Year 1 Visit to Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood

To initiate a new topic all about the history of toys, the Year 1 pupils spent a fun and action-packed day at Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood. Margaret, our guide, started the day by stepping back in time to the Stone Age, when children would have played games with just sticks and stones. We then looked at how these simple games, such as Jacks, Hoopla and Marbles, have evolved over the years and discussed the different materials they have been made from. All the children had the opportunity try some of the old toys and it was great to see how much they enjoyed the games that their great-grandparents would have played. Soon it was time to view all the toys in the museum and what a ‘hands on’ place it was!

The afternoon was spent learning a little about what life would have been like for the poorer children in Victorian Times by becoming little chimney sweeps – with the more daring of us even climbing up a dark chimney! Finally, we all lay on the floor and peered up to the ceiling… to find 3 children’s bedrooms! One was from War Time Britain, one looked scarily like Miss Flack’s bedroom from the 1970’s and the last looked just like the children’s bedrooms today. So many changes…yet each bedroom had a copy of the Beano on the bedside table!

Time soon passed and before we knew it, sadly it was time to stop playing with the toys and make our way home. Let’s hope that this wonderful day has inspired us all for our forthcoming project!