Discovering Toys and Games from the Past

We took a step back in time at an amazing place this Thursday...visiting Howick Historical Village was a wonderful taste of life in a bygone era.  Even though a few of the children had already been before and had enjoyed discovering the quaint nooks and crannies of this little museum town, they were treated to four hands-on experiences that were novel and informative.

Our first experience was held in the drawing room of the Manor House where we learned some nursery rhymes and how they came to be.  Jack be Nimble was one of these and then we played a game where we jumped over the candlesticks but fortunately they weren't lit.

Our next session was held in the old Pakuranga School building which was filled with all sorts of toys which our great- great -great grandmothers and grandfathers would have played with and which are still going strong today.

These toys were mostly hand made and made of wood.

There were a huge range of toys for us to play with and we were fascinated to see how they worked.  Most moved using the laws of gravity or by winding, pulling or squeezing. 

Following that we visited the Schoolhouse where the resident "Teacher" met with us and conducted a handwriting lesson.  The children were a little apprehensive at her stern, Victorian approach but showed her how wonderfully well they behave and how clever they are at answering questions.  They used some charcoal and a slate on which to practice the various handwriting strokes.  She was impressed that they kept to the rule that "children are seen but not heard".

Our last activity before lunch was to play parlour games where Mrs White taught us some really unusual but very entertaining games such as stepping through a rope and passing it on, guessing who had the ring, a Blindman's bluff game and some ball catching games too.

After lunch we were free to explore any of the buildings and places we wished so in groups of four we wandered around happily with our parent helpers and teachers.

All of us were reluctant to leave - there were still so many more things to see and do.  Fortunately the wonderful people at the Historical Village gave each of us a free pass so that we could bring our mums or dads along next time and show them around!