On Tuesday 6th February, Triangle Preschool’s young explorers set off on an educational adventure to Winchester to enrich their early learning outside the preschool. After getting dressed into hi-vis vests, our preschoolers walked to the bus stop and waited with eager anticipation for, what was for some, their very first bus ride ever. Some of our preschoolers even have grandmas who drive the bus – though sadly not today!
Exploring the Community
We took in the sights of our community in Weeke, pointing out our houses and places we like to visit such as the café and the park. Our bus journey into town was full of chatter and excitement, and that was only the beginning. We got off at the bus station and a long line of Triangle preschoolers walked through town, to the Cathedral where we were met by Aisha. We told her we had come to see the Moon.
The Winchester Cathedral Visit
She took us inside and we marvelled at the moon, standing right underneath it amazed by its size. We sat on the steps nearby to hear a story about the Moonkeeper who is confused as the moon begins to disappear from the sky. Has he cleaned it away? We learnt that what we see of the moon changes on different nights, but it’s still there in the sky.
After our story, Aisha showed us to the choir, and we sat on the special seats where the choir sing. We looked up to wave to the organist and he played us an especially loud song – we had to cover our ears! Then we lay on the cold marble steps to look at the colourful ceiling. We saw lots of different animals as we looked up, and even more details on the stone carvings by the altar. One preschooler hoped the nearby door was made out of chocolate, but unfortunately it was just wood, though the same colour as chocolate!
Continuing on our adventure around Winchester Cathedral, we found lots of different shapes in the tiles. Our favourite tiles where the flowers. In the chapel we also found angels on the walls and ceiling. Aisha then took us to see the statue of William Walker. Our preschoolers notice the floor was not flat, instead there was a hill in the Cathedral. We pretended to put on our diving suits and heavy helmets just like William Walker did when he went under the Cathedral to stop it falling down. He did that for six years, which is longer than any of us preschoolers have been alive!
We went down into the Crypt to explore where William Walker had worked. Luckily there were steps for us to stand on, but there was an enormous puddle on the floor! Lastly we went into another chapel and looked at the stained glass windows. They showed the stories of the Nativity and we told Aisha about our Nativity play and who was who. We saw Mary, Joseph, Jesus, angels and the wise men.
Returning Home
We had a brilliant time exploring the Cathedral, but then it was time to head back to Preschool for lunch. After a drink and a snack, we walked sensibly back to the bus station. On the way we saw one of our mums dressing a shop window and enjoyed her waving to us from behind it. We had another brilliant bus journey, pointing out the different things we recognised on the way home and talking about our trip to the moon, and arrived back at Preschool just in time to wash our hands ready for lunch. We can’t wait to go on another trip again soon. Thank you Aisha and Winchester Cathedral!
