Paddington travelled from school Waltham-on-the-Wolds CE Primary School to Croxton Kerrial during the week commencing 27th February. The Reception children delivered him to us along with with his suitcase, containing the story of Paddington by Michael Bond, a letter from Paddington, some Paddington stickers, a travel book (sketchbook), a recipe for marmalade sandwiches and of course, some marmalade! The sketchbook contained a map of the Rise MAT locations so that we could plot his journey.

We had Paddington Bear for a week. During this week, Paddington took part in our lessons  lessons, joining the children in the provision and day-to-day life in our setting. We especially enjoyed making marmalade sandwiches with Paddington. We created a double-page spread in his travel book to share the fun we had with other Rise schools.

We spent time looking at the travel book to see what the other EYFS classes across the trust have been doing with Paddington – this was an invaluable opportunity for the children to gain an understanding of the trust as a family of schools and to share their learning and experiences with other children of the same age.

At the end of the week, we said goodbye as we took him off to Redmile CE Primary School to continue his pilgrimage.

We have loved having him visit very much indeed.