Kindergarten – Neighborhoods (Environment), Past and Present

Indiana Academic Standards included in this field trip-History:K.1.1 Compare children and families of today with those in the past. K.1.2 Identify celebrations and holidays as a way of remembering and honoring people,

events and America’s ethnic heritage.K.1.3 Listen to and retell stories about people in the past who showed honesty, courage,

and responsibility.K.1.4 Identify and order events that take place in a sequence.

Geography:K.3.6 Identify and compare similarities and differences in families, classmates,

neighbors and neighborhoods, and ethnic and cultural groups. K.3.7 Recommend ways that people can improve their environment at home, in school

and in the neighborhood.K.4.4 Give examples of work activities that people do at home.

Primary focus:1. Solomon Dickinson log cabin

-discuss differences in home life now and then2. Conestoga wagon

-discuss using a Conestoga wagon as a temporary homea. What would you need to take along (needs and wants)?b. Possible problems using a wagon as a homec. Weather considerations

- discuss using a Conestoga wagon as transportationa. Transportation now and then- how they differb. Pluses and minuses of wagon transportation

3. Old time Main Street -discuss differences in shopping now and then-discuss where merchandise comes from, now and then

**Break** field trip time up with a song, craft activity, or game… helps children refocus, and be ready to listen

-example: coloring page of a Conestoga wagon-example: play a game pioneer children played-example: read a short field trip appropriate story

Circle Unbroken : The Story of a Basket and Its People by Margot Raven, 2004A Picture Book of Sacagawea by David A. Adler, 2000

Secondary exhibits: very brief discussions1. Black Smith building

-discuss what it was used for… what equivalent is today2. Horse Drawn Carriages, particularly the school hack

- discuss what makes it go- pluses and minuses of transportation now and then

Accompanying Activities:1. Teacher packet-

-sheet containing areas to be covered and accompanying State Standards

-songs-games-activity sheets-web pages as further resources

www.atozteacherstuff.com/Grades_K-2www.campsilos.org/mod2/teachers/life.shtmlwww.proteacher.com/090029.shtmlwww.heritage.uen.org/pioneerswww.fun.families.com/blog/celebrate-pioneer-dayhttp://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/th_1.html http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp

-poemsA Child's Calendar by John Updike, 1999-simple art/craft ideas-story list for further in-class readingCircle Unbroken : The Story of a Basket and Its People by Margot Raven, 2004December by Eve Bunting, 1997A Picture Book of Sacagawea by David A. Adler, 2000Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell, 1997-ideas for furthering understanding (writing activities, story webs,etc.)

2. Digital pictures- taken at the museum and emailed to the classroom teacher

-pictures of individual students (preferred- but you’d have to make sure you took pictures of every child)-small group pictures-whole group picture- emailed to teacher and posted in the

museum for the children to show to parents when they come back as a family

3. Take-home invitation- each child takes home an “invitation” from the museum, to bring their families and return.

-outline areas covered in the field trip4. Teacher field trip evaluation and suggestion sheet

Wayne County Historical Museum1150 North A StreetRichmond, IN 47374

765-962-5756

Dear Parents and Family Members,

Your child just returned from a field trip to the Wayne County Historical Museum. He/She got to see and do many interesting things… see exciting exhibits, sing songs, hear stories, play games, and much more.

The kindergarten field trip focused on the always exciting Conestoga Wagon, the Solomon Dickinson log cabin, and Old Time Main Street, among other things. Please ask your student about his/her favorite part.

Your child would really enjoy sharing this wonderful experience with you and other family members. Your family is invited to come to the Wayne County Historical Museum to explore all we have to offer.*

Our hours are Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Saturday – Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Please come share your child’s educational excitement.

Sincerely,

Jim HarlanExecutive Director

*minimal entrance fee

Wayne County Historical Museum1150 North A StreetRichmond, IN 47374

765-962-5756

Field Trip Evaluation and Suggestion form

School_________________________ date___________________Grade Level_____________Teacher_______________________

1. Did this field trip meet your expectations? Why or why not?

2. What other Wayne County Historical Museum areas should be part of this field trip and fit into your school corporation’s curriculum and your State Standards?

3. In what ways could we have made this field trip better for your class?

4. Are there any activities, websites, books, etc. that you could suggest to accompany this field trip information packet?

Thank you for completing this evaluation and suggestion sheet.

INSIDE A SETTLER'S HOME

Many of the early homes had only one room. People ate, worked and slept in the same room.

THE FIREPLACE

   The fireplace was used for cooking and for heating the home. The fireplace was built of stone and had a large chimney. If there wasn't enough Wood then twisted straw and corn stalks were burned. Even buffalo chips and cow chips were gathered for fuel.

Iron stands (called andirons) were used to hold the burning logs and a metal rod held the iron cooking pots. A poker was used to move the logs around. Ashes were scooped out with a shovel and saved for making soap. A bucket (pail) of water was kept near the fireplace in case a fire had to be put out.

Soups and stews were cooked in iron pots and pans. A long spoon was used for stirring.

The Dutch oven was a cast iron pot with a lid and legs. The pot was set on the hot coals in the fireplace. Hot coals were also placed on the lid of the pot. The

Dutch oven was used for cooking many things including bread, puddings, meat, cakes, stews and casseroles. Here are some items found in the kitchen.

meat grinder eggbeater rolling pin

Dutch oven iron coffee grinder

butter churnbutter mould candle mould

lantern washtub washboard

THE FIREPLACE

   

cast iron cookware, fireplace tools (poker for moving burning logs,

shovel for scooping ashes)

Buckets, bowls, dishes and cups were made of wood or tin.

In the evening the family would sit by the fireplace. Homemade rugs were laid on the floor for added warmth. Men and boys carved things out of wood. The women and girls knitted or did needlework (embroidery).

Later the stove became more popular than the fireplace because less wood was used to heat up a room.

THE IRON STOVE Prairie winters were long and very cold. Alot of wood was needed to for the fireplace and to keep a home warm. There were not many trees so settlers had to search for trees near the rivers and sloughs (ponds). Stoves became more popular than the fireplace because less wood was used to heat up a room.

The first stoves were small and made of cast iron. Stoves were used for cooking and for heating. The stoves were rectangular in shape and stood on four legs. There were stoves with two burners on the top and an oven. Some stoves even had a water tank called a "reservoir".

Wood or coal was used as fuel for the stove. If wood or coal was hard to find, then twisted straw and corn stalks were burned. A pipe carried the smoke out of the house. The children had to keep the wood box full and fill the reservoir with water. In the winter snow was melted and the water was used for washing clothes and for baths.

The stove quickly filled with ashes and required cleaning. A metal bucket for ashes was kept near the stove.

a potbelly stove was usedto heat a room

FURNITURE There wasn't much furniture in a home - a table, some chairs or benches made of split logs and a cupboard for dishes. Most of the furniture was handmade.

There were shelves on the walls and wooden pegs for hanging up pots and pans as well as clothing. Clothing was also kept in chests or trunks. A cradle was made for the baby. The family slept on wooden beds with ropes stretched across the frame to hold the straw mattresses. The beds were covered with homemade feather quilts.

wash stand and water pitcher

WASHING CLOTHESWater was heated up on the stove or fireplace. In the summertime water was heated outdoors. The clothes were scrubbed on a washboard with homemade soap.

PIONEER CHILDREN - toys and games

Pioneer children had simple toys and games made out of any available materials such as pebbles, rope, pieces of wood, and scraps of material. Dolls were made out of scraps of material and wool. Some toys were made of wood. Many of the games they played are still being played today.

OUTDOOR FUN (active)

rolling the hoop skipping sack races or three-legged races tag hopscotch leapfrog hide and seek ring toss (or horseshoes) swings and teeter-totters

INDOOR GAMES (or activities that were not as active)

spinning tops Jack Straws

hand shadows I Spy hot and cold charades ball and jacks marbles checkers cards Tic Tac Toe ( Xs and Os) Cat's Cradle (string games)

MORE GAMES (group activities)

Blind Man's Buff Who has the button? Ducks Fly Simon Says Drop the handkerchief Shadow Tag Poor Doggie Fox and Geese

Blind Man's Buff - One person is blindfolded and other players form a circle around him/her. The blindfolded person is turned around a few times then let go to catch one of the players. There are different ways to play the game. One way is that the blindfolded player has to guess who they have caught.

Drop the handkerchief - Players join hands and form a circle while "it" holds a handkerchief and runs around the circle. "It" drops the handkerchief behind one of the players and keeps running. The player then picks up the handkerchief and runs around the circle in the opposite direction. They race to see who reaches the empty spot first. The loser becomes the next "it".

Ducks Fly - Players face the leader, who says what to do. Then they copy the

actions of the leader. The leader will say "Ducks fly" and flap his arms. The players also flap their arms. The leader continues with other actions like "cats meow", "dogs bark, etc. But the leader also tries to trick others by saying "sheep oink". The players must remain quiet until the leader says it correctly.

Fox and Geese - This game is played after a snowfall. First the snow is tramped down in paths to make a big wheel with spokes and a hub in the center. One player is the Fox and the rest are the Geese. The Fox tries to catch a Goose (who then becomes the next Fox). Players must stay inside the paths. If a Goose steps off the path, that Goose is caught. The only safe place for a Goose is in the center (hub). But only one Goose is allowed to be in the center.

Hot and cold - One person (it) leaves the room while the others hide a button (or some other object). When "it" returns he/she has to try and find the button. The others give hints by saying "warm, warmer, hot, or cold, colder, etc."

Jack Straws - This game is like "pick up sticks". Straws or very thin sticks were used. The straws were placed in a pile shaped like a haystack or tent (coming to a point at the top and spread out at the bottom). Each player took a turn pulling a straw out of the pile trying not to move any other straws. If a player was able to get a straw without jiggling any other straws he/she scored a point. Then it was the next player's turn. The game ended when the stack fell. The winner was the player with the most straws. To make the game more interesting, there were "special" straws which were worth more points.

Marbles - The object of the game is to win marbles from other players. The first player tosses a marble on the ground. The second player tries to hit the marble by tossing his/her marble at it. If the second player is successful, he/she wins the marble. If not successful, the first player has a turn to try and hit the second player's marble. There were many other ways to play "marbles".

Poor Doggie (or Poor Kitty) - "It" is the doggie who must try to make someone laugh. The players sit in a circle and Doggie goes to each player and barks, whines and imitates a dog. The players have to pet Doggie and say "Poor Doggie, Poor Doggie, Poor Doggie!" The player must not smile while saying this or he/she will become the next Doggie.

Rolling the hoop - Children would run along beside a hoop, rolling it by using a stick. Sometimes races were held to see who could be the fastest. There were also contests to see who could roll the hoop the farthest or who could keep it rolling for the longest time.

Shadow tag - "It" tries to step on another player's shadow. If a player gets

tired of running away, he/she must lie down so "it" cannot tag them.

Simon says - Players face the leader and must do what the leader says. If the leader says "Simon says, Thumbs up" and puts up his thumbs, then the players must do the same thing. The leader calls out and does other actions like "Simon says hop on one foot" or "Simon says touch your toes ", etc. But if the leader does not say the words "Simon says" and just says "jump up and down" the players should do nothing. Anyone who is tricked by the leader has to become the next leader.

Who has the button? - The players form a circle and the person who is "it" leaves (or closes his/her eyes) while the others pass a "button" or another object around the circle. One person hides the object behind his/her back. All the other players put their hands behind their backs, too. Then "it" is allowed three guesses as to who is hiding the object. If "it" guesses correctly they exchange places and a new person is "it".

THE PIONEER SCHOOL

The first schools were made of boards or logs. The teacher taught all the grades together in one room. In the winter it was cold indoors, because a small woodburning stove was all that heated the school. On very cold winter days, the students sat close to the stove to keep warm.

Children had to get up early to do their chores, then walk a long way to the school. They helped to keep the school clean by sweeping the floor, cleaning the board and the desks. The boys would have to bring in wood and pails of

drinking water. Extra chores were given to students who misbehaved .

Many of the children did not speak English. In school they learned reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling and geography. There were only a few books available so children shared readers.

The younger children used a slate and chalk. The older students wrote with a quill and ink , or a pen that was dipped in ink .

THE GENERAL STOREin a Pioneer Community

The GENERAL STORE in a pioneer community often looked like the one in the picture. The store was on the main floor. The two large windows were used to display some of the goods that were sold inside. A storage shed at the back of the store was for large items like farm equipment, tools, building supplies, etc. The storekeeper and his family lived on the second floor.

Early Days

When the first settlers arrived there were no general stores. Some supplies could be purchased at a trading post. Trading posts were built so the First Nations people and the fur-traders could sell their furs and buy supplies. The

trading posts were often surrounded by high walls (forts). Most of the forts were built near lakes and rivers.

a trading post at Cypress Hills, SK

"by permission: from "Saskatchewan Interactive" http://interactive.usask.ca/ski/index.html"

When the railroad was built more settlers arrived and communities began to grow along the train tracks. The general store was often the first business in a community.

It was called a general store because there were many items for sale. The store sold supplies for the settlers and the townspeople. Farm families looked forward to their shopping trip to the store. If they had to travel far they shopped once or twice a month.

The general store was a place to meet people and hear the latest news.

SERVICES

Sometimes the general store was the only business in a community. Besides supplying a wide variety of goods, the store served as a meeting place and a post office.

Most of the early settlements were too small for a bank, so the storekeeper also acted as a banker and sometimes loaned money to customers.

Storekeepers had safes and were often asked to keep important papers for people. (mortgages, deeds, etc.)

The general store sold produce and items that were made locally (in the community). Some of these goods were shipped to other communities. The merchant also had to order supplies from other places.

Shopping at a General Store

The general store sold a wide variety of goods. There were homemade items and homegrown produce (fruits and vegetables). There were things that could not be made or grown locally. Foods and other items came from big cities or port cities and were shipped by wagons or by train.

Shopping at the general store:

household items blankets, washboards, coffee grinders, dishes, candles, candle holders, glass jars, pots and pans, brooms

groceries -(imported) coffee, tea, brown sugar, spices, molasses, rice, raisins -(grown locally) dairy products, fruits and vegetables -meat (dried, smoked, salted) -medicines

for children- jars of candy, sticks of candy, and licorice - toys, dolls, marbles, balls.

dry goods -bolts of cloth, thread, lace, ribbon, buttons, needles, pins, patterns, dyes -overalls, leather gloves, boots and shoes, hats, bonnets, knitted items, other clothing

hardware, tools -nails, hoes, hammers, shovels, axes, window glass -animal traps, guns and ammunition, ropes

other items - clocks; pipes and tobacco; books, paper, pens and ink; lanterns, lamps and kerosene;

large items -farm equipment, lumber, stoves, sewing machines

Displaying and selling the goods

How the items for sale were displayed:

on shelves behind a long counter. on top of the counter. hanging from the ceiling. hanging from hooks on the walls. in glass display cases. in the store windows. some goods were in containers

(bins, barrels, crates or wooden boxes, baskets, sacks)

Goods that were kept in drawers and bins (beans, rice, tea, dried fruits, sugar, salt) were weighed on the scale for the customer then wrapped in brown paper.

Molasses and flour were sold by the barrel or in sacks (cloth bags).

Cheese was cut into pieces and wrapped.

Buying and Selling

BARTERING(exchanging goods and services without using money)

Most of the settlers in a pioneer community used the barter system instead of money. A family would barter with the storekeeper when they did not have money to buy the things they needed. They traded some of the crops they grew or something they made, or they did odd jobs for things they needed.

The storekeeper wrote down what people bought and sold in a book. He would add up what people brought in and what was taken from his store. This is how he kept a record of what people owed or how much credit they had.

The local products that the people brought were exchanged for things they needed. Then the storekeeper sold these products to others or shipped the products for sale in larger centres.

The First Nations people also bartered furs, fish, meat, baskets and moccasins for goods they needed from the general store.

Covered Wagon Craft

Covered wagons were used extensively during the pioneer times of the United States to move people and goods west across the prairies of North America.  They were also known as prairie schooners.

You can make a horse toilet paper roll craft.

Materials:

rectangular box (tissue paper or shoe box) -- we used a tissue box construction paper markers scissors tape or glue

  Directions:

Wrap the box completely with construction paper (we used brown).  

Trace a small circle (we used a vitamin bottle) four times on black construction paper. 

Glue the circles onto the box as wheels. 

Optional:  Use markers to draw a Western type picture on another piece of construction paper (or use stickers or sparkles). 

Tape the decorated construction paper in an arch over the shoe box.

Name_____________________________

Pretend that you have a pioneer

family and you are moving to the western frontier. Draw

andcolor a picture in each box of things your family would take

tosurvive. Write the word under

thepicture.

Name_______________________________________________

Color the picture and finish the sentences.

Pioneer girls helped

Pioneer boys helped

Name___________________________________

Use the puzzle pieces on the next page to finish the puzzle.

Name______________________________________________

Westward HoCan you help the settlers on their journey to their new home?

Pre-field trip picture sheet-

Areas to be covered on this field trip: KindergartenList all your students below the field trip area where they would like to have their picture taken as a

remembrance of this field trip:

1. Solomon Dickinson log cabin

2. Conestoga Wagon

3. Old Time Main Street

4. Black Smith building

5. School Hack (horse-drawn)

6. Horse-drawn Carriages