Janet's oldest started school this week, The Queen is enjoying it immensely and it reminded me of my first days at nursery school (what everyone else now refers to as Kindergarden).
I can't remember being told about it, but older brother Zeltus had been going to 'school' for about two years before I was sent.. Nursery in Aborfield, where we were based at the time, was in a nissan hut down by the Cinema building (I think this is where it was) and it was in a old army nissan hut with a fenced off play area at the rear and to the side.
My mum took me there one morning with instructions to have fun and play nicely with the other children, of course I was suitably distraught at being abandoned to my fate and no idea of when or even if I were to be allowed home again. See in the 1950's we weren't mollycoddled, parents didn't stay with their kids, they weren't allowed to.. no drop them at the door and run for it..
I do remember a couple of things, one of which was the rocking horse behind the front door which was used in strict rotation so everyone who wanted a go managed to get some time on it, I think I did but I really can't remember it other than it was a magnificant specimen of a rocking horse in a dapple grey colour.
The other thing was the free milk and biscuits at break-time, now they were strict and you had to drink your milk warm as it was felt at the time that ice-cold milk was bad for you, ever since then I have had a phobia about drinking plain milk unless it is a) fresh and b) icy cold. Likewise you were supposed to keep your strength up and this involved partaking of a biscuit, never mind if you didn't like the offerings you were made to eat it.. I developed a hatred of fig rolls and won't eat one to this date... surprisingly at the time I didn't like bourbon biscuits either though I love them these days.
I am sure there were some activities but I can't recall doing anything particular, so anything they taught me was obviously lost in the mists of time.
Release came at the end of the morning, freedom given for the rest of the day until the following day when it resumed once more.
1 comment:
I remember going to kindergarden at a big multiple-story red brick school. You had to walk up a set of stairs to get into the building. The room had large windows along one side, and wooden floors.
I remember coloring and pasting, but not much else about the activities. We had rest time on rugs on the floor, then COLD milk (or juice) and cookies (I think we were allowed no more than two per person). They attached notes to our parents to our clothes with straight pins before we walked out the door.
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