Ella+the+Echidna

Our friends from St. Luke's School in Australia have sent us their class mascot, Ella the Echidna, to meet us and learn about life in Canada!
This is a copy of Ella's guest blog post for our Teddy Bears Around the World project:

Gill’s Guest Goes Back In Time!
Gill the Goldfish arrived back from Australia with a new friend, Ella the Echidna. Ella joined Gill and our class for a Medieval Life demonstration. They learned about all kinds of interesting things! Gill and Ella with our Guest Presenters

The girls are standing with Ella and Gill the Goldfish. They are wearing different clothes than us. They are wearing long dresses. They had big socks on that kept up with string. They wore scarves around their head. They are made out of silk, wool, cotton, and linen. One lady is wearing an apron. They were wearing different shoes that they had to make. They were made out of animal skins. It was usually leather. They had to walk slowly and careful so they didn’t step on a rock. ~ By Rachel

COOKING AND SPECIAL TOOLS Ella the Echidna in a Medieval Time Bucket

In medieval times they used the bucket to put food and water in. It was made out of wood. Sometimes there were holes and water would leak out. They used metal and nails to hold it together. They put a rope to hold the bucket. Metal buckets were used, too. Holes in metal buckets were plugged with oatmeal because it would burn onto the metal and stick. ~ By Austin

Ella with a Mortar and Pestle

This is a mortar and pestle. You can crush stuff with it. In medieval times, they would crush corn and plants and herbs for making breads and other foods. Now people crush pills for babies that can’t eat them and other reasons. This one was made out of wood. They can also be made of stone. ~ By Braydan

Ella and the Horn

This horn does not have a hole. It is made from the bull’s horn. People in medieval times would use it like a cup and fill it with water. If we want to use it for blowing to make noise then we need a hole in the end. They could warn everyone that an army was coming. ~ By Jacob

Ella and Pottery

Many of the items people used for cooking and serving food were made from pottery. People would use the clay to form their shape. Then they needed to let it dry for a few days. The clay dishes were fired and then glazed. Many people still make pottery items today but they get fired in a kiln.

CLOTHING AND FABRICS Ella Looks at Silk

Ella is looking at the silk. We had to be gentle because they’re very easy to break. When we were shaking the pods we could hear rattling inside. There are silk worm bugs inside. They used the silk for sewing and making clothes. ~ By Logan

Ella with Various Fabrics

Ella had a chance to feel a variety of fabrics that were used to make clothing and blankets in medieval times. Ella got to feel linen, silk, cotton, and wool. Each one felt very different. Some were really smooth and some were more rough.

ARMOUR AND WEAPONRY Ella and the Shield

Ella has a shield. It’s from medieval times. It’s for knights to protect the King. The shield has colours. Sometimes there were animals like lions and eagles that were symbols for the knight’s personality. These symbols were called charges. A shield is simple and can only have 3 charges, not four charges, that’s too much. The metals mean things, too. Silver and white metals meant morning and gold or yellow meant night. You couldn’t put a metal on a metal or a colour on a colour. There are different kinds of details for shields. There can be straight lines, diagonal lines, and there could be square boxes. ~ By Mathew Ella Wears a Helmet

Ella is having fun at the Medieval presentation. This helmet was made by the presenter’s husband. It was worn by people during battle. Under the helmet there was chains called a coif. It was made with metal and put together with rivets. Ella and I tried one on and other people did, too. ~ By Zach