Figure 1.--Here we see some boys during the Winter term having a quick game of chess in a brief period of evening free time before bed time. There were many avid chess players at this school.
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Figure 1.--Here we see some boys during the Winter term having a quick game of chess in a brief period of evening free time before bed time. There were many avid chess players at this school. |
The children at prep schools engage in a wide range of free time activities. One of the most popular activities at schools with available wooded areas is simply unstructured free times in the woods. The children, especially the younger boys, love to form small groups of best friends to play games and build dens or camps from which they raid other groups. The engineering involved is in many cases elaborate, if somewhat suspect. The state of the boys after an hour or so in the woods is enough to drive matron to drink. There are the inevitable bruises and skinned knees. But the boys love it. It overs the opportunity for a little rough and tumble and the chance to be with together with their closest mates. It also offers the opportunity for a little privacy. Hidden away in their dens they are away, for a precious few minutes, from the constant supervision of the' masters--a cherished time in the lives of boarding children who are very closely supervised and regimented. Another popular activity is time with pets. Some schools allow the children to keep small pets like guinea pigs and rabbits, normally the kind that are kept in cages. Other children choose activities like skate boarding or roller skates, depending on the school rules.
Often chilkdren have their free time activity planned out well before the time arrives. Often their are phases in which the popularity of a given activity gome and go and many of the children want to play the popular game or activity. Other times friends decide on what to do with their free time after classes. This might be done by two friends or a small group. Often the choice is easy and reached quickly. Other times iit might take a little more discussion. Most schools have quite a range of ativities for the children to choose from and of course the choices change seasonallhy.
Board games are especially popular with prep school children. One of the advantages of boarding school is that there is never a shortage of friends to play with. Most schools have a good selection of games. Often there are fads with ganes increasing and decreasing in popularity. Games duriomg the week have to fit into nthe relatively short periods of free time. Draughts (checkers) and chess are thus popular as the games can usually be completed in a short time and requite little set up. We noted more children playing chess than draughts. There is, however, time for longher games like mononpoly during the weekend. Board games are especially important during the Winter term and on rainy days.
The children at prep schools engage in a wide range of free time activities. One of the most popular activities at schools with available wooded areas is simply unstructured free times in the woods. The children, especially the younger boys, love to form small groups of best friends to play games and build dens or camps from which they raid other groups. The engineering involved is in many cases elaborate, if somewhat suspect. The state of the boys after an hour or so in the woods is enough to drive matron to drink. There are the inevitable bruises and skinned knees. But the boys love it. It overs the opportunity for a little rough and tumble and the chance to be with together with their closest mates. It also offers the opportunity for a little privacy. Hidden away in their dens they are away, for a precious few minutes, from the constant supervision of the' masters--a cherished time in the lives of boarding children who are very closely supervised and regimented.
Some schools are lucky enough to have small ponds wher the children can fish. This is an activity especially popular with the boys.
Older boys will often use their free time to practice their sports skills. During the Summer there are often boys practing their bowling and batting on the cricket pitches. Many schools have tennis courts which are popular.
Boys but not so much the girls love to build models. This seems to be declining somewhat in popularity, but we notice that this was still a popular free-time activity at several schools. Some even had an area reserved for model building. Most boys worked with plastic model kits. Planes and cars seemed by far to be the most popular choices. Not all schools promoted this activity and unless an area was specifically set aside, it is difficult for boys to work on their projects.
Some children will use their free time to practice with their instruments. This varied greatly from chool to school. Some schools placed much more attentin to promoting instrumental instruction than others. For many children their instruments were more of an obligation and they used their free time more for play or sports. Some children were more absorbed with their instruments than others and used some of their free time to work with their instruments. For the most part at the prep school level this seemed to be most individuals. We rarely observed impromtu group efforts during free time. The music generally selected for free time play was popular music.
Another popular activity is time with pets. Some schools allow the children to keep small pets like guinea pigs and rabbits, normally the kind that are kept in cages.
Other children choose activities like skate boarding or roller skates, depending on the school rules.
Several schools have swimming pools and offer recreational swims during the Summer.
