Class 5 had a fantastic visit to the Victorian Classroom. The children all had a brilliant time learning about what school life was like over 100 years ago.
On arrival the Victorian teacher Miss Sharp greeted us. The children soon realised that Victorian teachers were very strict and that Victorian children should be ‘seen and not heard’! The class quickly got into character with flat caps and waistcoats for the boys and aprons and mop caps for the girls to wear. All the children had Victorian names and some had special roles to play as we stepped back in time. The children learned how Victorian children paid for their school lessons, that girls and boys were treated very differently and children who made mistakes with their learning would be made to wear the Dunces hat!
Well done to Alex (William) who played the role of the Dunce very well. Thomas (Thomas), Max (Henry) and Claudia (Lizzie) were excellent monitors and took their roles very seriously.
The class learned all about Victorian children’s games such as hoopla and skittles and had the opportunity to explore and play with play with a range of toys including wind up mice, spinning tops and Jacob’s Ladders. They learned how they used a slate and chalk to write their lessons and practised their handwriting using a quill and ink. Well done Jude (Nesbert) for being picked for the neatest letters! Also thank you to Hugo (Charles) for braving the cane! (What an absolutely fantastic impression you did of screaming in pain!!)
All the children had a go at beating the dirty clothes in the washroom and using a mangle to ring them out….they decided that this was not how they would want to wash their clothes every day. What a difficult task it was! We are all looking forward to using what we have seen and learned at the Victorian Classroom in our theme.
