still famous...

Over a year since my last post - must do better!!
Here we are on You Tube again, this time courtesy of English Heritage at Housesteads

...and thanks to Stoneraise Primary School too!  Well Done Everyone!

Discovery Visits with English Heritage

It's Easter again, Spring is here.  Over the Summer and Autumn Terms, I'm running Discovery Visits for English Heritage at Housesteads Roman Fort

MEET A REAL LIFE ROMAN SOLDIER (KS2-3): Discover what life was like for a Roman soldier stationed at Housesteads and meet Roman Veteran, Rufus Aelius Victor. Students will also be given the opportunity to ask Rufus questions, dress in costume, train as a recruit in an auxiliary unit, explore the site and handle both real and replica Roman artefacts. Duration: 1 1/2 Hours

For Housesteads please contact English Heritage first through their website or contact the Bookings Team.

I can also appear at any English Heritage site along Hadrian's Wall, as a member of their Approved Educational Provider scheme (AEP), so if your school or group is visiting Corbridge, Chesters or Birdoswald and you would like to meet 'Victor the Veteran' please get in touch.

Thanks,
Roy
rlwsn@btinternet.com
07960 125218

Discovery Visits are running at Housesteads

April is the start of the Discovery Visits at Housesteads, Victor the Veteran will be there tomorrow for the first 'Meet a Roman Soldier' workshop.  I'll be running them all Summer, if you want more details use this link - Meet a Roman Soldier - it takes you to the EH page, you will need to book these workshops through English Heritage, the booking information is on the right of the page.
I know it says "meet with Roman Officer Centurion Maximus", but he's been posted elsewhere!

Rufus Aelius Victor with some recent voluntari

I am listed with English Heritage as an "Approved Educational Provider", so I can offer this workshop at other sites, but the arrangements are different, please contact me for details.

Roy
mob:  07960 125218  (please leave a message, Romans' can't always answer the phone!)
e-mail:  rlwsn@btinternet.com

What does Victor the Veteran do?

I'm often asked what's in a workshop, so here is a quick description of a basic 'Victor the Veteran' session.  I have to stress that I can and do deliver loads of other things, but as many primary schools want their children to 'Meet a Roman Soldier' here's what we could fit into an hour or a hour and a half.

I base the workshop on the idea of meeting a Roman Soldier, who will recruit the children in to the Army.  I am in costume and describe myself as an Evocatus or Veteran Soldier back in the Army after 25 years service. I try to work as interactivity as possible, with plenty of movement, almost all of my equipment and armour is replica and can be handled by the children, I have tunics for the children to wear and wooden shields and foam 'spears' to use when drilling the group.

The session will be;

• Introduce myself and talk briefly about the people living in the area before the Romans, question and answer as to why they might want to join the Army.
• I recruit them and check if they are fit for duty (with as much movement as the space will allow).
• Using a couple of volunteers show the dress and equipment of a Legionary and Auxiliary soldier.
• Dress the group in tunics, issue them with shields and weapons and drill them as recruits using Latin commands.
• Replicas to handle, including armour.

It's informative, fun and usually generates loads of questions from the children.  I can run this workshop almost anywhere, from a large classroom, school hall or playground to a site as part of a visit.

There is movement, plenty of language, both English and Latin and it is visual.  This way I can engage children with different learning styles.

I have a collection of replica objects, all with a bit of a story and all can be handled by the children.

If this interests you, please get in touch, I'm sure I can adapt it to your needs. 

Roy Lawson
rlwsn@btinternet.com
07960 125218

Comments from a Discovery Visit at Housesteads

I've delivered quite a few "Meet a Roman Soldier"  Discovery Visits at Housesteads this term.  This primary school from County Durham were so enthusiastic and the Teacher had such nice things to say, that I just had to share.

Thanks very much for the kind words.

Thank you so much for a lovely day at Housesteads. My class thoroughly enjoyed such an informative and exciting opportunity to learn how to be a Roman soldier. It was educational and fun and pitched at just the right level for an excitable group of 7-year olds. I don't think they even noticed that it was raining all day! Your knowledge and enthusiasm made Housesteads come alive for the children and I know that the parents who came with me were as impressed as I was at the high level of subject knowledge and the Latin drill commands too.

We all had a great day and I will certainly try to organise this again next year (hopefully in better weather!)