For our Colonial America unit, there are a few fun activities I like to do with my students. These activities were introduced to me by Mela, my 5th grade teaching partner 2 years ago! We do a few Colonial type of activities to help our students gain a bit more perspective on what life was like. We have them make Colonial style hats, sew pockets, create  journals that they bind with string, make homemade ice cream and do a stencil activity with paint.

During the Colonial time, the pineapple was a symbol for hospitality. I had copies of a pineapple stencil ready for each student. I cut rectangular shaped pieces of ivory colored fabric for each student. First, the students cut out the inside of the pineapple. Once they finish cutting it, they taped it on top of the fabric.  Then, they used sponges (I cut up normal sponges into small square pieces) to color in the inside of the stencil. Make sure to tell them to dab lightly. I gave them red, blue and yellow colored paint to use. After they finish painting their stencil, they take off the paper and let the stencil dry.

There are more specific instructions on this website: Colonial America Crafts