Rye Neck has joined forces with the Rye Historical Society to make colonial times come alive for first graders right in their own classrooms.

By Janice Llanes Fabry

Rye Neck has joined forces with the Rye Historical Society to make colonial times come alive for first graders right in their own classrooms.

“The Rye community is part of our  family,” said Daniel Warren Principal Joan Babcock. “Teachers selected the Historical Society because of its reputation for high-quality school programs and because of the director’s enthusiasm for tailoring workshops to the specific requirement of the curriculum.”

Indeed, the two-day interactive workshops, “Colonial Life and Spices”, proved to be both educational and fun. Historical Society Education Curator Jennifer Plick explored the 1700s with the students through various hands-on activity stations. The children made sachets with spices, from lavender to cloves, used for cooking and medicinal purposes in the olden days. They also rolled up their sleeves and took a crack at writing with a quill pen, a vast departure from the laptops and iPads some have become accustomed to.

“That’s so weird,” voiced some of the first graders when they were told colonial toys and games required no batteries or electricity. Nevertheless, they enjoyed playing with a wooden Jacob’s Ladder, cup and ball, cards without numbers, and corn husk dolls for a change of pace.