5CG Sent to the Country!

On Tuesday it was 5CG's turn to become evacuees for the day at Cannon Hall.  We really got into character and we wore some fantastic costumes!  The weather was miserable which actually added to the story atmosphere of being evacuated to the country (and leaving home).  Joanne, our host, brought us to the scullery and talked us through the tasks we would have to tackle as guests at Cannon Hall during the war.    

In 'Make Do and Mend' we looked at household artefacts from the 1940s. We found the irons to be very heavy and were very glad that nobody had the task of completing the ironing for the house!  We found out that during the war even bath water was rationed.  Do you know the depth of the water in an average bath during World War 2?  

In this activity we also learnt how to darn socks and make rugs from old rags.  Most of us found the task quite therapeutic and imagined spending evenings by the coal fire fixing our clothes (its very different to how we actually spend our evenings).  

In 'Rationing' Joanne the cook showed us how little food was given to feed families during the war.  It was interesting to find out how many meals a housewife could make out of just a little bit of meat.  Not all the recipes sounded appetising though! We learnt how to make carrot cookies and were surprised at how delicious they were! 

In 'Send the Message' we learnt how to write greetings in morse code.  We also looked at war artefacts and propaganda posters.  

Our final activity was 'Toys and Games'.  We got to play the sorts of games children like us would have played during the war.  There were some - like Jacks - we had never heard of before, but others - like monopoly - we had played lots of times.  This linked with our history we had done previously when we learnt about 'contrasts and similarities over time'.  

We had such a brilliant day, despite the rain, but were glad that our experience ended after one day (unlike many evacuees).  We've been inspired by our journey today that we are going to stay in character for our next writing project.  Watch this space...