A visit to the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, Toronto’s first free school, is a unique museum experience. It is a journey back in time where today’s children can experience first-hand the life of a working class child in 19th century Toronto.
From the moment they step through the Schoolhouse door, students see and feel what it was like to be a schoolchild in the Victorian era: the wooden desks, the slates, the discipline and the starched collars and pinafores. “Mrs. Henderson” commands their attention as she tells them what children learned in school 150 years ago.
All Schoolhouse programs feature role playing and hands-on learning. Each program at the Schoolhouse costs $5 per student, HST included. Parents and teachers are admitted for free.
In Mrs. Henderson’s Class
90 minutes
Grades 2/3
$5.00 per student
This program is ties in with the pioneer life strand of the grade 3 Social Studies curriculum, but can be adapted to grades 1-6. Your students are transported to Mrs. Jane Henderson’s schoolroom of 1858. Their lessons are just like those taught here at the Schoolhouse 160 years ago: they read the very same stories that the Irish immigrant children read, write on slates, and learn about geography through maps of that time. Even break time features the games of that period.
Dancing and Decorum in 19th Century Ontario
90 minutes
Grades 2-4
$5.00 per student
Students discover the importance of dance as a social activity in 19th-century society, compare popular music from today and the 1850s, as well as behaviour and etiquette. Students complete a listening exercise, Victorian etiquette challenge, and learn the “Sir Roger de Coverley,” a popular English country dance of the period. Curriculum link: Drama and Dance
Joint Program with Toronto’s First Post Office
Full Day
Grades 2/3
$5.00 per student at Enoch Turner Schoolhouse
$5.00 per student at Toronto’s First Post Office
(Please note: separate payment to each museum is required)
For a full-day field trip or to enable two classes to visit on the same day, enjoy ninety minute programs at both the Schoolhouse and the Post Office. Toronto’s first post office features a hands-on program where students write a letter with a quill pen, then seal it with wax and mail it. It’s just a brief walk between the two museums and a self-directed walking tour is included. Your classes may bring lunch to eat in the Schoolhouse’s West Hall.
Joint Program with Market Gallery and Redpath Sugar Museum
Full day
Grade 2/3
$5.00 per student
You can fill a school bus or a streetcar for a full-day learning experience. This program combines the “In Mrs. Henderson’s Class” with a 90-minute visit to the Redpath Sugar Museum. Included is a self-directed walking tour through one of Toronto’s oldest districts and lunch room facilities at the Market Gallery. At the Redpath Sugar Museum, your students will experience the world of Toronto today in a fascinating look at modern industry and technology in our city.
Settling in the City: Immigrants in Early Modern Toronto
90 minutes
Grade 7/8
$5.00 per student
Learn about the men, women and children who moved to Canada 100 years ago and how they helped create a new, modern country. Students complete group activities to learn about the lives of immigrants to Toronto circa 1900, and participate in a re-enactment immigration process. Curriculum link: Grade 8 History – Canada: A Changing Society and Grade 8 Geography – Migration
Settling in the City Walking Tour
90 minutes
Grade 7/8
$5.00 per student
Explore the historic Corktown neighbourhood, visiting sites that were significant in Toronto’s development as a modern city in the early 20th century. Students will see homes, businesses, schools and institutions from early Toronto, and learn about the people who lived and worked in the area. Curriculum link: Grade 8 History – Canada: A Changing Society and Grade 8 Geography – Migration
English as a Second Language
30 minutes
$5.00 per student
ESL classes are welcome to visit the Schoolhouse for a modified version of our programs. Please contact the Site Coordinator to make arrangements.
To inquire about any of the programs, or to book a school visit, please contact
Tel: 416-327-6997
Email: enochturner@heritagetrust.on.ca
Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation 