Year 1 trip to St Johns House, Warwick

We had a fantastic day out at St. Johns House in Warwick. We all dressed up, including the adults, in Victorian costume to experience a day as a Victorian child.

In the morning we experienced a Victorian School Day and the teacher was very strict. We used chalk boards to practice our handwriting, recited our times tables and had to sit up straight with our hands on our knees. Atchuthan had to use the back straightener to correct his posture!

We went outside for a drill, we had our shoes and hands checked for cleanliness and at the end of the lesson we said a prayer and discovered that it is almost the same as the one we say today! We also looked around the Museum and completed a booklet about the toys, costumes and objects displayed. We found a ‘Guzzunder’ and enjoyed telling our parent helpers what it was used for! The garden was a beautiful place for us to enjoy our lunch in the sunshine.

In the afternoon we experienced what washday would have been like all those many years ago. We were able to use a dolly tub, dolly, plunger, washboard and a scrubbing brush. We had to make our own soap flakes by grating a bar of soap (being careful not to grate our fingers!). We had to pump our own water and carry it outside after use. We used the mangle to squeeze all of the water out of our clothes and luckily no-one squashed their fingers in the process!

A wonderful day was had by all and we would like to thank the parents who helped us look after the children throughout the day.

Mrs Burrell & Mrs Ozbas