Mayan Day - October 2019

Report by Maddie Stabler.

Oak Class had a Mayan Day at school on October 16th 2019. We had a Mayan Day because our topic is The Mayans and why they were so important.

We went to the hall to get photos of us in our Mayan costumes. Mrs Shrimpton put us into the Mayan hierarchy order we would be in. I was a noble lady - the third layer down the pyramid.

For the next task we had a booklet folded in a concertina style and some glyphs on a sheet. We had to choose five glyphs and draw them and write the Mayan way and the English way of how to say it.

Next, we tried four different types of chocolate:

• the first one was milk chocolate (30% pure chocolate)
• the second one was dark chocolate (50% pure chocolate)
• the third one was Madagascan dark chocolate (85% pure chocolate)
• the last chocolate was called cacao chocolate (100% pure chocolate)

My favourite was either the 50% or the 30% chocolate.

After that, we looked at their number system - lines and dots - and did a few calculations using them. We then finished our Mayan masks and answered the questions on the evaluation sheets.

In the afternoon, we played Pok-a-Tok (a Mayan team ball game - the first known team game - where you can't use your hands, feet, body or head). Then we had a Mayan feast that included:

• tomatoes
• peppers
• duck
• papaya
• beans in a hot sauce
• guacamole
• avocado
• cous-cous
• quinoa
• tortilla wraps
• hot chocolate

I enjoyed the feast the most because I ate seven wraps, they were nice! I would recommend another school to have a Mayan Day because it was fun, educational and active (if you play Pok-a-Tok).