Toys from the Past school visits for education. We provide a living history and reenactment service as historical interpreters focusing on the QCA How are toys different from those in the past topic. As re-enactors and educators, we bring the excitement of real history to your classroom.
Some of the locations we travel to for our Egyptians workshops are:
East-Midlands, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire , Warwickshire, Leamington, Leicester Hinckley Nottingham Peterborough Coventry Birmingham, Tamworth, Derbyshire, Derby, Chesterfield, Ilkeston, Swadlincote, Buxton, Matlock, Ashbourne, Nottinghamshire, Mansfield, Worksop, Newark, Leicestershire, Leicester, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Coalville, Lutterworth, Rutland - Oakham, Uppingham. Cottesmore, Northampton, Peterborough, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, West-Midlands, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Coventry, Smethwick, West Bromwich, Solihull, Bedfordshire, Birmingham, Warwick, Nuneaton, Rugby, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Thomas Top-Hat or Molly Mob-Cap
bring the Toys from the Past into
your school for an exciting workshop
specifically designed for Key Stage
1, offering hands on historical
enquiry through artefacts.
The Toys from the Past school
workshop is highly flexible. It can be
booked for up to two classes for just
£80.00, for up to three classes in a
half day at £100.00, or combined
with other sessions. Please see our
Victorian Visits page for a full day
of Victorian activities. Alternatively,
our Making Push and Pull Toys
Workshop links well with the DT curriculum and Exploring Forces uses aspects of our Fun with Science session to explore Science objectives. Mileage is also charged.
Moving Toys from the Past Handling Session
Thomas Top-Hat introduces himself and certain outstanding replica toys, which have been sourced internationally for the session, discussing how they work and their materials. These
include a charming, limited edition Steiff
replica marionette Pantom bear which first
appeared in the Steiff catalogue in 1911.
Thomas then continues to show off his
collection with examples of hand-made folk
crafts from the southern USA and clockwork
tin toys including Duck on a Trike which
delights children.
Then, a wealth of high quality
reproduction and original toys are presented
to the children in traditional wicker baskets
for them to play with and discover the
various mechanisms.
Addionally, each small group has a larger or
special toy to engage with, such as bagatelle,
shove ha'penny and a zoetrope. The baskets
of toys carousel around the groups until all
have been seen, when the class gather for a
plenary.
This session can also be adapted upon request
to cover Science learning objectives from the
Forces unit, eg. pushes, pulls, gravity and
friction.
Making Push and Pull Toys Workshop
This workshop is designed to complement the handling session and the replica toys are used as inspiration for children to craft their own. Thomas introduces a range of partly constructed kits of thaumotropes, flick books, whizzers and zoetrope strips for colouring and in some cases designing. This work incorporates DT objectives.
This session incurs an extra charge per head to account for the time and resources involved in making the kits.
Toys from the Past
School Workshops
Exploring Forces Workshop
This workshop is
designed to
complement the
handling session
where teachers have
requested a focus
on Science
objectives,
specifically Pushes
and Pulls. Using
fascinating
inventions from our
presentation, this
workshop also offers the opportunity for children to craft models such as paper aeroplanes and helicopters with Thomas and to test them for efficiency.
Our usually strict approach to in-role work is tempered with a realistic understanding of KS1 for these sessions and we can certainly come in costume but not in role if teachers think that it may cause confusion for pupils. Our approach for Key Stage 1 is that we will acknowledge materials like plastic which we "shouldn't" know about - essentially whatever facilitates learning best will be our approach for the session. Our focus is on the educational experience for the children and what serves them best, so the sessions are interactive and involve everyone.
The main handling session can also be adapted for older children to study toys through the ages, involving Roman, Egyptian and Tudor toys as well as the Victorian ones to compare and contrast.
SEN Schools
We are experienced in working with
children of a range of ages and abilities.
We understand the need for explorative
learning and incorporate sensory
opportunities. Our Toys from the Past
visit into SEN schools is less structured
and will try to meet the needs of the
children. Please get in touch to discuss
your specific class and their needs with us.
We can visit in costume but not in role
(to reduce confusion).
Zoetrope
For more images of Moving Toys,
see our Toys Gallery.
Pricing
Any of the above activities, including Victorians, can be booked at the costs quoted below, which covers the service itself, to be delivered by either or both of us, dependent on your area and other factors (see our Terms and Conditions). However, the Making Push and Pull Toys Workshop incurs an extra charge of £1.00 per pupil on top of the below fees.
Full Day
The full day rate is £175.00 plus mileage
(50p per mile round trip from LE9 9HG).
I/2 day
In our local area, you are more than
welcome to book half a day and incorporate
some of the above sessions. The cost for
½ day is £100.00 (50p per mile round trip
from LE9 9HG).
1-2 hours
£80.00 for up to two hours involving up to
two classes plus mileage (50p per mile round trip from LE9 9HG).
Illustration
Two classes of children, engaging in the handling session and the Exploring Forces Workshop for half a day - £100.00 plus mileage.
Two classes of thirty children, engaging in the handling session and the Making Push and Pull Toys Workshop for half a day - £160.00 plus mileage.
Three or more classes of children, engaging in a Victorian Visit (to include Toys from the Past sessions) for a full day - £175.00 plus mileage.
These rates are held for 2011-12 and there are no hidden costs. Confirmation of booking is taken as a contract between the school and The Specialists and acceptance of our T & C's.
Greg and Lisa McCarthy have many years of experience working with children. Greg is a teacher and Lisa a former Occupational Therapist in learning disabilities. Both have full CRB's and public liability insurance.
