Colonial Fair, 2009

You might remember that last year's big fourth grade project at my kids school was the re-enactment of the Oklahoma Land Run. Costumes, wagons, cardboard houses, vittles, land surveys, and an actual "RUSH" to claim land ..... ahhhh, good times.

This year? Fifth grade?

Colonial Fair.

(Good God Almighty, does it ever end at this school???)



The kids did whatever kind of studying of colonial times they DO in Social Studies class. Then, each child had to make an informative poster of one aspect of colonial living ..... complete with photos and an "attractive" border. We chose colonial food and printed pictures of dour-faced women sweating in ginormous hearth-fireplaces while dinner cooked over the fire. Certainly no Hamburger Helper back in those days!

Then each child had to come up with a costume to wear the day of the fair. Luckily, I remembered from when Brayden did this last year what most of the boys wore, so Kellen's costume consisted of his Sunday shoes, Blaine's white hunting socks, black baseball pants, a white oxford, "lace" at his wrists which were really made from coffee filters, and a tri-corn hat. If this costume looks remarkably similar to his Halloween costume, well, you've got a good memory because he wore the exact same thing. Might as well get my money's worth, is my motto!


My favorite part of his costume was that I convinced him to let me put his hair in a "queue" .... hey, if you're going to grow it this long, might as well put it to good use for your costume.

He and two of his classmates put together their booth for the fair. All fifth graders set up their booths in the gymnasium the night before. You had to bring your own table and have whatever you were selling clearly marked on a poster or sign. Many booths sold food and/or drinks, some booths sold candy. Some booths sold marbles, candles, rag dolls, yarn toys, etc. There was also a few booths of games of chance and/or skill.



Personally, I thought the buckles on the shoes made out of Reynolds Wrap was an especially nice touch.

Each grade level came through the gymnasium for about half an hour and got to browse the booths, spending their money how they wanted. Nothing could sell for more than five cents. Kellen and his friends sold corn muffins for two cents, beef jerky sticks for two cents, a small cup of rootbeer or apple juice for three cents ... OR, their genius marketing strategy, a "combo meal" involving all three, for five cents.

Here they are, hard at work:



In addition to teaching the children about Colonial Life, the event is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Pennies for Patients campaign, and all monies earned at the Colonial Fair is donated to that cause.

As best I can figure it:

The baseball pants cost eight dollars.

The hat cost fifteen dollars.

We spent about four dollars (and three hours) making corn muffins, and spent almost six dollars buying wood and paper to build the sign over the booth.

Chance's mom spent probably close to ten dollars on beef jerky, plus provided plates and cups and the gloves.

Jacob's mom spent at least ten dollars on root beer and apple juice.

The boys worked for over two hours; probably sold half their drinks, sold all the beef jerky, and hardly sold any corn muffins. (Well, of course not. There were candy and cookies and brownies at other booths ... if you are seven years old and you have twenty-five pennies in YOUR pocket, are you going to buy a stupid corn muffin or a cookie???)

I would estimate they made three dollars in pennies.

Hey Social Studies teacher, what do you say two years from now, when Kendrie is in fifth grade, we SKIP the Colonial Fair and I just donate ten bucks to Pennies for Patients? I think it would be a LOT less work for you and me both.

(Kidding ... it was fun. And if last year they re-enacted the Oklahoma Land Rush, which took place in 1907, and this year they re-enacted a Colonial Fair of the early 1800's .... and they continue to rewind history by 100 years at a time, then by the time they are seniors in high school we'll be back to the Dark Ages and I can just send him to school in a fur pellet, carrying a club.)

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Thanks to all of you for your kind and encouraging words regarding my spawn of Satan children yesterday. Always good to hear I'm not alone! Today went much better .... thank goodness. I have officially removed the "For Sale" signs from around their necks and told them they can come in off the curb.

Good thing, too, because it was just in time to make HELP Kendrie make her 3-D biography poster and book report of Sacagawea, with "fun items from around your house!"

Yeah. Because that's JUST what my 9-yr old is capable of doing .... thinking up an idea for a 3-D biography poster and implementing it with household items.



Lest you think we did ALL the work, here is proof she helped:



And here is the final product, complete with braided yarn hair and a pipe cleaner necklace. 3-D enough for you, teacher???



Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get started gathering supplies for Brayden's cereal-box-biography-project.

Remind me again why I wanted my kids to go to this school???

(Ps. I'm kidding --- I love this school!)

(Pss. See what I mean about people I know read this blog and I'm hesitant to say anything negative, even when I'm joking, because you just KNOW some people can't take a joke and will get their knickers all twisted and before you know it I'll be labeled the "Mom who complains about everything" .....)