I will include years 6 & 7 together as yes, I had the same teacher for those two years. Also remember, that my gr 6 and 7 happened in 1950 to 1952. Most of you weren't running around at that time.
First, I will cover something that applies to all years of my education...outdoor play. Playing was for most , the very best part of school . When I think back I am surprised at how much we did and how much fun we had. The peak enrolment when I was in the school was 17, from gr 1 to 9. We had recesses of 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon. We had an hour at lunch time. Sometimes lunches were eaten very quickly so that we could resume play.
All play was organized by the students. The older kids did the most of the organizing.
The main activity was ball. One side was always short one player as you need 18 players. Not to worry. The little guys were the fielders or ball getters. They were like a dog and ran and got the ball and brought it back. Arrangements were made so that every hit wasn't a home run. You only got one base on an infield ball. Two bases if the ball landed in the oufield. There were variations that were played. Scub! There were many names for this game. Students were placed in an order...first batter, then catcher, pitcher , first base. The idea was to hit and run to first base and back. You stayed at bat as long as you could do this. If you went out you went to the bottom of the numbers and the catcher became the batter and everybody moved up one place.
Another version was 500. A batter would hit the ball into a group of players. If you caught a fly ball you got 100 points. A grounder 50 points . The first person who got 500 points became the batter.
This certainly added variety to our playing.
In the winter we played Fox and Goose, prisoner's base, soccer and built snow houses and made tunnels in the snow. The prairies were open . The wind blew the snow for days on end. The blowing snow formed many snow banks. The snow was quite hard as you could always walk over it.
Anty I Over was enjoyed in the summer.
Also for gr 6, we got a brand new school building. No more wind moaning through the building.. It was a treat. We had oil heating so the room stayed the same temperature all day and night.
The new school had one tiny room as a library and more books than the old school. As I said before I finished my work as fast as possible so I could go in the little library and read. There was a very old set of encyclopedias which I spent a lot of time reading. My favorite book was Planes for Bob and Andy. So I really wanted to be a pilot. I did get my pilot's license when I was 25. I also remember reading Smokie and Black Beauty.
Again, I was the only student in my grade. I worked hard so that I could have free time and avoid the teacher. The teacher had to spend the most time with the little guys. I bragged about being first in my class but Yorkshire Pudding also reminded me that I was last as well!
The teacher was pretty good with music and she worked hard. Our work was marked which is more than some of the other teachers did. She made the mistake of praising everything about the previous school she taught in. Very soon she had lost our report. We did not like her .
I have no pictures from this time as the teacher did not organize photos. She took photos for herself but they were not distributed to the students.
Interesting, Red. It makes me think back to my school days. We loved recess too.
ReplyDeleteI guese what we really liked isto be free and spontaneous.
DeleteHello Red,
ReplyDeleteYou have a great memory, I barely my early school years. I do remember a nun, who was a teacher in my 6th grade class wearing high top sneakers and playing basketball. I also remember going to the library, my favorite thing to do was finding books to read. Take care, have a great day!
I guess I had fun at school so it's easy to remember what we did.
DeleteNice memories to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Delete500 rang a bell with me, a faint bell but a bell nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteYes it was fun and a little competitive. If you dropped the ball you wee penalized.
DeleteIt's wonderful to hear about those days when kids really got to play outside a lot. These days they hardly ever pull themselves away from their computer screens. I never heard of most of those games.
ReplyDeleteWe also played outside at home too.
DeleteRecess was always the most popular time at school. My brother and his friends played ball on the playground too. One nun, Sister Alessio, would some times hit fly balls out to the boys. We loved to watch that and she was always a very popular teacher! We girls ran around giggling and making up skipping games. The olden days!!
ReplyDeleteA teacher knocking out fly balls would be a hit in my eyes too.
DeleteYou make me wish I could remember my early school days. I don't remember recess, but I do remember nap time. We each had to bring a little blanket to class and we all stretched out on the floor for nap time. Wow, I haven't thought of that in years.
ReplyDeleteNap time was a highly organized activity. Once in a while some little guy would fall asleep and he would be left alone.
DeleteTimes sure have changed in the city. Our girls work 90 min. online, then get a break. Then, another 90 minutes. It's awful, that long in front of the computer.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of stuff about time and kids that's just plane wrong.
DeleteOutdoors was really important to us growing up in Newfoundland too. The days weren’t long enough to do everything we wanted to do. Outdoors was an important part of our education! Great story.
ReplyDeleteThose Newfoundland kids were a hardy bunch. They had to be in order to survive.
DeleteI think we had similar recess times.
ReplyDeleteRecesses were necessary to let kids work off some energy.
DeleteSome great memories, Red.
ReplyDeleteIt was like a large family.
DeleteYou have an excellent memory Red! I remember recess but not all the games we played. I enjoy reading about your past school experiences, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI guess we played with more intensity so I remember.
DeleteI've been enjoying reading back through your earlier school year entries. A good read. I live within earshot of a small school. Most of the time I wouldn't know it was there, except at break time. The shrieks and squeals haven't changed much!
ReplyDeleteIt's very good that kids be outdoors and have unorganized activity. They are much happier.
DeleteWe had so many ball games to keep us occupied. One-a-bounce-move-up kept us going until dinner time.
ReplyDeleteUnorganized time was time well spent.Adults don't have to supervise all the time.
ReplyDeleteYou got a pilot's licence when you were twenty five! Wow! Now there's another topic you can address in blogposts Red.
ReplyDeleteP.S. It was disappointing to learn that you and your schoolmates played Yankee baseball and not English cricket! After all, Canada was in the British Empire.
Such a great read Red. You've led an interesting life.
ReplyDeleteThose were the days. Red, when children went outdoors to play and didn't stay indoors. Of course, these days, many are going outside after being indoors with home schooling. Yes, you certainly were first (and last) in your class. Enjoyed reading more of your school days memories.
ReplyDelete