Ireland - Erin's little sons and daughters - a country school in County Monaghan, Ireland

One of a set of 36 cards in a boxed set called 'Real Children'...It is recess time and the girls have come out here to play "Green grow the rushes - O". That is the mistress who stands by the door and the boys grouped near her, under her watchful eye, are going through the light gymnastic exercises in which they are drilled as a part of the school programme. The schoolhouse is built of stone, plastered and whitewashed like most of the houses hereabouts; it differs from them chiefly in having its roof covered with slates instead of a thatch of straw. Those small windows let in but a scanty amount of light and the school benches are of a primitive sort, but school keeps only a few weeks in the year..The lessons are chiefly in reading, writing, the church catechism and elementary arithmetic, with geography for the older pupils. Most of these children live near enough to run home for a dinner of bread and milk between sessions, though a few bring their luncheon with them and eat it sitting on the bank under the trees in the intervals of favourite games. Wrestling and running are popular sports with the boys; tops and marbles are enjoyed in due season..Most of these children have some share of the household work to do when they are at home. These girls feed the chickens and the pigs, mind the baby, and watch the browsing goat to prevent his getting into mischief. The boys help cut turf in the bogs and spread it to dry; they plant the potatoes and weed turnips; the best fun is when they are big enough to be trusted to drive to town on a market day. Some of these little folks will marry and live out their days in this county where they were born, but probably many will emigrate - there is a constant stream of life from these country districts of Ireland into America across the seas.