Building Together

Two Weeks Inspired by 'What We'll Build' at Braeburn Nanyuki!

Braeburn Nanyuki students and teachers recently embarked on a two-week creative adventure inspired by Oliver Jeffers' captivating book ‘What We'll Build’. The students, from Early Years to KS3, have been working on a range of hands-on projects, each bringing to life a different aspect of the story and allowing the children to engage with themes of imagination, construction, and collaboration.

Early Years kicked off the experience by building towers out of cardboard, taking inspiration from the book's line, "we'll build a tower to watch the sky." Our little ones worked together to create their towers, experimenting with different shapes and sizes, all while developing their fine motor skills and teamwork.

In Year 1, the children built rockets out of clay and cardboard, embracing their imaginations as they worked hard to build their own ‘road up to the moon’. Their creative designs reflected Jeffers' themes of hope and aspiration.

Year 2 students tackled a more technical project by designing and building their own marble run games out of wood. They ‘gathered their tools’, rolled up their sleeves and got to work practising problem-solving, patience, and precision to construct intricate mazes for marbles to navigate.

Year 3 embraced their artistic side, focusing on painting scenes inspired by the book. With brushes in hand, they brought to life vibrant colours and abstract interpretations of the book's key moments, all while experimenting with different painting techniques.

Year 4 faced an engineering challenge through the classic "egg drop" experiment. With only limited materials, the students were tasked with designing a contraption to protect their eggs from a high drop. This hands-on challenge encouraged resilience, collaboration, and thoughtful design.

Year 5 explored the idea that home is a special place where we feel most at peace. The students reflected on their own experiences and ideas, then brought these visualisations to life by creating dioramas, building 3-D representations of the places that give them the strongest sense of comfort and belonging, tying into the themes of family and home in ‘What We'll Build’.

Year 6 built on this idea by using LEGO to create their dream homes. The LEGO blocks made it fun but also a bit tricky, as the students had to think carefully and solve problems to build their designs.

Finally, KS3 students looked at the activism in Jeffers' work. They learned about his real-life efforts and created their own posters on topics that were important to them. From environmental concerns to social justice, these posters show how our ‘Responsible Citizens’ are ready to make a difference in the wider world!

The past two weeks have been a great opportunity for students to use their creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. Inspired by Jeffers' themes, they have worked on projects that helped them practise working together, thinking carefully, and expressing their ideas; key themes for the year ahead at Braeburn Nanyuki!