Sonlight 3 US History Hands On Activities Created by Holly in Maine for the SL 3 Loop in 1999 Weeks 1 through 18 Hands-On Week 1 Incan Panpipe --The inca enjoyed music. They made one kind of instrument by fastening together several wooden tubes of different lengths .Blowing into each tube made a different note. We call this instrument a panpipe. To make: Cut construction paper into three rectangles, each a different size. Use crayons or markers to decorate one side of each sheet. Roll up each rectangle to make tubes of different lengths. tape each tube closed. Cover one end of the tube with waxed paper held in place by a rubber band. Use paper clips to fasten the tubes at open ends. All open ends (the "blowing into" end) should be lined up. Stretch a large rubber band loosely around all three tubes to hold them together. (Would yarn work, too?) With a sharp pencil point, punch a hold in the middle of each tube. To play, hum loudly into the open ends of the tubes. Keep your mouth slightly open. When the holes in the tubes are open, the waxed paper will buzz. Covering the holes will change the sound. INDIAN FRY BREAD 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt warm water ¼ cup Vegetable oil Native Americans made fry bread from corn flour. Because corn flour now hard to find, we make it from wheat flour. (If you have cornmeal and a mortar & pestle or grain grinder, you can try making your own corn flour. If your grew your own corn from a 3 sisters garden, use the dried corn to try this.) Sift the dry ingredients. Slowly add warm water till you have a dough that feels like mud. Mix 7 knead this dough with you hand until smooth. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle more flour. Cover dough with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Break dough into lemon sized pieces. Roll each into a ball and flatten into a pancake. Heat the oil in a heavy fry pan. Fry pieces on each side until they are brown. Drain on a paper towel covered plate and serve with salt or maple syrup. Serves about four. (The Native Americans did make maple syrup, by catching the maple tree sap into hollowed out log "bowls" then boiling. Here in Maine we use intricate masses of tubing to siphon the sap into large collection bins, but the boiling over a wood fire is still the same. Each March we have Maine Maple Sunday, when the sap house owners entertain visitors to show the process and offer maple syrup over vanilla ice cream...) BAKED SWEET POTATO Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Native Americans would have lined a pit with hot rocks. Scrub the potatoes and pierce each several times with a fork. Place potatoes on an aluminum covered baking sheet and bake one hour. Serve hot with butter or maple syrup. If any of you try this in a rock lined pit, my guess is that the baking would take most of the day! MAIZE SOUP 1 ½ Cups dried kidney beans (or one can) ½ Cup hominy ½ Cup maize/corn kernels ½ lb. smoked butt or fatback (bacon will do) 1 bay leaf 1 small onion, sliced water Soak dried beans overnight in water to soften them. Put beans and fatback in a saucepan with enough water to reach about 2" above the beans. Cook 30 min. Add hominy and stir. Cook 15 min. Add corn & stir. Place onion rings on top of the mixture and all bay leaf. Push the onions under with a spoon. Cook 20 min. Remove bay leaf. Cook 1 ½ hours more Total cooking time: nearly 2 hours, not counting the overnight beans oak. Serve with corn bread. Serves 6-8. NOTE: It would have taken the natives much longer to cook this if they used dried corn. I do not know if an overnight soak of dried corn will help. Week 2 HOPI MASK The Hopi believed in magical beings they called kachinas - powerful spirits that helped and protected humans. (Is this a good time to discuss spiritual things and demons, or what?!) There were a great many kachinas, each having a different face. At times, the Hopi dressed up as these spirits. When a man put on a mask, he felt that he actually took on the power of that kachina. Use a large paper bag. Cut a short "V" (upside down) on the sides to the paper bag will sit on your child's shoulders when worn. With crayons, markers, etc., draw on eyes, maybe with circles around them for effect. Cut eyeholes for child to see out of. Use a lunch bag stuffed with newspaper and make a alligator like mouth taped to and sticking out of the big bag. The drawing I have shows jagged teeth like a jack-o-lantern on all three sides of the lunch bag. Cut two horn shapes our of thin cardboard (this morning's cereal box). Decorate and glue, tape or staple to the topsides of the mask. Feathers (paper 'feathers'?) on the top and a curled paper ruffle on the neckline can complete your mask. Of course, they were all different, so anything goes. Kids will enjoy the process then walking around the house scaring everyone, but I plan to not dwell on the spiritual side of it, lest Amy gets the idea she is making a 'real' spirit mask. OKRA CORN AND TOMATO STEW 1 can whole corn 1 large fresh tomato (or 12 oz. canned stewed) 1 Cup cooked okra or 1 box frozen okra 3 Tablespoons bacon drippings or oil 2 T. flour (natives probably used corn flour) 4-5 cooked bacon strips 3 Cups water Mix all and cook till okra is tender, adding water as needed. Stew should be the thickness of a loose pudding. PEMMICAN BALLS As made by some native families on the East Coast today! 1 sm. box dry mincemeat ¼ cup raw suet 1-2 t. melted fat or oil ½ Cup jerky, pounded into powder or pieces Fry duet till brown. Put mincemeat into a bowl. Use a blender if you have one, to chop the jerky finely (or cut up small with scissors). Add fried suet and jerky to mincemeat. Squeeze into balls the size of golf balls. Let the balls dry before eating. Week 3 TWO PIECE, SOFT SOLED WOODLAND MOCCASIN Use either thin leather (or felt or leftover fabric) Trace child's foot onto leather. Mark an arch extending about 2" beyond the toe area. At the widest part of the arch, extend the lines straight back to 1" past the heel mark. The heel area then has a horizontal line drawn to connect the two side lines. Cut a piece like this for each foot. Then cut two ovals of leather the width of the child's foot and long enough to cover from the toe to the instep. (This is the piece that will be lying on top of the foot (the 'tongue' of the shoe). Begin sewing at the mid-toe with a running stitch. There will be a pucker all along the toe area. Keep stitches small and close together. The sides of the back piece will be folded down at the ankle to hide the fact that you will have stitched in very loosely a lace around the entire ankle area to tie the shoe in the foot. (Picture how kids' winter boots have a gathering string at the top...) JOHNNYCAKES 1 Cup Stone ground white cornmeal (any cornmeal will work) 2 Cups boiling water 2 TB maple syrup (pancake syrup in a pinch) ¾ Cup light or medium cream ¼ Cup corn (or other) oil for frying Mix all except cream and beat to get smooth consistency. Cool a little then add enough cream to make medium thick batter. Firm batter created thicker Johnnycakes. Drop by heaping Tablespoonful onto med-hot griddle. Flip after 5-6 min. then cook on other side. Can be eaten as crackers or with soups, or like pancakes with butter and maple syrup. Makes about a dozen. BOILED BEANS 2 Cups dried beans (from your 3-sister's garden?) Cold water Cover beans with the water and soak overnight. In the morning, when beans have absorbed most of the water, add more water to cover and boil till tender. Add water so beans are always covered. GAME: THE DISH The Mohawk and other Iroquois enjoyed this game. It was originally played with six wild plum seeds ground smooth and flat on one side. One side was painted black and the other, white. (You may use buttons, checker pieces,) To play, 3-4 people make a "pot" of one hundred dried beans. Painted seeds were set in a bowl. Players took turns tossing the seeds into the air. If they landed with mixed colors, the turn was passed. Winner was the player who had all 6 seeds land with the same color up. At this point, the winner took two beans from the pot as a 'prize'. He also took another turn. Goal: player with the most beans from the pot when the pot was empty was the winner. Week 4 WOODLAND POTTERY The women in the woodland areas (including Maine!) were responsible for raising the crops, harvesting them and preserving them, as well as caring for children, preparing the food and making pottery for their "kitchen". And we think we have a lot of chores!! Clay would have been dug from river and lake beds. To the clay, they added crushed stones containing quartz and feldspar, crushed shells and/or plant fibers to keep the clay from cracking while drying and firing. For our purposes, we will use store-bought clay and let it air-dry. Form a ball of clay and insert thumbs into the center while pulling the clay up and out. This bowl base can now be set in a hole of sand lined with strips of bark (or set inside a cereal bowl). Make long, narrow 'snakes' of clay and wind around the base to hake the pot higher and wider. With a wooded paddle (or your hand!), press the coils together to make a pot. Some groups put designs on their pots by drawing lightly with a stick or bone. After drying several days, a fire was built on a bed of flat stones. When the fire was burned to hot embers, the pot was laid on its side with the opening facing the embers until it browned lightly. The pot was then rolled onto the embers and covered with dried bark, which ignited. After an hour the bark had burned and the pot fired. The hot pot was removed and dried pith thrown inside. The burning, smoking pith blackened and waterproofed the inside. CORN CHOWDER 3 Cups dried corn kernels (or 3 10 oz boxes frozen corn) 6 Cups water 2 small potatoes 1 chopped onion 1 chopped green pepper 2 T nut butter (peanut butter, etc.) ½ lb. sliced mushrooms 1T. fresh dill weed Soak the corn overnight in a large kettle Bring to boil then simmer 15 min Add all except mushrooms & dill and simmer 30 min Add mushrooms and simmer 5 min. Garnish with dill weed and serve NATIVE TORTILLAS 2 Cups corn flour (masa harina. try a health food store for this) 1 1/3 Cups lukewarm water Mix together with your hands for about 10 minutes. The dough will have a grainy feel to it .Form into egg sized balls. Place between waxed paper and roll to flatten to about 4". Peel off top piece of waxed paper and carefully flip the tortilla over in your hand. Peel off other waxed paper and lay tortilla on a med-hot UNgreased griddle. The process is tricky and the tortillas tend to fall apart. Cook until edges curl and tortilla is brown. Week 5 MAKE: MODEL WIGWAM Use 7 or more skewers, dowels or even straws. Bundle together and tie near the top of the bundle. Separate the bottoms of the 'poles' and spread evenly. Western tribes used buffalo or similar hides for the covering. Eastern tribes (like the New England Abanaki) used strips of birch bark about 3-4' long and various widths sewn together. The resulting long mats were tied to the wigwam poles. Try sewing felt pieces together to get the same effect. I shiver to think of a family living in one of these here in Maine with our sub-zero winters!! PLAINS CORNBREAD 1 pint cornmeal cold water Mix with your hands into a stiff dough. Roll and form into small pinecone-shaped mounds. Bake slowly on a hot cast-iron skillet. QUECHAN (YUMAN) SQUASH 1 squash Water Clean and peel fresh squash. Cut into small pieces. Boil till tender. Drain and mash. GAME: GUESSING GAME For 2-12 people One person hides a small object in their hand. The others try to guess the objects identity by asking questions about the color, size, use, price...The first to guess the object correctly gets to choose an object to hide in his hand. Week 6 INDIAN NECKLACE Use fresh bean seeds that are still soft enough to poke a needle through. Here in Maine we grow Jacob's Cattle beans, a two-tone bean seed that would be very pretty dried on a string. String as you would cranberries for a Christmas tree! BEAN BREAD (Oklahoma Cherokee) 1 Cup pinto or chili beans 1 Cup cornmeal Water 3 T. corn oil Soak beans overnight to soften. Cover beans with more water and cook about 2 hours, adding water so beans are always covered. Drain bean water and add enough to make a total of 3 cups. Boil this separately. Stir 1 Cup cornmeal into the boiling broth/water. Cook 15 min, stirring constantly. Let the water boil away and the cornmeal gets very thick. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or make a hot rock pit!) Mash the beans. Mix cornmeal and mashed beans with your hands and shape into 4" ovals. Bake on oiled baking sheet for about 30 min or till golden brown SQUASH SOUP 2 Medium winter or acorn squash 2 scallions or wild leeks 1 T. honey 1 T. oil 1 quart water 1 T. fresh, chopped dill weed Peel and cut squash. Put all together (except dill) and simmer 30 min. Mash it all together, add dill. Heat for about 5 min longer, adding water if desired. GAME: STICK GAME Use sticks or pencils. Student puts 12 pencils behind his back and divides them. Other players have 6 guesses to try to figure out how many are in each hand. If other players fail to guess correctly, the stick holder is a winner. If another does guess correctly, they get a turn holding the pencils behind their back. Game continues till someone wins. Best with a group of players. Week 7 I've slated week 7 as Pilgrim week. My TM has us marking Mayflower and Pilgrim events on the timeline. If any of you think this would fit better on another week (my used Landmark & Amer. Adv. books are not here yet for me to coordinate with them), do let the rest of us know! CORN HUSK DOLLS Need: fresh green corn husks from one ear of corn Carefully peel back the husks, trying not to tear them. Trim any brown tips. To soften dry husks, soak in water for an hour or two, then blot dry. Tear one husk into thin strips lengthwise. These you will use for tying. Roll a piece of husk lengthwise and tie on both ends. This will be your arms. Take two pieces of corn husk and tear each piece lengthwise into four parts of equal length Gather the eight pieces into a bundle with the thicker parts (from the bottom of the corn ear) on top of one another. Tie tightly about two inches down from the thick ends. Trim evenly about ¾" from where you have tied the thick ends. This is the inside of the dolls head, over which you will fold the rest of the thick bundle. With the thick little bundle facing downward, fold the husks over the bulb, arrange evenly (do not cut) and tie tightly under the bulb to make a 'neck'. Slip the arms between the husks you just tied and then tie tightly under the arms. At this point your doll will look like two balls on top of one another, with a horizontal piece through the lower ball. Girl doll (easier): use a couple pieces of the thinner, lighter husk for a 'skirt' by lightly gluing them at the doll's 'waist'. Cover with a 'belt' of thin husk and glue in the back. Trim the bottom of the skirt with a straight horizontal cut. Glue on corn silk hair. Boy doll: Separate the husks below the 'waist' and wrap each half with a thin piece of husk. Tie off to form ankles. Trim the feet' evenly. Glue on an acorn cap for the boy's hat. Traditional native American corn husk dolls do not have facial features. REFRIED BEANS 2 Cups dried beans & water Soak beans overnight. Add more water so beans are covered and boil until tender, Drain the water and mash the boiled beans to a paste. Fry the paste in an oiled skillet. PILGRIM HAT Cut a brim for your hat from a large piece of black cardboard. Make the inside circle just beg enough to fit over your head. Roll another piece of cardboard into a cone shape. The base of the cone should fit over the inside of the brim. Carefully cut some small tabs all around the inside hole of your brim and tape or glue the set to the inside of the cone. Cut the top off the cone. Trace around the hole you just cut on another black paper and glue it on the top of your hat. Make a band of paper to go around the bottom of the cone where it meets the brim. Add a buckle. PILGRIM COLLAR On white paper, draw a large circle. On one side, cut a "v" that points to the center of your circle and cut a center hold just wide enough to fit around your lower neck. Attach yarn at the opening (where you cut out the 'v") to tie around your neck and lay on your shoulders. Opening is worn at the front. PILGRIM BONNET Cut a strip of white of paper long enough to go over your head toy our chin and wide enough to reach the back of your head. Hold the curved strip against a piece of cardboard and trace the shape for the back of the bonnet. Draw a line ½" outside this. Cut tabs on your backing piece from the outside line to the inner one. Tape these tabs to the inside of the bonnet. Add yarn or ribbon to the middle of the edges to tie the bonnet to your head. BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH Preheat oven (or line a pit with hot stones!) to 400 degrees. Cut the squash into several pieces. Bake for about an hour on a foil lined baking sheet. When out of oven, drizzle on some butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. NEW ENGLAND MASHED TURNIPS Need: 1 pound turnips 2 T. butter 2 T. half & half peel turnips and cut into ½" cubes. Boil and simmer till soft (approx.. 20 min). Drain and put back into the hot pot on warm heat for a minute to dry off any moisture. Add butter and cream and stir. Mash. PILGRIM'S HONEY APPLES 3 med sized, tart apples ½ cup honey 2 T. cider vinegar ¼ Cup cream Peel & core apples. Slice thin. Boil honey and vinegar. Turn on low heat and gently place a few apple slices in at a time. Simmer 5 min or till you can see through the pieces. Very carefully remove with a slotted spoon. Spread on a plate to cool. Pour cream over apples. Serves four. MAPLE GINGER TEA 1 piece ginger 1 t. maple syrup 1 Cup water Boil water. Place ginger in a cup and pour boiling water over it. Cover and let soak for ten minutes. Scoop out the ginger, stir in maple and enjoy! DICE GAME This is a Native American game. A good way to top off your Pilgrim/Indian week. Take 3 dominoes. Paint one side white, the other side red. Or paint 3 similarly sized, flattened pieces of wood. Use beans or corn kernels also for this game. For two players. One at a time, players toss the dice on the floor. One player is "red", the other "white". Each time the dice are cast, players count the number of red and white sides. One point is awarded for each color shown. You can play for a certain time limit or a certain number of points to be reached to win. Week 8 MAKE: MODEL LONG HOUSE These long dwellings were used more frequently in winter. The smaller long houses had two smoke holes and sheltered four families. Larger long houses housed larger numbers of families There were two or more entrances, according to size. They were covered with either deerskins or bark mats. The early Europeans found these houses as warm and snug as their framed buildings. (Just remember that the early framed homes had very little insulation...) Long houses were made of long saplings bent to form the width of the building. Shorter saplings were bent to form the rounded ends and horizontal saplings were placed to provide strength and to tie the covering 'shingles' to. Use chenille wire and a covering of felt pieces or small pieces of birch bark to make one. Remember to leave two doorways and smoke holes in the top. TAOS PUMPKIN 4 ears fresh sweet corn 2 small cooking pumpkins ½ onion 2 T. corn oil 1/3 Cup water Cut the kernels off the ears of corn. Cut the pumpkins and onion into fine cubes. Fry the corn, pumpkin and onion in corn oil. Add the water, cover and steam until done. SUNFLOWER SEED CAKES 3 Cups raw, shelled sunflower seeds, fresh or dried 4 Cups water 6 T. fine cornmeal 2 t. maple syrup ½ Cup sunflower oil Simmer the seeds in water in a covered saucepan for about 1 hour. Drain the seeds and grind them up in a blender or food processor. Combine the cornmeal and maple syrup and mix well. Stir cornmeal and maple syrup into the ground sunflower seeds 1 T. at this time. This is best done by working the mix with your hands into a stiff dough. Shape the dough into firm, flat cakes about 3 inches dia. Brown the cakes in oil over low heat, covered. Brown on both sides, about 5-6 minutes on each side. Drain the cakes on brown paper. Served hot. Makes about 14 cakes. Week 9 MODEL FORTIFIED VILLAGE A fortified village will be made from several small long houses encircled by a popsicle stick fence. Make small rounded houses as well as larger dwellings placed near the outer boundaries of the village (near the fence).Oh dear! I realized I had listed TAOS Pumpkin for week 8 and week 9!! I guess you can make this Native American Buffet Night! (sorry about that) Week 10 WEEKS 10-21 Supplement the Colonial/Revolution era QUILL PEN & BERRY INK Need a good-sized feather and sharp knife. Let the quill soak in warm, soapy water for 15 min. Trim off 2" of the bottom feathers of the quill. Cut off the end of the quill stalk at an angle. This will be the point, or nib, of your quill pen. Use a straight pin to clean out the inside of the stalk. Work carefully so you don't crack the nib. Now cut a small slit in the nib. This slit will help control the ink flow. Dip the nib of the quill pen into the ink. Press the nib gently onto the felt to blot the excess ink. BOSTON BAKED BEANS 6 Cups canned navy beans 1 medium onion 1 T. dry mustard powder 1 t. black pepper 1 ½ t. salt 1 ½ T. white vinegar ¼ Cup molasses 1 piece smoked pork shoulder, neck or ham bone Preheat oven to 250 degrees. The Colonists would have had open fireplaces and possibly an oven compartment off to one side of the fireplace. Mix all in a large pot and bake 5 hours. (or try a crock pot on low). Keep beans moist during baking. 30 min. before beans are finished, take off the lid. Continue to bake uncovered. Good served with cornbread. BOUNTIFUL BREAD In Colonial homes, Saturday was when a week's supply of bread was made by the women of the house. Colonial farms grew the grains - wheat, oats, barley, and rye. Most of the grains were used to feed the animals and the rest was used for the family. Grain was ground into flour for home use at the village mill. ¾ Cup lukewarm water 2 pkgs. active dry yeast 1 ¼ Cups milk 4 ½ to 5 Cups flour ¼ Cup butter, softened 2 T sugar 2 t. baking powder 1 t. salt extra flour for rolling our the dough extra butter for greasing the loaf pan Grease loaf pan. Put lukewarm water into the large bowl and then stir in the yeast. Add the milk, 2 ½ cups flour, the ¼ cup butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until completely combined. Now stir in the remaining flour. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is not sticky anymore. (3-5 minutes) With rolling pin, roll the dough into an 18" by 9" rectangle. With your hands, roll up the short side of the dough and press the ends to seal it closed. Place the loaf with the seam side down in the loaf pan. Coat the top with butter and cover the bread with a clean dishcloth. Let rise in a warm place until bread doubles in size. This takes about an hour. Preheat oven to 425. Bake 30-35 minutes or until the loaf is golden. PUMPKIN PUDDING 4 eggs 1 - pound can pumpkin 1 t. cinnamon ½ t. ginger ¼ t. allspice ½ cup molasses 1 cup milk butter to grease casserole dish Preheat oven 350 degrees. Crack the eggs into the large bowl. Beat them till mixed. Add canned pumpkin to the eggs and mix well with a spoon. Add spices, mix. Add molasses, mix. Grease casserole dish. Pour pumpkin mixture into the casserole dish Bake 1 hour. BERRY INK 1 cup ripe berries strainer small jar with lid 1 t. vinegar 1 t. salt Place a few berries into the strainer. Hold the strainer over a small jar. Crush the berries so the juice drips into the jar. Empty strainer and continue crushing berries until they are all squeezed into juice. Add the vinegar and salt to the berry juice and stir until it dissolves. (If it is too pale, add a few drops of red or blue food coloring). Berry ink spoils quickly and keep the ink jar tightly covered when you are not using it. Week 11 WALNUT INK Shells of 8 walnuts 1 cup water ½ t. vinegar ½ t. salt Wrap the shells in a towel. Hammer the towel to crush the shells. Add shells to water and boil gently 45 minutes. The water will turn brown. Cool the mixture 15 minutes. Pour through the strainer. Add the vinegar and salt to the walnut ink and stir till the salt dissolves. Keep the ink jar tightly covered when you're not using it. Otherwise, your ink will dry out! SHREWSBURY CAKES These delicious sugar cookies, or Shrewsbury cakes, as they were called in colonial days, originated in England. They can be made either flat or rolled out and cut into little heart shapes. ¾ butter, softened 1 ¼ cup sugar 1 eggs 1 ½ t. grated orange peel 2 t. vanilla 2 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour ½ t. salt extra sugar Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, grated orange peel and the vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt to make a stiff dough. Wrap the dough in waxed paper. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll the balls in sugar. Arrange the balls 1 ½" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten the balls gently with the bottom of a glass. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 8 minutes or until cookies are lightly brown on edges. STIR ABOUT This is a thick chicken stew that was served in colonial homes and taverns. It was cooked in one pot. 4 Cups chicken broth 4 cups sliced potatoes 1 cup chopped celery 1 t. parsley 1 t. garlic powder 1 t. salt 1 t. white pepper 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into pieces 2 cups canned corn, drained 1 cup tomato sauce 2 eggs, beaten ½ cup flour Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add potatoes, celery, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, until the potatoes are almost tender, 15-20 min. Add the cooked chicken, tomato sauce, and canned corn. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and flour with a fork to make a thin paste. Drop by tablespoons into the boiling broth. Cover and gently boil for about 8 - 10 min. GAME OF GRACES Need: 4 wooden dowels, each ½" wide and 2' long 2 wooden hoops, each 10" wide 8 ribbons, each ¼" wide and 6 ' long acrylic paintbrush Paint the dowels and then set them aside to dry. They will be your game wands. To decorate a hoop, tie an end of a ribbon around the hoop in a double knot. Wrap the ribbon around the hoop, completely around the hoop until you reach the original tie. Tie to leave ribbons hanging down as streamers. Tie a second ribbon around the hoop and wrap next to the first ribbon. Tie a third and fourth just as the first two, so a total of four ribbons are twisted around the hoop and at least four streamers hang down from the hoop, preferably at the top, bottom, and sides. Decorate a second hoop the same way. To play, you'll need a partner. You each get 1 hoop and 2 wands. Stand about 10 feet away from your partner. Cross your wands in front of you and lay the hoop on the wands. Toss the hoop back and forth with your partner. Object is to pass it as fast as possible without dropping it. When you have mastered 1 hoop, try tossing 2 hoops back & forth at the same time!! Week 12 For those who began SL3 around late August, this activity will come just in time to use for your hand delivered Christmas notes! WAX SEAL Sealing wax or a tapered candle and some sort of stamp is needed. When your note is ready to seal, Hold the lit candle at an angle just over the place where you want your seal to go. let the wax drip onto that spot until you have a blob the size of your stamp (or signet, can be purchased in stationery stores or make your own, see below). Press gently and briefly. Lift the stamp. If your impression is too faint, fill it in with more melted wax and try again. MAKE YOUR OWN SIGNET Need self hardening clay. Form a clay rectangle about 2" long and 1" wide. Carve out a design on one flat end, making sure it is even. The clay that is raised will leave the impression. Make all letters backwards, or try a simple design. Let the clay harden overnight. Use a paper towel to "oil" the design each time you use it so the wax will not stick to the clay. Colonists usually used red sealing wax. They used black only when they were in mourning over someone's death. This week we have both poor or common man's fare and a "fancy" cake for special occasions. The cake used the finest and most expensive ingredients of the day. For a simple breakfast or dinner try FLAT JACKS 1 cup CORNMEAL ½ cup FLOUR ½ T. BAKING SODA ¼ T. POWDERED GINGER 2 t. BUTTER 1 ½ T. MOLASSES 1 ½ CUPS BUTTERMILK ¼ CUP VEGETABLE OIL Mix the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and mix it with the molasses and buttermilk. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry. Mix till just combined. Heat oil in frying pan. Fry a tablespoon at a time until golden Serve with honey or maple syrup. (Native Americans used wood ashes in place of the baking soda!!) QUEENS CAKE 1 ½ cups raisins 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 5 eggs, beaten 1 t. orange extract 2 t. lemon extract 2 Cups flour ½ t. baking powder ½ t. cinnamon extra butter to grease the pan 1 extra T. flour to coat the raisins Grease the loaf pan (9x5x3) Preheat the oven to 350. Spread out the raisins on a sheet of waxed paper and coat them with flour. Combine butter and sugar. Stir together. Add the eggs and extracts. Now add the dry ingredients. Put the raisins into the batter and stir until they are combined. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 20 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pan. Slice and enjoy! Week 13 In week 13 your child makes a kite. You could save this activity until the Spring, or they could make the kite as a Christmas gift! MAKE A KITE 2' wooden dowel, ¼" wide 2' wooden dowel, ¼" wide Large ball string scissors, ruler, small knife Sheet of lightweight paper, 3' square 20 strips of colored paper, each 2x3 " 1' dowel, ½" wide Form a cross with the 2' and 3' dowels. Cut a 3' piece of string and tie one end tightly around the 3' dowel just under the cross intersection. With a helper, wind the string crossways a few times in one direction, then in the other. Stop winding when there are just 3" left. Wrap the string loosely around the 3' dowel once, and then tie it in a tight double knot. squeeze a little glue onto the know to secure it. Notch the ends of the dowels with the sharp knife (an adult should do this!) Cut an 8' piece of string and tie a double knot as the end. Slip the string into the top notch and pull tight. Wind the string around the kite frame, slipping the string into each notch. You will end up with a diamond pattern connecting the edges of your cross. Lay the kite frame on the paper and cut about 1" larger than the frame all the way around. Cut out a "V" where the paper is at the dowel edges so a small piece of dowel sticks out. Fold the four 1" tabs over the string kite frame and glue securely. Cut a 5' piece of string and tie one end to the top of the cross and one end to the bottom. Tie a loop in this string about 1 ½' down from the top. The loop will be where your kite attaches to the string ball when you use the kite to play. For a tail, cut a 10' piece of string. Tie paper strips that have been pinched in the center onto the tail string. Place them about 6" apart. Tie one end of the tail string onto the bottom dowel of the kite. For a kite line (the part you hold as the kite is flying), cut a 30' piece of string and tie one end around the center of the 1' dowel. Wind the string around the dowel until there are 6" left. Leave room on each side so you can hold onto the dowel. Tie the end of the string to the loop on the vertical string of the kite and go fly your kite! SUCCOTASH, SOUTHERN STYLE There were no frozen foods in the Colonies, but to make succotash easier, we will use frozen vegetables. If you have fresh lima beans and corn, try using them. Or how about re-constituting your dried beans and corn? It gives us a better appreciation of the work involved in preparing meals in those 'good old days'! 2 Cups lima beans 2 cups white corn 1 T. butter ½ t. sugar ½ t. salt dash pepper ¼ cup heavy cream Boil the limas till soft and drain. Add all but cream and heat one medium for 10 minutes, covered. Turn the heat to low, add cream, warm 5 more min. serve Serves 4-5. I had listed Johnny Cakes to go with the succotash. See week 3 for directions. You may find this to be a hearty and filling meal, but probably rather bland by our standards! Week 14 Note: the past few crafts have been taken directly from the American Girl's series, "Felicity's Craft Book" to be exact. I wanted to give credit where credit is due. FOLDING FAN A delicate fan was the perfect finishing touch for a colonial girl's outfit. Vanity and pretty things have been valued down through the ages, regardless of the time/culture! Pencil, newspaper 2 sheets poster board, each 10x14" scissors, paintbrush, paint ruler, craft knife, cutting board brass fastener 3' piece ribbon, ¼" wide white glue small paintbrush (or stickers?) Trace a rectangular object (a ruler?) that is about 1" wide and 6" long onto a piece of stiff cardboard. Now draw another line going from top to bottom and angle it out just slightly. draw very lightly! This will be the pattern for your fan blades. Cut out your pattern along the tapered lines. Cut out 12 blades just like the first. Paint one side of the blades. When dry, paint the other side. Draw a short vertical line on the top (wide part) of each blade, starting 1" down. Gently cut a short slit in each blade. This is where the ribbon will be inserted to hold the blades together at the top end. Stack the blades. Push a brass fastener through the bottom of all the blades and fan it out to hold the stack together. Tie a double knot at the end of the ribbon. Starting at the backside of the fan, feed the ribbon through the first slit and pull all the way through so the knot catches. Weave the ribbon through the rest of the slits. Arrange the blades until they are evenly spaced and slightly overlapping when the fan in open. Wrap the ribbon around the back of the last blade and glue in place. Cut off extra ribbon. Decorate with a small design using the small paintbrush , or use stickers. GINGERBREAD COOKIES Gingerbread cookies have appealed to children and adults since the Middle Ages. During the holidays, gingerbread cookies are a very special part of the celebration and can even be hung from the Christmas tree. American Colonists enjoyed them. It was said that George Washington's mother liked to serve them to her guests. 2/3 Cup butter ½ Cup sugar 1 egg ½ Cup dark molasses 2 ¼ Cups flour 1 t. baking powder 2 t. EACH of ginger and cinnamon ½ t. ground cloves raisins extra butter to grease the cookie sheets Cream butter & sugar Add egg and molasses. Stir till well-blended (Remember, there were no electric beaters in the colonies!) Add rest (except raisins - they are for decoration) and mix. Dough will be stiff. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill several hours or overnight. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Any of you have an old-fashioned fireplace side oven to use? Grease the cookie sheets. Roll dough directly onto them. Cut out gingerbread people or use a mold if you have one. Or, just cut squares or circles... Use raisins to decorate cookies. Bake 8-12 min DUTCH WALNUT CINNAMON SQUARES 8 oz. butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg, separated 2 Cups flour 1 t. salt 1 ½ T. cinnamon 1 ½ Cups chopped walnuts (Where would the colonists have gotten their spices and nuts from? Preheat oven 325 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking pan. Cream butter and sugar. Stir in egg yolk Mix in the rest (except egg and nuts) until a dough is formed. Scrape the dough into the pan and press evenly. Beat the egg white until foamy. Pour it over the dough and spread. Sprinkle on nuts Bake 20-25 min. When cool, cut into squares. Week 15 This week we can enjoy some treats. Indian Pudding was a special dessert that was served during colonial times Enjoy it plain or with vanilla ice cream. This week we also bake shortbread cookies, a biscuit-type cake that came to America from Scotland. They have been around for centuries and get their name from the large amount of shortening or "shortness" used in the dough. To top off our "fancy" week, your child will make a fancy straw hat. Girls may enjoy wearing it to church while boys can make it for their sister(!) or mother. FANCY STRAW HAT Store-bought straw hat 5' piece of satin ribbon, 2" wide craft knife, cutting board, ruler, scissors fabric glue ANY of the following decorations: silk flowers, feathers, extra ribbons for bows... Cut a 1" slit where the crown of the hat meets the brim. Cut another on the opposite side. Thread the ribbon through the slots so the ribbon lays over the top of the hat crown and the ribbon ends hang down below the brim as tie strings. Decorate!. Let dry thoroughly before wearing. To wear, tie the hanging ribbons under chin in a pretty bows to secure hat to head. SHORTBREAD COOKIES ¾ Cup sugar 1 ½ cups butter, softened 4 cups flour extra flour to roll out the dough Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To check the heat in a colonial fireplace side oven, a cook would put her arm in the oven. If she could count to 30 but no higher, the oven was hot enough! I imagine beginning cooks counted rather quickly! Aren't our modern ovens with thermometers such a convenience?! Cream butter and sugar. Add flour slowly and mix. Roll dough to ¼" thickness Cut into squares and, using a spatula, place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 20 min or until lightly browned on the edges. Makes about 3 dozen. INDIAN PUDDING ¼ Cup sugar 2 t. cinnamon 1 t. salt ½ Cup molasses 3 eggs, beaten 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal 3 ½ cups milk 1 T. butter ½ Cup seedless raisins extra butter to grease the baking pan Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix sugar, cinn, salt, molasses and eggs till smooth In saucepan place milk and cornmeal. Cook over LOW heat 10 min stirring occasionally Remove saucepan and add butter. Add molasses mixture and stir until combined. Add raisins Grease baking dish and pour batter into it. Bake 50 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Serves six Week 16 We have another week of treats and something pretty to make. Your boys can make the sachet for grandma or a special neighbor, while enjoying the cookies and candies orange peel. SACHET 2 pieces of fabric, each 3x4" pins, scissors, ruler, thread, sewing needle, spoon, potpourri, 5" piece of ribbon Place fabric squares together, with the pretty sides together. Use straight pins to pin around the squares on two long and one short side. Cut an 18" piece of thread, thread needle and knot the end of the thread. Backstitch along the 3 pinned sides, ¼" from the edge. When the 3 sides are sewn, tie a knot under the fabric close to the last stitch. Cut off extra thread. Unpin fabric and turn the bag inside out. Fill it ¼ full with potpourri (Try drying your own flower blossoms for this). Tuck the top, open edge inside about 2" Tie the sachet closed with a ribbon. Done! GINGER SNAPS 2 Cups flour 3 t. ground ginger 1 t. ground cinnamon 2 t. baking soda ½ t. salt ¾ Cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten ¼ cup molasses sugar for coating Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Stir in dry mix. Wash and dry your hands. Roll dough into balls about 1" dia. Roll balls in the coating sugar. Place on cookie sheet about 2" apart and flatten each with the bottom of a glass. Bake 10-12 min or until tops are cracked. 4 dozen CANDIED ORANGE PEEL 4 oranges water sugar Wash oranges thoroughly. Quarter fruit and remove insides. Put peeling a saucepan with enough water to cover it. Boil 10 min. Drain, keeping liquid in a bowl. Allow peel to cool. Cut peel into thin strips. Put the liquid in saucepan, measuring as you go. Add 2 cups sugar to each cup of liquid. Boil this mixture 5 min. Add the peel and cook until it is tender and you can almost see through it. There will not be much liquid left and it will be very sticky. Remove peel from pot and spread on waxed paper. Dry completely on the counter. Store in airtight container. Makes a wonderful, different gift! GAME: CORN DARTS 1 dried corn cob cut into 4 equal parts (your darts) 4 2" nails with large heads clay, white glue, 12 feathers (3 each dart), markers to decorate. Hollow out the centers of the dried corn cob. Fill in hollows with clay. Stick large nail into the clay so about half of it, including the point, stick out. Push the 3 feathers into the top of each dart. glue to secure them. Let dry. For a target, make a circle of rope or draw on the sand with a stick. Week 17 This week's menu can make a meal: chicken pudding and cranberry muffins. The sewing project is to make a pincushion (or Beanie Baby bed for today's use!) FRIENDSHIP PINCUSHION 2 pieces fabric, each 4"x6". needle & thread Lay fabric together with pretty sides facing each other. Sew as you did last week's sachet, only this time you will fill the inside with cotton balls, fold in the top edges, pin, and sew the little pillow closed. In Colonial days, girls would also sometimes embroider a name or design onto the top fabric before sewing the top to bottom or filling. You could add tassels to the corners to make it more fancy. CHICKEN PUDDING First you raise the chickens to cooking weight, then catch and butcher them, remove insides, dunk the carcass in boiling water for a few minutes to loosen the feathers, rub all the feathers off, clean the outside of the bird, feed the innards to the family dog...well, I sure do appreciate our modern grocery stores where someone else has done all the messy work for us! There are families just miles up the road from us who still do all of this themselves...My hubby vetoed the idea of raising chickens even though we live in the country (neighbors would understand) and have a detached shed that would make a great chicken coop... 2 T butter 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 cups water 1 t. salt Butter to grease casserole dish 1 ½ cups flour 1 t. salt 1 ½ t. baking soda 3 t. butter 3 eggs (collected fresh this morning!) 1 ½ cups milk Melt 2 T. butter in skillet over medium heat Add chicken breasts and brown both sides Put water and 1t. salt in skillet. Reduce heat and simmer, covered 30 min. Grease casserole dish. Place chicken into the dish. Preheat oven 375 degrees To make batter, mix flour, salt, baking soda. Melt 3 T. butter. Beat eggs with milk. Stir melted butter into this mix. Then add flour mixture. Beat smooth. Pour batter over chicken in the casserole dish. Bake about 40 min, till the batter puffs up and turns golden brown CRANBERRY MUFFINS Spring in the forest provided plenty of berries for the colonists. The early settlers names cranberries "bear-berries" because the bears loved to eat them! Most berries picked by settlers were dried or sugared to preserve them for winter use. They were dried, pounded into a hard paste, and then cut into squares to be chewed like candy. The fruits were also boiled with sugar to make jellies. Berries were used for breads, muffins, little cakes, and also used to make ink and to dye yarn and fabric. 2 Cups flour ¼ cup sugar 3 t. baking powder ½ t. salt 1 egg, beaten 1 cup milk ¼ cup butter, melted and cooled 1 cup fresh washed cranberries Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (Remember how colonists tested an oven's temperature? Look a couple weeks back if you've forgotten Mix all dry ingredients. Now mix separately all wet ingredients. Mix wet into dry and moisten. add berries and blend gently. Put paper baking cups into muffin tins. Fill 2/3 full. Bake 20 min or till lightly brown on top. Makes 10-12 muffins. Now go out and feed the rest of your family chickens! Week 18 My 1998 TM has us starting to read 'Winter At Valley Forge', so this week we have some Rev. War recipes. However, from what I remember from high school & college history, Valley Forge was NO picnic! Back on the home front, I can imagine little girls wanting to make pretty things like the tussie-mussies. MAKE: TUSSIE - MUSSIE scissors 1 rose ruler fresh herb sprigs (or greenery from a florist) string lace doily or hankie 2 ribbons, each 1 foot long Cut the stem of the rose to 4". Cut the herb or greenery sprigs to 3". Strip leaves so ½" of stems bare. Arrange the smallest herb sprigs around the rose. Add sprigs from smallest to largest, to frame the rose in greenery. Tie the stems together securely. Wrap the hankie or doily around the stems and tie it in place with ribbon. COOK: FRUMENTY This was an English breakfast food made from wheat. It was eaten by many colonists in the North. Original Frumenty had to cook a long time, because wheat is a tough grain. Today we use bulgar, which is already cooked. Find bulgar at health food stores. 1 Cup Bulgar wheat 1 cup boiling water ¼ t. salt ½ Cup milk ½ Cup half-and-half ½ t. cinnamon 1/8 t. ground mace 2 T. brown sugar Put Bulgar and salt in a small bowl. Pour boiling water in and stir. Cover and let sit 15 min. In a medium pot, warm the milk and half and half. Add cinnamon, mace and sugar. Heat, but do not boil. When mixture is hot, add the soaked bulgar. Stir. Cook & stir the porridge for 10 minutes. Serves 3 people. COOK: HASTY PUDDING 1 Cup Cornmeal dash salt 4 Cups water Maple Syrup Milk Mix 1 Cup water with the cornmeal in a small bowl Boil the other 3 Cups of water with the salt in a med-sized pot. When water boils, lower heat and slowly pour in the cornmeal mixture. Stir until thick, 3-5 minutes Turn off stoke, put the lid on, and let sit 3 min. Stir again and serve with maple sugar & milk, as desired. Serves four. COOK: MINUTEMAN'S BEEF STEW 1 ½ pound beef chuck roast 2 T. oil 1 (16 oz) beef broth ½ t. salt ½ t. ground black pepper 1 bay leaf 1 med. onion 1 clove garlic 1 medium potato 2 carrots Chunk the beef. Brown beef chunks in oil for 10 minutes. Pour beef broth over the beef and lower the heat. Add salt, pepper and bay leaf. Simmer 1 hour While beef is cooking: peel and chop onion peel and mince garlic peel potato & carrot. Cut into bite sized pieces Add onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots to broth & meat mix. Boil, then simmer, covered, 30 min. Good served with bread and butter Serves 4