Childhood, toys, school
Below are some ideas for reminiscence workshops that focus on childhood, toys and school. Choose one or two activities depending on the size and capabilities of the group.
Materials
- paper
- scissors
- pencils
- old magazines for cutting up
- glue sticks
Handling objects
- toys e.g. teddy, toy car, marbles
- school tie
- baby rattle
- photographs of games / school
- old glass milk bottle
- liquorice sweets
- ration book
Other resources
- nursery rhymes
Discussion points
Start off by asking where people went to school.
- Was it a big school?
- What subjects did you study?
- What about playtime?
Ask about what everyone did when they were not at school.
- What chores did you have to do?
- Was this different for girls/boys?
Practical activities
Pass around one of the handling objects and discuss. For example,
- Did you have a teddy/doll?
- What other toys did you have? Maybe compare this to grandchildren’s toys today.
- Was it more about imagination games? What were they?
- Did you have a school uniform?
- Did you have milk at school?
- If appropriate all have a liquorice sweet for tasting – discuss.
- Use a baby rattle or musical toy for those with poor vision.
Listen to a nursery rhyme. Do you know any others? Do you remember playground songs? Use a nursery rhyme to create a collage picture.
Look at the ration book. Did they experience rationing? What foods were scarce? Were there recipes that were used as an alternative to rationed items.
