Playing Games - the young Charlotte Paston
Charlotte Paston grew up in a time we call the Restoration, when King Charles II was restored as King of England. As a child she lived at Oxnead Hall. She would have played many of the same games as children had for the previous 200 years. Here's a story that tells us something of her life and growing up in the great hall beside the river.
There are some ideas you can try out for yourself or your teacher can organise. You'll find Teachers' Notes and a Topic Map at the bottom of the list on this page, below the Information and Activity sheets, which can be printed out for use with young learners.
Throughout the Paston Letters there are mentions of outbreaks of the plague. Most historians link the well-known rhyme 'Ring o' Roses' to an outbreak of the plague; here's a little bit of research with pictures.
One of the earliest known board games is chess. For this exercise, cut out the statements and sort them into categories. Can you play a game of chess, remembering people have probably been playing it for 1,500 years?
Here's a research idea. It can be about your favourite sport, or about a sport in which you might be interested. Choose just one sport and set about seeing what you can find out.
In the animation of the young Charlotte she plays quoits and skittles. Can you organise some games like those that Charlotte played?
In our animation Charlotte enjoys playing with her hoop Hoops are circles, with all the clever maths which goes with circles. Here's some words to learn and calculations to work out.
