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Sunday 11 October 2015

Jenny and Lexie play school

My two Heather Maciak dolls are enjoying a bit of time out of their boxes at the moment.  They are precious porcelain 8" dolls so usually they are kept comfortably in their boxes (and out of the light), however on the Jenny and Lexie Yahoo Group there has been a Fall/Autumn/Back to school photo sharing in recent weeks.
In the past I've joined in some of the little challenges (some of which have involved sewing for the girls, see for example my 'Little Red Riding Hood' story) however I'm sad to say that this year has been so busy with most doll time devoted to the Sashas, therefore the smaller dolls haven't had much out of their boxes time since Christmas 2014!  So a few days ago I got them out again, changed their outfits and found a few accessories to illustrate them playing school.  They are forever 5 year old girls and in my view (and as educational research is showing), age 5 is really too young for formal schooling, though it is the age that children start school in England. So that is why mine are not in uniforms and are playing at school rather than attending it!

Lexie and Jenny play school
The table is actually Jenny's box (she is elfin Jenny) and most of the accessories come from my elder daughter's dollshouse (Mrs Harvey's toy and sweet shop) or from the Sasha dolls (the books, word search and clock chart).  And the bear who is a bookworm is from our little collection of bears which usually sits on an apprentice piece Welsh dresser (which hasn't yet featured on this blog).  The two little seats for the girls are actually pots which I was given years ago at different times, they were the right height for stools but then the girls decided to stand up instead.

Lexie is wearing the little sailor dress I won in a Valentines day challenge in the group, Jenny is wearing the little smocked dress I made for the Red Riding Hood challenge.

7 comments:

Serenata said...

Lovely to see these two girls out of their box and 'playing' at school - more play should be allowed for this age - you are right - they go to school at far too young an age in this country and what a lot of people aren't aware of is that they don't legally have to start school until the term AFTER their 5th birthday - instead so many parents feel forced into having them start when they are still only 4 and often only just turned four in order to get them into the school of their choice. Actually they don't have to legally start school then either, that is when they are supposed to start 'education' which of course is something else entirely and actually education starts a lot sooner and is lifelong!

Kendal said...

What delightful little dolls you have here and seen enjoying one of my favourite subjects.....school!

Loving their minature school accessories especially the abacus, books, slate board and the pot of tiny crayons. The clock wallchart reminds me of my teaching days when tackling the 'time' project each year. (Galt Toys did some excellent time aids and work cards which were always a great help with this.)

My Brood have some of these crayons and a few pint-sized books which they treasure BUT I was wondering if sometime in the future, when your voluntary work finishes or eases up a little if you might design and make a small abacus for sale? (Mine have a hand-held slate board from the Gotz Alberto doll (plus a little black board) and that might be another design for you for future thought.)

I have always found word-searches to be very popular and would always try to have some linked with each main national curriculum topic that we were learning.
(They even learnt how to make up their own for their friends to do which turned out to be a great success.)

That's a very pretty smocked dress that you made to go under your Red Riding Hood's cape. (I have a Sasha sized Ruthsdoll's smocked dress in that very material which one of my girls wears over Christmas.)

PS. In reply to Lorraine's interesting comment on school starting age think that a lot depends here on the actual parents and the home's educational background etc. Attending a 'play-school' or nursery at three to four years on several mornings is in my opinion a good thing as it gets the children used to learning to mix with others and hopefully builds up some immunity to those nasty common 'health germs' that seem to occur in their first year at school.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know these dolls yet, they are lovely. The outfits are gorgeous :-). Lovely photographs!

Sharon said...

Very cute little dolls and looking to be having a lot of fun in 'school'.
Hugs Sharon

Serenata said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ginger said...

Very, very sweet girls playing at school. The tiny school items are wonderful and the girls are dressed beautifully. A very nice post. :) xxx

Dee said...

I do love these dolls of yours and a lovely setting of them playing school.
Since all my girls are in their thirties I cannot comment on if 5 is too early for children, children do develop at different stages, so five could be perfect for one child but totally bad for another.
My children enjoyed learning to mix with children at play group and nursery but they did not have to to school at four which I would have found too early.
With regard to playing, I think it's important that children are given time to play and use their imagination and this is something their parents can encourage instead of giving them I pads or sitting them in front of the tv. but that's just my opinion I'm sure others will disagree but in the end they are our children and how we raise them will set them up for the future ahead.
I'll put my soap box away now! lol