Colonial Craft Day

Fourth grade's year long study of Philadelphia has progressed to the Colonial Era. What better way to discover things from the past than to do it through experiential learning? We spent an entire day over at the Meetinghouse, inside and out, exploring what life was like for children during the colonial era. We started the day with everyone making their own corn husk doll and doll clothes as well. We then spent the rest of the day rotating through craft stations that included candle making, calligraphy with quill pens, silhouette making, embroidery, time in the kitchen cooking Johnny cakes, and learning to play outdoor games such as The Three Graces and Blind Man's Bluff.

The students had the opportunity to learn about the history of each activity while they participated in it, and they came away with a greater understanding of life back in the 1700's. They had delicious snacks at the end of the day that were comprised of authentic sweets and bread from the time period, and afterwards we sat together and reflected on our experience. The students had the opportunity to share what they enjoyed and discovered during the day. Based on their responses, which ran from utter shock in how long it took to make a candle, to being mystified as to how anyone wrote anything that was readable if it was written with a quill, it was an extremely successful Colonial Craft Day.