“Crown Kids” Visit Graves Library Museum on June 2, 2023

On June 2, seventeen “Crown Kids” from the Covenant Church program, their teacher, and helpers, came to visit the Graves Library Museum. Carol Clark and Sharon Boeckenhauer led them in activities designed to show what it was like 60-125 years ago in a country school. Beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance and the “Good Morning Song”, students experienced opening activities. Duties of teachers and jobs that students might be asked to do were explained, as well as forms of discipline that happened many years ago. The children next moved into “Reading and Recitation”, their first subject of the day. Graded readers were explained, a story that teaches a lesson was read, and volunteers were encouraged to recite poems that they knew. After Reading, penmanship was taught, practicing “ovals” and “push-pulls” in the air before turning to doing them on paper.

Next, the students were shown different lunch pails that may have been used years ago, and they were shown a sample packed lunch that children may have taken to country school. They then went outside for a period of Recess, where they played games that required no special equipment and included everyone—“Red Rover” and “Freeze Tag”. Before they were called back into the building with an old school bell, each picked a leaf to take with them. Back inside, they used their leaves to do leaf rubbings, and were told that Science curriculum involved things in nature that students would need to know, such as the types of trees, how to identify them by the shape of leaves, etc. The leaf rubbing was also a way that Art activities might have been incorporated into the country school day.

“Arithmetic” was taught with flash cards for the younger students, and recitation of multiplication facts for the older ones. It was explained that since country schools could have all 8 grades attending in one room, different activities for different ages were necessary. Before touring the museum, the children played an indoor game of “Upset the Fruit Basket”, and other games/activities for “rainy day recess” were discussed. The children completed their tour of the other parts of the building, and ended their day with a group photo on the steps in front of the museum. Thank you, kids, for a wonderful afternoon!!