Do: Imagine you are one of the children staying in the hostel. Write a diary entry about a day spent at the hostel.
Do: In pairs, script a conversation between two evacuees: one who is staying at the hostel and one who has been placed with a host family. Think about how their experiences may have differed and how they each might have felt about it.
Do: Look at the V&A’s 1940s knitting patterns. Have a go at knitting one of the items.
Do: What types of dance were popular during the 1940s? Can you have a go at trying some of them? (Note – resource link to BBC instructional Lindy Hop video).
Do: Research fretwork and fretwork patterns. Can you come up with your own design? Can you make your design? This could be done using paper and scissors if there is no access to wood/metal and saws.
Do: What types of food might the children have had at their tea picnic? Use the recipes from the 1940s Experiment website to make sausage rolls and scones and have a tea picnic.
Do: Divide into teams and have a go at completing some of the chores that the elder children were expected to do. See who can collect the most “good” coloured discs.
Note: These activities could be combined together as part of an Evacuee Day or similar event.