Materials Needed:

• Air-dry clay or playdough (brown or terracotta colour preferred)
• Small twigs, straw, or dried grass clippings
• Cardboard base (small square or rectangle)
• Black cardstock or construction paper
• White or light-coloured pencil/crayon
• Scissors (use with supervision)
• Glue stick
• Coloured pencils or markers
• Plain paper or fabric scraps
• Wooden dowel or sturdy stick (approx. 15-20cm)

Introduction: Adventure to a New Land!

Imagine packing up everything you own and travelling on a ship for months to a completely new country where you don't know anyone! That's what thousands of British people did around the year 1820. They sailed all the way to the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. We call them the 1820 Settlers. Why did they come? Many were looking for a better life, new opportunities, or escaping difficulties back home in Britain after big wars.

Life in a New Land

Life was tough at first! They had to build homes, start farms on unfamiliar land, and learn to live in a very different environment. They brought their skills and traditions but also had to adapt. Let's explore some crafts that connect to their experience!

Activity 1: Settler Silhouette Portrait

In the 1800s, before photography was common, silhouette portraits were popular. They are side-profile outlines, usually in black. Let's make one!

1. Ask someone to help you trace the outline of your side profile (your head and shoulders) onto the black cardstock using a white or light pencil. Or, you can try drawing a generic profile shape yourself.
2. Carefully cut out the silhouette shape.
3. Glue the black silhouette onto a piece of white paper or a contrasting light-coloured paper.
4. Imagine you are a settler – what might your silhouette look like? Perhaps add a simple hat shape if you like!

Activity 2: Build a 'Wattle and Daub' Hut Model

Early settlers often built simple homes using materials they could find. 'Wattle and daub' was a common method: weaving flexible sticks (wattle) together and then plastering it with mud, clay, or soil mixed with straw (daub).

1. Take your cardboard base.
2. Use small amounts of air-dry clay or playdough to create a small, circular or rectangular base wall shape on the cardboard.
3. Gently press small twigs upright into the clay walls to form the 'wattle' frame. You can weave a few thinner twigs horizontally between the upright ones if you like.
4. Mix some small pieces of straw or dried grass into more clay (the 'daub').
5. Carefully press this 'daub' mixture onto the inside and outside of the twig frame, leaving some twigs showing. Smooth it out a bit.
6. Let your model hut dry! You've built a model of an early settler home.

Activity 3: Design Your Settler Family Banner

Settlers often came as families or groups. Imagine your family is arriving. Design a simple banner or flag to represent your family or group.

1. Take a piece of paper or a fabric scrap (rectangle shape is good).
2. Use coloured pencils or markers to draw symbols that represent your family or what you imagine a settler family might value (e.g., a ship, farming tools, a hopeful symbol like a sun, simple initials). Keep the designs bold and simple.
3. Glue one edge of your banner around the wooden dowel or stick to create your flag.

Wrap-up Discussion

What do you think was the hardest part about being an early settler? What kind of skills would have been most important? Look at the crafts you made – how do they connect to the settlers' lives and challenges?

Great job exploring history through crafts today!