Fairley Students Bring Colonial History to Life

Hannibal fourth graders will never forget their learning of colonial history as they lived through the experience themselves at Ole Fashion Day.

Students dressed as Native Americans, colonial soldiers, established Englishmen, farmers and more, living out historical past times like barn square dancing and tea parties in the tea room.

The fourth graders also experienced what a traditional colonial classroom would have been like.

They were required to bow or curtsy before entering the schoolroom, and they used chalk and slates to practice writing vocabulary words.

Negligent behaviors lead to writing an instructed phrase 100 times on the board or a make-believe ruler whipping outside of the classroom.

“I was accused of stealing the teacher’s eggs from her chicken coop,” said Gavin Griffin (also known as “Lil’ Griff”). “Even though I told her I was milking my grandmother’s cows that morning, I still got the ruler!”

The students giggled as Griffin faked yelping from the pretend spanking.

The schoolroom teacher assigned a “chimney cleaner” and a “fire starter” for the week, tasks students would have completed in the past.

She also selected a student to walk home with that day for dinner at their parents’ house.

Fourth grader Kristen Mustico said that the traditional schoolroom seemed a little harsh, but she still thinks living in colonial times would have been fun.

Ole Fashion Day also included a craft room where students created toys that were popular in the 19th century such as a thaumatrope, which is a circle with a picture on each side attached to string that twirls and creates the illusion that the two pictures are one.

The “museum” was filled with historical objects for the students to identify, and members of the Hannibal Historical Society taught students to play historical games like dominoes.

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