PRIMARY DAYS

Back in my olden days, Primary was on a week day after school.  We met in age group classes with the boys and girls together until the last three years of Primary.  Then we were separated by gender.You also advanced by grade level rather than age. Advancement was at the beginning of the school year.

When I started fourth grade I became a Lark in Primary. As a Lark, every girl was given a green felt bandelo. Much of our time as a Lark, Bluebird or Seagull was spent on learning homemaking skills like knitting, crocheting, basic sewing and cooking. So while the boys were doing manly scouting stuff, the girls would be sitting in a circle in their Primary class stitching on a cross stitch or learning how to knit.



After being a Lark, the next advancement was to a Bluebird in the fifth grade and finally becoming a Seagull in the sixth grade.  With each advancement, you received a small plastic bird for your age group that was attached to the bandelo.  The activities still focused on homemaking skills.  I think that many LDS girls had a leg up in junior high Home Economics because we had spent those last three years in Primary learning the basics.  Cooking and sewing weren't foreign to us.