Recently, the Heritage Alliance provided third graders from Wescosville, Lincoln and Jefferson elementary schools in the East Penn School District with a hands-on history experience.

Students visited God’s Acre, the Shelter House, the Knauss Homestead and the 1803 House where volunteers directed them through a series of activities which exemplify life in early settlement and colonial times in Emmaus.

At God’s Acre, the site of Emmaus’s beginning, the children paced out the contours of the original church and participated in a scavenger hunt.

Volunteers at the Shelter House explained some of the fundamentals of pioneer life before the founding of a settlement. The children created a “broadside” (an early newspaper) and corncob figures. They also learned about the area’s original trails and watched a demonstration of the basics of log cabin construction.

While touring the Knauss Homestead students discovered the importance of a homestead’s location in relation to a source of fresh water. They also gained insight into the lives of colonial youngsters. Typical chores were explained and the third grade students created diary entries on parchment paper by writing with charcoal.

At the 1803 House, the third graders received instruction in butter churning and hearth cooking. By making an apple crisp dessert, they compared hearth cooking to modern meal preparation. The importance of herb growing and preserving and the many uses of herbs in a colonial household also were explained.

The Heritage Alliance’s combining of historical sites, period appropriate activities and volunteer lectures and demonstrations provides third graders in the East Penn School District with a unique and meaningful experience.

Local history and modern classrooms join hands and help children to understand the past through participation.