A Celebration Of Colonial Times

By Larissa Lytwyn

Newtown Middle School’s grade 7 Purple Cluster, consisting of students in math and science teacher Val Leone and social studies teacher Shari Oliver’s classes, recently culminated their Colonial Life unit with a holiday-themed 18th Century-inspired extravaganza.

Students researched different aspects of colonial life, including the role of women, famous colonial persons, colonial-era diseases and health issues, colonial occupations, and colonial craft making and traditions.

Information was presented as different exhibits in the classes’ colonial life “museum.”

“Students also had the opportunity to bring in foods representing their ethnic background for a buffet,” said Ms Leone. “We have all kinds of foods here today, such as potato pancakes and codfish cakes!”

Multiple instructional workstations taught students a variety of hands-on skills, including quilt and wreath making, as well as understanding the use of pendulums.

Ms Oliver and Ms Leone taught students how to make holiday greeting cards. While Ms Oliver engaged students in calligraphy handwriting lessons, Ms Leone taught students how to imprint images through homemade stamps.

Lexington Gardens Nursery Manager Vicki Maybeck and employee Melissa Agnello taught students how to create holiday wreaths. “This is the first time, myself, that I’ve done this,” said Ms Maybeck, “and I think it’s been a wonderful success! It’s a lot of fun!”

Parent volunteer Susan Bonacci was also eager to share her skills with students. She introduced a lesson on quiltmaking with the story of how Revolutionary War-era women sewed special codes into seemingly benign patterns.

“Women couldn’t do very much back then,” she said with a rueful smile. “This is one way they could help the cause and do a bit more.”

Ms Bonacci also showed students pictures of quilts made by America’s first first lady, Martha Washington.

“I’ve been making quilts since I was a young girl,” Ms Bonacci said. “And I’ve also had a longtime love of history.”

Ms Bonacci plans to incorporate the blocks she helped students sew into a quilt she plans to present to the Purple Cluster after its completion.

Her son Kevin is currently a student in Ms Leone’s class.

“I think it’s been a very successful project,” said Ms Leone, who added that the unit was the first ever done between her and Purple Cluster co-teacher Ms Oliver. “The students seem to have learned a lot!”