Like the olden days

Danette Goulet

Dressed in aprons and bonnets, knickers and tricorns, fifth-grade

students at Lincoln Elementary School on Wednesday had an old-fashioned

good time.

The colonial life they have been learning about in class came alive

for the children as they tried their hand at a variety of 18th century

activities.

Divided into four colonies -- New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island

and Massachusetts -- students began working on such tasks as embroidery,

tin-smithing and butter-churning.

They began with some of the more domestic duties, kneading bread,

making apple turnovers and what could technically be called making butter

in the presence of a churn.

Several in the New Hampshire group explained that to make their fresh

butter, they each put cream into a baby-food jar and shook it until the

cream formed a lump of butter.

“It’s really hard though, because your arm gets tired,” warned Caitlin

Dick, 10, who held her blue shawl in place as she shook her jar.

While three of the colonies prepared food, the fourth learned to

finger weave and play Cat’s Cradle -- an old game played with string.

“Don’t pull it too tight. It’s supposed to look kind of like a braid,”

said Catherine Donnelley, 10, as she tried to teach finger weaving to a

couple of boys in the class.

“I’m braiding,” said Morgan Brombal, aghast.

When everyone had tried their hand at those activities, the nearly 30

parent and grandparent volunteers running the show -- also decked out in

colonial gear -- herded the American “settlers” on to four arts and

crafts activities.

Connecticut settlers set down to do a bit of tin-smithing. Each

student was given a tin pie plate, a hammer and a nail. Following various

patterns, or creating their own, students made holes in the tin with the

hammer and nail.

The effect was reminiscent of the lanterns of colonial times.

Rhode Island settlers painted decorative tiles using stencils -- a

common craft during the colonial time period.

Massachusetts boys and girls began a woodworking project that entailed

sanding down a block of wood, attaching hooks for keys and painting the

finished project.

Meanwhile, with noses buried in their projects, the New Hampshireites

were learning the painstaking task of embroidery.

“Is this right?” asked Jon Kiani, 10.

At his teacher’s affirmative nod, he groaned. Of all the crafts,

embroidery, it seemed, was the most difficult to master.

“But they’re all crooked,” Jon wailed.