Colonial Day

Our students are growing up in a world that is changing at a faster pace than ever before because of all of the new technology concepts and innovations that are being created every day. But sometimes, it's good for students to take a step back in time and gain some insight and more of an understanding of what the world used to be like. I'm blessed to work at a school with the tradition of having an on-site field trip day for our 5th graders to learn about life during Colonial America. Students spent the day playing, learning, and "cooking" like children did in the 1700s.

We made Whirl-i-gigs and then played with tops, jacks, and pick up sticks. We mixed up cranberry crumbles, created log cabin ornaments, and painted Dutch art designs.

Students also spent time learning to weave yarn, making butter by hand in a mason jar, cooking Johnny Cakes, writing letters with a feather pen, and even taking turns grinding corn for grain. Students also had to use wash bins to clean the dishes.

 When it was time for lunch, we explained to students that Colonial children typically did not have a seat at the table and would either stand or sit on the floor. Since there was work to do, students were not allowed to speak to each other because they needed to finish their food quickly and not waste time. Of course, we only held the students to this for about ten minutes.

For recess, students could play and run around outside, but there wasn't a basketball or football. There were not swing sets or rings to swing from, and definitely no thoughts of a GaGa ball pit. So students played red rover and tag, or simply chased each other around. All in all, Colonial Day was a great success for our students. We were so appreciative of our parent volunteers that made this day possible, and I even think the students had much more fun than they anticipated.