“Good Old Days”

Interview with Grandparents Objectives of this study were: To learn the playing habits of the grandparents who were children in a less digitalised world Create curiosity among the young generation for learning traditional games that are no longer played To develop research and assessment skills and capabilities of the students When? Thursday 3rd November Who? Primary 5 (aged 8/9) children as part of their topic ‘My School & Locality’ were the perfect interviewers with our ‘Annaclone Young at Heart Association’ Where? St. Colman’s PS & All Saints’ NU, Annaclone, Northern Ireland Why? Because we are committed to ‘Bridging The Generations.’

Where the fun never ends! Young At Heart Club for the over 60's living in Annaclone. They value the importance of older generation continuing to learn new skills and ideas. Organised and led by local pensioners for local pensioners. School supports them by giving them access to the building for meetings/ICT/music etc Help the school with traditional crafts/art Where the fun never ends!

The Interviews Context – our grandparents talk of life in Rural Ireland in the 1940/50s. Many have lived in Annaclone all their lives and have witnessed the changes to the school and community during that time. 9 year old children shared their views on their own ‘Good Old Days’.

Creativity/Imagination “Imagination deficit?” Summary of Findings - 1 Creativity/Imagination “Imagination deficit?” “…imagination was all we had and it took us everywhere…no alternative entertainment – we were the entertainment and where you see a stick, we saw a paddle on a ship or a key part of the hut we were about to build and go hide away in…”

Summary of Findings – 2 Toy Creation & Craft ‘’Rich in thought, not in pocket.” “All of my toys came from the shops or Santa.” “We spent hours making toys from next to nothing. Mummy taught us how to sew and make rag dolls.” “Year after year we would race our carts down Rathfriland Hill. It was a big deal to win and no one cared about cuts or bruises.”

Summary of Findings - 3 Demographic Change Who do I play with? “If my sister is busy, I play on my own in my room.” “We had six/seven/eight children in our family. Our cousins would come to ours and we would all play together. We learned lots from the older children, song, games, how to be bold and bad!”

Summary of Findings – 4 Similarities Timeless Games Duck, Duck, Goose Skipping Games Hide & Seek aka 40/40 Hopskotch Pitch & Toss British Bulldog The Farmer Has A Wife Ringboard Games

Summary of Key Findings - 5 Modern Day Parenting… The big debate… “We were allowed to run freer and wilder than we ever let our own children. They in turn have taken it to a new level. Children are micro-managed in terms of safety and risk. Parents drop their children off at organised clubs and at sleepovers. I think I little bit of organised chaos and adventurous learning would go a long way with this generation. Even a walk home from school was a ‘game’ now everyone is bussed and belted in. Has health and safety mixed with scare stories in the media taken childhood to a place we might never get it back from?”

Curiosity in our Children Summary of Findings - 6 Curiosity in our Children “Let’s Investigate!”

Conclusion All present enjoyed the chance to engage and learn from each other Opportunities for new learning arose from the interviews Societal change has had both positive/negative impacts upon childhoods Work for Sociologists to determine is this just life ‘through rose tinted glasses’ or were childhoods in 1950’s substantially ‘richer’ for the child? All grandparents conceded that schooling itself is much superior today and that the removal of all forms of ‘corporal punishment’ can’t be overlooked as a huge leap forward in terms of child-centred pastoral care Children appeared envious at ‘playing opportunities’ open to grandparents outside school hours that they don’t feel they have.