want to attempt to make some beautiful decorations to place around your bedroom, then try origami! Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper, however, it did not begin in Japan; this art actually began in the 1st or 2nd century in China. The name, Origami, is actually Japanese; ‘oru’ means ‘to fold’ and ‘kami’ means ‘paper’.
Origami can potentially be very difficult, but there are plenty of easier designs for beginners. The great thing about origami is that you can make practically anything, so you will be able to find a design that you love.
If you have never tried origami before, then you should start with a few of the following simple, yet effective, designs that will really brighten up your room.

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