We couldn’t have hoped for better weather on Wednesday August 18 as we set out on our excursion. With a spectacular sun halo illuminating the way, we navigated (and narrated) our way to Hagley Farm School.

‘There’s a truck’, ‘There’s a cow’, ‘Did you see that tractor?’, ‘I’ve been there.’

After a slow meander through the countryside, our fabulous guides for the day, Tristan and Mike, met us at the bus. We listened with barely contained excitement to a quick outline of the day, before moving off for morning tea in the delightful playground and an opportunity to stretch our legs through climbing, jumping, sliding, balancing, and running.

2P and 1/2Mc were split into two groups to provide an opportunity for the classes to reconnect.

Each group was able to experience what life was like at school in the past. Taught by ‘Miss Grumpy’ or ‘Mr Grumpy’, the children quickly learnt that if a student dared to smile, talk, ask questions, make noises, get anything incorrect, have dirty hands or shoes, or do anything that the teacher did not ask or want them to do; they would be caned, or made to sit on the ‘dunce’ seat or have to put their nose on a red dot on the board!

Silence, perfection, conformity, cleanliness, and using your manners were essential in the classroom of the 19^th Century. Fortunately for us, ‘Miss Grumpy’ didn’t need to cane anyone as the students in Group 1 were too well behaved. However, ‘Mr Grumpy’, apparently had a few ‘trouble-makers’ who weren’t so lucky. School is certainly very different in the present, where we greatly value curiosity, independence, initiative, laughter, discussion, wondering, self-directed learning and ‘messy’ play.

We were able to then use our mapping skills to locate different animals on a tractor ride tour of the farm. Stopping to feed the ducks and the sheep was a highlight for many of the children.

Finally, the groups visited the impressive museum and were able to interact with the artefacts there. The children were particularly interested in how clothes used to be washed, the basic furnishings families used, farming implements, and were also surprised by the time intensive labour required to undertake everyday tasks. A fantastic day was enjoyed by all.

Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers who joined us on the day and to Tristan and Mike for sharing their expert knowledge.