Year 2 are entertained by a Punch and Judy show

On Monday, Year 2 had a fantastic day. As part of our studies of seaside holidays in Victorian times we watched a Punch and Judy show, for this was a popular form of entertainment at the seaside during Victorian times. We all thoroughly enjoyed the play; it was audience participation all the way! We laughed and screamed, and screamed and laughed some more (all in the right places!). The children learnt a lot about the history of Punch and Judy; it first came to England over 350 years ago from Italy, and how, during Victorian times, it became a popular tourist attraction. All Punch and Judy shows have the same stories, for example: Judy asks Mr Punch to look after the baby and the crocodile eats the sausages. We were intrigued to find out how Punch’s voice is so squeaky; it is made by a swazzle that sits on the tongue. We were also fascinated by how all those puppets can be operated by just one man. In the afternoon we decided to have a go at being puppeteers ourselves working in groups to cut out and make the puppet theatre and puppets. We then wrote a script, rehearsed and performed to the rest of the class.