Instead of updating families with the goings-on in the classroom through the typical classroom newsletter, have your students write about the current events in their own colonial-style newspaper. Brew a pot of black tea and pour it into a casserole. Allow one hour for the tea to steep and cool. Instruct your students to crumple and straighten a sheet of white paper several times. Soak the paper completely in the cooled tea and set aside to dry. Have your students use headings of each subject area they are studying currently and write a short article detailing the activities and objectives learned this week. Encourage them to add a cartoon drawing to their newspaper as well.
Children in the colonial period found creative ways to entertain themselves. Help your children understand how different times were by playing a popular game from that era. Gather dried grasses if they are available. Otherwise collect a bunch of small twigs or cut the straw from a clean broom to play this game. Divide the class into groups of three to four students. Give each group about 30 twigs or straw pieces. Have them drop the bunch onto their playing surface in a disorganized pile. Instruct each student to take a turn trying to pick up a twig or straw piece from the pile without moving the others. If a student picks one up without moving any other, he can keep the twig and try again. Each player gets to remove twigs until his effort causes another twig to move, then play goes to the next student. Play continues until all the twigs have been removed.
Voting is a privilege enjoyed by all citizens in a democracy, which began for the United States during the colonial times. Give your students several choices, for example three activities for a Friday afternoon. Encourage your students to debate about what their choice would be and then hold a class vote. Pass out small squares of paper to students. Have them write their activity choice on the paper. Instruct them to fold the paper and slide it into a slot on a decorated shoebox. As a class, tally the votes to determine which activity the whole class will participate in. Discuss why this method is the most fair way to reach a compromise. Apply this knowledge to the city, state and national levels in the discussion.
Pumpkins and squash were a favorite food harvested and baked by the first Colonial Americans. Follow this recipe for a delicious pumpkin pie that was published and used in colonial times.
1 3-4 pound pie pumpkin
3 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 frozen pie crusts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pumpkin flesh into cubes, cover with water in a large pot and bring to a boil. When the pumpkin is soft, drain, let cool and peel. Have students take turns using forks to mash the pumpkin. Whip three eggs into the pumpkin. Add the softened butter, the sugar and spices. Pour the mixture into the frozen pie crusts and bake for 60 minutes. While the pies are baking, tell the students that eggs have gotten larger over the last hundreds of years. This recipe used to call for six eggs; now you only need three. Colonial bakers did not have standard measurements such as cups and teaspoons, so they used weight descriptors to share recipes. A lot has changed since colonial times, but the pie still tastes wonderful.