Childhood Days Reminiscence

Time

4 3 2 1 Early-Mid Stages

Benefits

What you need

A small brightly decorated box, around 15cm x 15cm x 10cm (deep)
20 pieces of card, with pre-prepared questions on to evoke memories, such as:

What was your desk like at school?
Who was your best friend at school or throughout childhood?
What games did you play at break times?
Did you go on a summer holiday?
Did you have a family car?
Where would you go to on days’ out
Were you a member of the Scouts or Brownies
Did you ever go on camping trip?
Did you ever climb a tree?
Do you have a favourite childhood memory?

3. A few props, such as:

A school satchel
Marbles
Skipping rope
Plimsolls
Scouts or Brownies badges

Intro

Childhood memories of learning to write, playing in the garden or helping mum in the kitchen can often be more powerful than any others. They can sometimes be brought to mind much easier than ones from the present day. So, with a little questioning over a nice cuppa, you can while away a morning helping someone to share their earliest memories with friends and family.

Reminiscence is a great individual or group activity to help people engage in conversations, especially if they feel detached from the present moment.

The Activity

Put all the pieces of card into the box
Encourage the first person to have their turn, picking a piece of card from the box
Allow the person to read the question aloud and take their time to answer, sharing their memory with the group
Once they’ve finished sharing, invite the next person to take a question and have their turn
One person’s memories may trigger memories for another, so allow everyone the time and space to talk – even if it's not their turn
It’s OK if just a few questions are pulled out the bag, you don’t have to use all of them. What’s more important is letting the conversation flow and allowing the group set the pace
Use the props to trigger more memories and spark conversation