A great hands-on day about homes before electricity and supermarkets – how did we manage? It’s wash day and friendly Victorian housewife, Alice, helps the children explore washing, shaving, lighting, cooking, cleaning, as well as doing the laundry, using a variety of original implements. The children then participate in a wide range of activities in groups.
Activities include:
Carpet beating and floor scrubbing, using a washing dolly and a washboard, washing and shaving, and, of course, ‘dashing away with the smoothing iron’. We sometimes make bread and churn butter too. The day can be tailored to fit in with work on ‘Homes’, ‘Now and Then’, ‘Old and New’ and ‘Water’.
This day supports Unit 2 of QCA History Schemes of Work - Key stage 1