A Step Back in Time

Mike Sciacca

Andy Clark sat cross-legged on the floor, among a sea of fellow

classmates, with a bemused look on his face as his gaze honed in on the

spinning wheel set before him.

The 10-year-old was anxiously waiting to see if he’d get the chance to

take the contraption for a spin.

Andy was one of 97 fifth-grade students at Smith Elementary School to

don period costumes and get down to the basics of everyday life as it

once was at a recent Colonial Day celebration on campus.

While it was a day for learning about a key period of time in our

country’s history, the event also involved fun and games. Ask Cubby

Carlson, an 11-year-old who won several pieces of candy for his expertise

at playing games from the mid-18th century.

“We learned about what life was like in Colonial days and we had some

fun doing it,” he said.

Cubby also excelled in learning classroom lessons. In studying the

colonies, which were divided up into the areas of New England, Middle and

South for the purpose of the project, he found out that Florida was under

the rule of Spain. He also noted that young girls generally went to

school during that era for just one year, learning the basics of how to

read and write, and that some boys were as young as 11 when they went to

college.

Students were celebrating Colonial Day as part of their social studies

requirement. The project, which lasted for more than four weeks, not only

involved the students but was a success due to the volunteer work of

their parents.

Hands-on projects included the practice of calligraphy, the use of a

quill pen, which they made out of goose features, the making of a horn

book -- a sturdy, paddle-like first reader that featured burnt parchment

with calligraphy writing -- the making of their own New England primer

and the students made their own silhouettes.

Other projects taught them to learn how to make quilt pillows, play

period games such as the turkey shoot -- a Nerf football was used to hit

the turkey -- and stilts. They also shook baby food jars filled with

heavy cream to produced butter, made corn muffins and applesauce.

They were told to display proper Colonial behavior when they observed

how to use a spinning wheel. The exhibition taught these students that

young Colonial children regularly worked the spinning wheel to make

clothing. They also learned of the different fibers that are used to make

clothing.

These lessons left their mark on Andy.

“Colonial life was pretty tough for everybody,” he observed. “They had

to do almost everything on their own, like building their own houses. The

children also had to bring firewood to school. We also learned what their

cures were for sicknesses -- that was pretty nasty -- like putting a

chicken on your foot or eating cobwebs to cure a cold. It sure was a

different time than how we live today.”

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.