Recently, all roads led to Rome too at the CDSC. This year’s project week at the elementary school was all about ancient Rome. The children immersed themselves in Roman everyday life. They made their own little mill game with small stones and played the so-called Ocra and Delta game with walnuts. They learned about childhood and school in Rome, did their own calculations with Roman numbers and threw on a toga. The laurel wreath, a symbol of honour and glory, was of course not missing. They cooked “puls”, a cereal porridge, and tasted flatbread, typical food from Roman cuisine. 

The workshop on Roman stories was very lively. They learned many exciting stories about the Romans. They dealt with the Roman founding history itself as well as with myths and legends that the Romans liked to tell themselves. The pupils drew pictures, acted out plays and made video recordings in which they retold and presented these stories. 

The Roman legionaries held a great fascination. On the first day of this workshop, the children dealt with the training, weapons, and life of Roman soldiers. They read, puzzled and immersed themselves in life at the Limes. On the second day, they could either build their own Limes with a watchtower or create an interactive or “talking” poster: The pupils collected questions about the Roman legionaries and recorded their answers, which could then be listened to through electronic transmission.

What would the Roman Empire be without its aqueducts, roads and buildings? This is exactly what the children did in the “Building” workshop: they not only built their own water pipes but also beautiful colourful mosaics. 

In the workshop on Roman art, they created a large joint work of art over the course of the week using mosaic paper pieces and the Roman alphabet and made their own artistic shields and helmets.

On the last day of the project week, all pupils and their parents were invited to a Roman festival. The diverse products and results from the various workshops were presented, before it was time for a feast for the palate: The parents brought along many delicious delicacies, including some original genuine Roman dishes. 

For everyone involved, this journey through time was an exciting experience and will not soon be forgotten.