On Wednesday the 5th April, children in Year 2 went to the Black Country Museum to enjoy a day learning all about the Victorian era. This trip was organised to support their learning of their topic on Victorians from this term. The day was a great experience for all involved with a very ‘hands on’ way of learning.
Once they had arrived, they were greeted by tour guides who ensured them they had a busy, fun filled day ahead. They were provided with amazing facts about what life was like during the Victorian period.
The first activity the children took part in was to experience what life was like for Victorian children in a Victorian school. They had the opportunity to recite multiplication tables and practise their handwriting on slates with chalk! After that, they were taken into a Victorian village to view typical middle and upper class houses and the difference between what houses were like then and how they differ now. They found out the daily life of a chemist including; what all medicines were made from and what would be used for different illnesses; which, they discovered, are indeed very different from today! The last part of the morning was to visit the ‘suck shop’ where children learnt how sweets were made and what were used to colour the sweets, including beetle blood for red colouring!
The children then had time to have lunch altogether and had the opportunity to speak to their friends about what they had learnt so far.
After lunch they were involved in a toy workshop learning about all different toys that were used by children back then and were able to play with them after. They sang songs and even had the opportunity to perform with the guides with the different toys using their imagination as Victorian children.
The children thoroughly enjoyed taking part in all activities and will be writing a recount of their day at the Black Country Living Museum as part of their follow up work.
Below are some photos of their wonderful day!
