Nostaligic Saturday - School Days

Okay this painting is from way before my time but I can't find any photos of my school on the net so it will just have to do as something representative :-)

I was struggling to think of what to post for this - wish I had photos as a prompt - but the situation was resolved when I was having my morning snuggles with the twins when Miss A suggested I post something on what I did at school when I was her age (7). Excellent idea Miss A so here goes.

From the classroom, you walked a it forward and on your left we had a girls shed and a boys shed - which were right next door to each other. We were allowed to visit but never enter the 'other' shed. It was in this shed (which only had three sides) that we played "What's the Time Mr Wolf" and a similar game with letters - we can't figure out the name of it as it has changed over the years (they call today's version Poison Letters). In any case one person stood at the front with their back to the rest and randomly called out letters. You took one step forward if that letter appeared in your name and two steps if it was a capital letter for you. First one to the top of the shed took over as caller and so the game went.

We had a big slide and a little slide - and you had to be in grade 3 or above to go on the big slide. It was really shiny and made out of stainless steel (or something similar) so you can guess how useful that was when you live in Western Australia - you risked third degree burns just looking at it under the summer sun lol.

We had a Cinderella style coach made out of thick metal tubing (that it, it was the shape of the coach but it didn't actually have walls) which was a prize place to play. Obviously there were the fairy tales that you could re-enact to your heat's content, but it also made a great space ship, a submarine and general climbing frame. I distinctly remember re-enacting the cartoon show Sealab 2020 where we would have to go out of the coach through the floor - just like they did on tv.

Next to that was a sandpit (which never really interested me) and a long grassed area under pine trees. This was also good for playing the games we played in the shed but was also useful for cartwheels (and other gymnastic endeavours) or lying in the shade reading books and other such quiet activities.

Further along was a little dirt area (next to the bike racks which were out of bounds) and this was great for playing marbles.

All of this circled an asphalt court ... which I think was netball but my memory is a bit wobbly there. In any case we could play anything on that area.

Oh, and behind the slides was the little oval - but that was mainly for boys playing football so the girls didn't really go there.

Pretty impressive array of activities for a little country school - and that was all for Grades 1 and 2 - the older kids had other areas of the school to play in.

Thanks Miss A, loved that walk down memory lane :-)