School Days 📚 "The best days of our life?"

School life is free of major responsibilities and is more about self-development, bonding with friends, and identifying your talents. It is said that good friends and healthy activities make school days the happiest days of our lives.

Ask members if they agree with that sentiment?

Do they have happy memories of school?

What is different between then and now in terms of schooling?

Think about ...

- Ink pen versus biro

- Learning how to write versus learning how to type

- Learning how to spell versus using spell check

- Working it out with pen and paper versus calculators

- Chalk board versus powerpoint

- Walking to school versus the school run

- Playing outside versus sat in front of an x Box

As this is more of a discussion-based CST activities session, encourage members to reminiscence and story-tell as you work through these slides. For example, ask members how to play the games or describe how objects worked.

Take care though and know a little about your members' lives before proceeding. Some may have had less happy school days. They may have been bullied or abused or life at home may have been difficult.

PS If you are broadcasting, if you click on the first picture a slider show will open.

If you are doing handouts, for me taking screenshots works best.

Idioms

Let's start with some idioms. Ask members to complete these well known phrases together, by way of a shout out ...

Put your thinking cap ON

Draw a BLANK

Back to BASICS

Pass with flying COLOURS

As easy as ABC

CopyCAT

Eager BEAVER

Show of HANDS

Learn something off by HEART

Times TABLES

BookWORM

The school of hard KNOCKS

A for EFFORT

Play HOOKY

School of THOUGHT

Text BOOK

Can't teach an old dog new TRICKS

BrainSTORM

Fill in the BLANKS

Learn the ROPES

Teach someone a LESSON

A fast LEARNER

In one ear, out the OTHER

Make the GRADE

Eleven PLUS

Teacher's PET

In The Playground

Name these ten school ground games?

Can anyone think of any others?

Remember warm milk at break time?

What alternative was sometimes provided?

School Items

Name these items?

Can anyone think of any others?

What was your school 'Tuck Shop' like?

What were your 'go to' treats?

How much pocket money did you used to get?

Name these snacks and rate them ...

Can you think of any others?

Sports Day

Name the sport or the sporting equipment?

Can anyone think of any others?

School Dinners

What was your favourite school dinner and pudding?

What was the one meal you hated?

Name and rate these school dinners ...

Can you think of any others?

Name and rate these school puddings ...

Can you think of any others?

In The Park

Name the playground ride?

Can anyone think of any others?

What was your favourite comic? What was your favourite comic character?

Movies & TV

Complete the movie titles:

'Tom *****'* ****** ****' (1951)

'The Belles Of ** ********' (1954)

'To Sir **** ****' (1967) Song link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV1qmmMwc9M

'The Prime Of **** **** ******' (1969)

'K**' (1969)

'Goodbye ** *****' (1939)

'Billy ******' (2000)

'G*****' (1978) Song link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW0DfsCzfq4&t=50s

'Harry ******' (2001)

Name the TV shows?

'G***** H***'

'B**** G****'

'The I*********'

Video Break

"Am I bovvered?" Lauren's French O'Level - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1zK8zRCPo

"Shut up!" Vicky's GCSE in History - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVwtJyTDMwc

Songs

Complete the song titles and name the artists or bands?

'Wonderful *****' - S.C. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4GLAKEjU4w

'The L****** S***' - S. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnlIHaAkuTU

'Schools Out *** ******' - A.C. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oo8QzDHimQ

'Another ***** ** *** ****' - P.F. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrxX9TBj2zY&t=116s

'I Don't **** *******' - B.R. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kobdb37Cwc

'A**' - J.F. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aSjHnbw18

Can anyone think of any more?

Practical Activity

As this CST activities page is about a celebration of our younger selves, maybe wrap a tub of 'Celebrations' in layers of paper and play a game of 'Pass The Parcel'.

In The Playground

Jacks

Hide and seek

Conkers

Ring a ring of roses

Hula hoop

Blind man's bluff

Skipping

Leap frog

Marbles

Hop scotch

School Items

School bell

Pencil sharpener

Ink well

Chalk board

Daps or Pumps

Satchel

Cap

Shorts (whatever the weather!)

Exercise book

NHS glasses

Sports Day

Rounders

Wheelbarrow race

Sack race

Three legged race

Egg and spoon race

Apparatus

Gym bench

Horse

Gymnastics

School Dinners

Fish and chips

Shepherd's pie

Sausage and mash

Roast dinner

Corned beef hash

Liver and onions

Steak and kidney pie

Pizza chips and salad

Faggots and peas

Jelly and ice cream

Arctic roll

Chocolate crunch and pink custard

Jam sponge with coconut sprinkle

Fruit salad and evaporated milk

Spotted dick and custard

Semolina or Tapioca and a spoonful of jam

Apple crumble and custard

Jam roly poly

In The Park

Roundabout

Swings & See saw

Rocking horse

Slide

Climbing frame

Witches hat

Movies & TV

'Tom Brown's School Days' (1951)

'The Belles Of St Trinians' (1954)

'To Sir With Love' (1967)

'The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969)

'Kes' (1969)

'Goodbye Mr Chips' (1939)

'Billy Elliot' (2000)

'Grease' (1978)

'Grange Hill'

'Byker Grove'

'The Inbetweeners'

Songs

'Wonderful World', Sam Cooke

'The Logical Song', Supertramp

'Schools Out For Summer', Alice Cooper

'Another Brick In The Wall', Pink Floyd

'I Don't Like Mondays', Boomotwn Rats