Our Pinnies

To introduce our inquiry  ‘Where we are in place and time’ 

we thought we would use the history of Diocesan School for Girls as a provocation for the girls to think about what has gone before.

Recently the girls have been showing an interest in some of the historical tapestries in our school. 

Last week they noticed one on the wall in the Centennial building.

Through this experience they began asking questions about what Dio 

was like in the olden days.

History can be a challenging concept for 3 and 4 year olds, 
so we decided to introduce the idea with something 
they are more familiar with such as their uniform and pinnies.

  
Today as a teaching team we posed the question.

What do we know about our pinnies and why do we wear them?

“They keep our uniforms from getting dirty” - Ruby

“They keep us clean and we don’t get wet. They protect us from paint and stains” - Zoe

“So we don’t have to wash our uniform all the time” - Halle

“All our pinnies have different colours and patterns” - Jacqui

“But sometimes they are the same because mine and Féline’s 

are the same colour” - Olivia

“We have our own names on them” - Ruby

“I wonder why they have our names on them?” - Miss Lambert

“So we don’t get them all mixed up” - Halle

“So they don’t lost” - Féline

“And then the teachers wont forget our names” - Zoe

“I think the teachers know our names” - Vita

After this discussion about pinnies we walked down the hall to look at the 

giant pinny patch-work quilt hanging on the wall. 
This pinny initiated more conversations.  

“There are lots of patterns on that pinny” - Ruby

“It’s made of blanket” - Féline

“It’s made of fluff and it has numbers” - Jacqui

We all read the numbers 1903 - 1993

“Perhaps 1903 is the year when the first pinnies were made?” - Miss Lambert 

“I think the police made the pinnies” - Féline

“I think the French teacher made them because I saw her with them” - Zoe

Do you think girls wore pinnies when our school first opened in 1903? 

Perhaps when Mrs Smith-Bayes-Bottomly was the headmistress of the school?

“No I don’t think so” - Olivia

“Yes they did have pinnies” - Jacqui

“Yes but they were all the same and there were no names on them” - Ruby

“Why do you think so?” - Miss Lambert

“Because Mrs Smith-Bayes-Bottomly was mean” - Ruby

“I think the pinnies were black and white or brown” - Jacqui

“Yes because they are old colours” - Féline

“Maybe the girls wore them in winter but not in summer time” - Jacqui

“Vita’s Mum might know about the pinnies” - Féline

“But why don’t the teachers have pinnies and the whole school doesn't have them...

Why don’t the big girls wear them?” - Jacqui

“Because they are too big to fit them” - Féline

“Coz pinnies are too small” - Jacqui

After these conversations the girls were given the opportunity to draw themselves in their own pinnies.