ive just remembered that my primary school taught us all basket weaving as a regular activity/lesson.

[Pagwatch]

it wasnt just an occasional project. we each had terms of basket weaving in the library taught by the headmaster.

why did i need this skill? did your do any off lessons like that or just my village school

We did maypole dancing. They don't do it any more here, or the May Queen. :(

We also en masse learned the balalaika. No idea why.

Oh, one of my teachers kept bees next to the school. We used to get kitted out and head over to check on them.

Maypole dancing, basket weaving, cross stitch. We did literally have to do a maypole dance at the summer fete, so there was some pressure on to learn the steps. No idea why we did basket weaving, but I remember water going everywhere and getting pretty wet clothes. I was quite good at cross-stitch, could design my own patterns on squared paper and then sew them. I did a penguin once, and turned it into a Christmas card. Must have been 7 or 8, because we emigrated after that.

I teach versions of lots of these things now- under the DT umbrella.
I never underestimate the value of practical skills and the satisfaction for kids of an item made from scratch.

Happy memories of country dancing at school, and so much singing- wonderful!

Maypole dancing

My kids do basket weaving at school, its clearly a fine motor skills thing as well as a million other things - project planning, working towards something thats useful, art & design, scissor skills, knot skills etc etc etc. its a really good thing to do, I cant see what it would be a bad thing to spend time on.

Yes we did that too!!

The 'holey cloth' stitch thing was called Binca if I remember correctly.

Also did country dancing and maypole dancing and the basket weaving...

My primary school had a paddock where we kept sheep, a donkey, a pony, geese, ducks and chicken. As kids, we were responsible for feeding and cleaning them out at playtimes and parents did it on a rota basis over the weekends and holidays.

One of the sheep was called Bunty and she was a bit lairy. According to the legend, she had hospitalized a number of parents and teachers who has got in her way. Also the music teacher reportedly gave mouth to mouth to a chicken.
I can remember us all being called out of class during lambing season to watch it happening in all it’s bloody glory. When the sheep were shorn, we learned how to spin with the wool. We also used to collect eggs from the chickens and I can remember washing chickens in the sinks in the Reception class toilets.

It all seemed so normal at the time, but it wasn’t really.

I distinctly remember the girls being taken out of class every Friday one term to learn how to plait.

We also did the Maypole but I loved it and am trying to find an adult group to join

I think we called the holey fabric Ada (Aida?).

On a boring and serious note, I think schools need to do more of this. The royal college of surgeons came out a few years ago saying that up and coming surgeons are lacking the physical dexterity that comes from crafting.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

Swahili.

School was in South London by the way. None of the pupils were native speakers...

My children in a school on the edge of the Cotswolds all had a year of Japanese because one of the teachers spoke it and they had to do "a language".

We did macrame, country dancing, some sort of textile dying experimentation (blood does not work btw) and learned to touch type, for which I am very grateful (I write lots of scientific reports). I also made a trowel in woodworking class, which involved a lathe and I still have it about 30 years later.

Do they not do these things any more?

My secondary age nephew does mountain biking for PE, which I am jealous of.

Country dancing (yr1-3)
Maypole dancing (yr4/5)
Sword dancing (long sword and rapper) yr 6
Rag doll and soft toy making (including a full Victorian outfit for the doll)

State primary in Hertfordshire

@MajesticElephant

On a boring and serious note, I think schools need to do more of this. The royal college of surgeons came out a few years ago saying that up and coming surgeons are lacking the physical dexterity that comes from crafting.

Indeed, to explain the "basket weaving occupational therapist" stereotype, these craft activities challenge and develop people's fine and gross motor skills, attention, perception, cognition, memory... While on a superficial level, it looks like it's about occupying time, or the end product, but it's always been about all of the skills that are integrated to allow people to complete a task.

See also children's handwriting skills and the 'therapy' that helps to improve it.

We did basket weaving, how to make a skirt, lino printing & nail & thread pictures. We also made things for a school fete for the Silver Jubilee.

The singing 😂🤷🏼‍♀️! What school assembly WASN'T vastly improved by 100 kids belting out "He's got the whole wide world" while an elderly female teacher pumps out the tunes on a piano and with the head teacher striking away imaging himself like some sort of Paul Mcartney on guitar. Meanwhile little Tim who forgot to go the loo at break time quietly sits in an ever-growing yellow puddle while the poor girls Scooot across the floor in horror. Totally bizarre how I can almost still smell that mix of stale urine, dry paint powder and school dinners.

We didn't do baker making at school, but we're DID do it at the local youth club. Along with copper/enamel badge type things, button badge making and this weird wire hoop that you dipped in acrid smelling plastic to make flowers and butterflies.

In school we did lots of Lego STEM type stuff and that was my favourite. We had a few artists come in to design murals and things and I was always volunteering to do extra time as I love crafting. Yes to sewing/embroidery, basic circuit making with wire, tiny light bulbs, batteries and brass thumb tacks. We also did lots of gymnastics and interpretive dance ( I think the teacher was just bored/couldn't be arsed). Worst day was when a temp brought in as cows heart to show us the inner workings. Some kids were terrified, I got to hold the scalpel and the lady told me where to cut it etc like in the diagram on the over head projector . It was really tough, the heart flew off the plate and splattered on the floor . Girls started crying, boots were screaming with delight . The teacher picked it and demanded silence. Slammed it back on the plate and the splatter went for a good twelve feet. Then Lydia started vomiting in her desk drawer, then Jenny. Then a a C boy started crying and it was like dominoes. and that was the end of that. I didn't get to cut the bloody heart up!

Good memories!

Maypole dancing AND country dancing at mine. Also basket weaving, knitting, lots of nature study and a whole topic about farms and farming which I loved. And a lot on "good manners". This was late 70s & early 80s (but I was taught almost exclusively by women aged 50+)
We didn't get a lot of what is now called PHSE - I don't remember any sex education and I definitely went to high school not knowing what "gay" meant. High school was a shock to the system in general.

@BarbaraofSeville

We did macrame, country dancing, some sort of textile dying experimentation (blood does not work btw) and learned to touch type, for which I am very grateful (I write lots of scientific reports). I also made a trowel in woodworking class, which involved a lathe and I still have it about 30 years later.

Do they not do these things any more?

My secondary age nephew does mountain biking for PE, which I am jealous of.

My DD did various arts&crafts at primary. Her secondary school did various 'tech' in yrs 7-9 (food, textiles, electronics...) and encouraged (though didn't enforce) doing a tech GCSE.

So she used laser cutters, did soldering, circuit design, PCB creation ...

Oh my goodness! I've just remembered this too. The national curriculum often has random skills you have to know- like marbelling in Year 4. Maybe it was one of those things?

Yes we did country dancing, needlework, endless handwriting lessons and lots and lots of singing!

I went to a primary school where the music teacher wrote a Christmas play each year and the whole school had part we rehearsed and worked on the play every day from October half term. No lessons, just Christmas play rehearsals. We put the show on every night for a week. Each show was a sell out. Every year we did this.

We did sewing on mats I'm not sure why no basket weaving though.

The Scottish Country dancing was hell it was from start of August term till the Christmas party it was horrific !