Reception Class have really enjoyed the start of Art Week. They started by listening to a soundscape composed for the painting ‘Shipwreck in the Stormy Seas’ by Claude-Joseph Vernet. The sounds hooked them in straight away as they heard wind, waves, gulls, a dog, people shouting and a bell.  We then listened to it again and drew what we thought was happening.  Next, we studied the painting and the children were really observant noticing all the small detail including a broken branch and the town in the background.

We then used our new outdoor classroom to compose our own soundscape for the painting. We notice that the volume increases as the storm gets stronger and then quietens down as the storm died away. We used this to structure our own soundscape. The children have also enjoyed imaginative play with our small world shipwreck scene.