The Charlotte Museum of History

Activities

Food - Household - Games & Toys - Native American

Food

Churning Butter

Colonists could not go to a market and buy butter like we do today instead they had to make their own. They took the thick cream that rose to the top of their milk and poured it into a wooden or pottery churn. The churns had wooden paddles built into the lid and someone would use that to churn the cream until it turned into butter. Several pounds of butter would be made at one time so it took a lot of strength. You can also make butter like the colonists but without the churn or great amount of muscle power.

Materials and Ingredients:

1-quart jar with lid (a canning jar is the best but any jar with a tight –fitting lid will do)
5 or 6 clean marbles or small, well washed stones
Tap water
Mixing spoon
Rubber spatula
Small dish
Optional: butter mold
1 ½ cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Once you let the cream warm to room temperature, pour it into the jar. Add in the marbles or stones and then tighten the lid.
Shake the jar steadily up and down, and side to side. Shake vigorously until globs of butter start to form, which will probably happen after 5 minutes.
When the butter globs have finished forming, open up the jar and pour off the liquid (buttermilk) and take out the marbles.
Rinse the butter in cool, running water. Gently pour the water out so that the butter stays in the jar.
Add a tiny bit of salt to the butter and stir it up with a mixing spoon.
Use a spatula to scrape the butter from the jar into a small dish or butter mold.
Chill the butter in the refrigerator for about 20 to 30 minutes before using. It makes about ¾ a cup.

Berry Syllabub

Syllabubs were a cool colonial dessert much like Italian Ice. Colonists made juice by crushing berries and straining them and then used the juice to create the syllabub treat to eat plain or as a topping. You can make your own juice or buy some at the store and create your own flavored Syllabub to eat on a warm summer afternoon.

Materials and Ingredients:

Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Eggbeater or wire whisk
1 cup unsweetened berry juice, raspberry, strawberry or whatever you choose.
¼ cup of sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Instructions:

Pour juice into mixing bowl and add sugar. Add a little bit at a time until the juice tastes as sweet as you prefer. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour in the cream. Beat the mixture with the eggbeater or wire whisk until it is thick enough to form peaks.

Let it chill in the refrigerator for about an hour and then serve it in ice cream dishes or as a topping. It makes about three cups or syllabub.

Household

Dipped Candles (Parental supervision required)

During the Colonial Period they did not have electricity so they had to use candles for light. In Europe, candles were made from animal fat but the colonists’ animals were to valuable to butcher just for their fat so they had to come up with a different way to make candles. The colonists decided to borrow the skill of using berries from the bayberry bush to make wax from the Native Americans. For the wick of the candle, they used a fine white thread that they would strip from milkweed plants. They would then tie the wick to a willow stick and dip it into a hot tub of wax. Each time they would let it dry and get hard in order to make the candles real thick so they would burn for a long time. With different supplies today you can make your own candles just like the colonists did over 200 years ago.

Materials:

Newspaper
2 large soup or juice cans, empty and open at one end
Water
Measuring cup
Saucepan
1 pound of candle wax (either from a craft supply store or from old candles)
1 package of candle wicks
1 wire hanger
Scissors
Optional: Crayons (to color the wax), candle coloring oils, scented oils

Instructions:

Cover your work area with newspaper.
Fill 1/3 of 1 can with water and put it in a saucepan. Fill the saucepan half full with water and put it on the stove over low heat.
Fill 2/3 of the other can with cool water and place it to the side on your newspaper.
Break the wax up into chunks and carefully place them into the can of hot water. (Placing the wax in the water helps the wax melt and mix better) Once the wax is completely melted, turn off your stove.
Cut a piece of wick about 10 inches long and fold in half. Then dip both ends into the hot wax where it will stick to the wick as you pull it out.
Once you pulled the wick out, dip it into the can of cold water to cool it and repeat. Every few dips straighten the wick by pulling on it gently so the candles will be straight. Stop when your candles are the size you want.
Cool your candles completely by letting them hang over the bottom of a wire hanger. When you are ready to use them just cut the wick in the center and there you go.
Optional: In order to make colorful candles you can drop pieces of crayon in the hot wax and letting them melt. Or you can add candle coloring or scented oils to the hot wax to make your candles unique.

Making Soap

Colonists usually only took a bath once a week. Could you imagine? The reason was because they had to carry buckets up from the well, heat them over the fireplace and pour the water into a big tub that sat right in front of the fireplace. Also, when they did take baths they had to use homemade soap that was not easy to make. They had to save ashes from the fireplace to make into lye (which took weeks) and cook it with collected animal fat from their meat. YUCK! You won’t use ashes or animal fat but you can make your own soap too and almost just like the colonists did.

Materials:

Old bits and pieces of bar soap
Water
Container with a lid
Empty soft soap container
Optional: Oil fragrance

Instructions:

Take some of your bits and pieces of bar soap and place them into a container.
Cover the soap with water and add more bits and pieces of soap but keep the water of the top of them so that they will dissolve.
When you have a cup of soapy mixture and all the soap is dissolved, stir it up and mix it well.
Optional: Add in a few drops of oil fragrance.
Take your soap mixture and use it to refill an empty soap container and use to wash your self.

Potpurri

Today we use spray cans for freshening the air, but some people still use potpourri just like the colonists. Potpourri is a mixture of dried herbs, petals and spices that produce a delightful scent as well as make a neat decoration. You can gather herbs, flower blossoms and different spices and experiment by combining them into your own unique scent. You can even create different scents for different times of the year. So grab some herbs and flowers from your own garden (with parents permission) or at a local floral shop and some spices from your kitchen cabinets and make some potpourri to freshen your home just like they did in the colonial days.

Materials:

Several sheets of newspaper
15-20 flower blossoms from one or more of the following: roses, geraniums, marigolds, violets, hollyhocks
25-30 herb leaves with branches from one of the following: lavender, rosemary, lemon, verbena, mint (enough to fill 6 to 8 cups)
Large mixing spoon
Fruit and vegetable peeler
1 lemon or orange
Spices: 4 tablespoons whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks or 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground orrisroot or 1 teaspoon scented oil

4 small jars with lids (either glass or plastic)
Optional: 3 small dishes or teacups (optional)

Instructions:

Spread your newspaper in a warm, dry location away from direct sunlight where they will not be disturbed.
Pick the petals of the flower blossoms and leaves off the herbs and spread them out onto to the newspaper.
Use the peeler to gather a few pieces of lemon or orange rind and lay them out on the newspaper as well.
Allow your petals, leaves and rinds to dry for 8 to 10 days but remember to use the mixing spoon to stir them around once or twice a day. Wait until they are all dry and crisp and then they are ready to use.
Divide your dried petals, leaves and rind mixture into four separate piles.
Experiment by giving each pile a different scent. You can do this by shifting some of the ingredients around from one pile to another or adding spices or more pieces of lemon or orange rind.

For a flower-blossom scent use lots of flower petals and lavender. Also add 4 to 5 pieces of lemon or orange rind.
For a minty or citrus aroma, add mint leaves, geranium, rosemary and lemon rind.
For a spicy, outdoorsy aroma, add whole cloves, lemon or orange rind and some broken up cinnamon.

When you finally make your desired scents add in ½ teaspoon of ground orrisroot or a few drops of scented oil to each pile. Make sure you stir it around to mix it all in.
Put each pile into separate jars. Tighten the lids and store them in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks and make sure you shake the jars every day or two to mix it up.
After 2 weeks, your ready to place your potpourri in small dishes, bowls, or cups or even to make a sachet.

Sachet

In order to keep a pleasant scent all year round in storage chests, closet shelves and dresser drawers, colonists made sachets. They would take their homemade potpourri and gather it into small pieces of fabric and tuck it back into their drawers. With potpourri you made or bought at the store you too can make your own sachets.

Materials:

Several sheets of newspaper
2 cups of potpourri
Four 9-inch-square pieces of lightweight cotton fabric, solid color or prints
Measuring cup
Scissors
4 pieces of string, each about 6 inches long
4 pieces of narrow ribbon, each abut 8 inches long

Instructions:

Spread your newspaper out and pour the potpourri on to it.
With your hands crumble up the potpourri into smaller pieces.
Spread out a fabric square. Scoop up about ½ cup of the crushed potpourri and place into the center of the fabric square.
Carefully fold up each of the four corners of the fabric square and hold them together forming a little bag. (It will create four more corners but just grab those up too)
Tie and double knot a piece of string to close up the top of the bag. Make sure there are no gaps!
Tie a piece of decorative ribbon around the string to cover it up.
Repeat the four previous steps to make three more bags to tuck away into your closet or drawers.

Games & Toys

Bilbo Catcher

Colonial children didn’t just make their own school supplies but they also made toys too. One toy they used was the bilbo catcher made out of wood and clay balls. Bilbo means sword so some say that playing with this catcher may have reminded kids of dueling with swords. With some simple materials you find around the house, you too can pretend to play swords with a bilbo catcher.

Materials:

Paper cup
Sharp pencil
2 feet of string or yarn
1 2 by 1-foot piece of aluminum foil
Masking tape

Instructions:

Poke a hole in the side of the cup up near the top, pull some string through hole and make a knot.
Lay the other end of the string in the middle of your sheet of aluminum foil.
Scrunch the foil up into a ball shape, with the string in the middle.
Poke the pencil through the middle of the bottom of your paper cup about an inch. Tightly wrap masking tape just above and below the place where your pencil pokes through in order to secure it.
In order to play the game you toss your “foil ball” up into the air and try to catch in the cup!

Cornhusk Doll

Colonial girls played with dolls like many girls do today. Some wealthy colonial girls had precious dolls sent to them from England. They were made of porcelain, had glass eyes and human hair. These dolls were way to valuable to play with so they usually made their own just like the girls who couldn’t afford dolls from England. Almost every family grew corn so they just used the husks to turn into little dolls. Grab some cornhusks and make yourself a cornhusk dolly just like the colonial children did. Boys, you can do it too!

Materials:

Cornhusks (you can find them at craft stores or in the Mexican food section of your local grocery store)
Heavy string or yarn
Scissors
Permanent marker
Glue
Optional: Corn silk, moss, yarn or wool

Instructions:

Lay 4 to 5 large husks on top of each other and fold them together in the middle. Use a piece of string to tie a neck about 1-inch below the fold to make a head.
To make the arms, roll another husk, lengthwise, to make a long tube. Tie the ends, about ½ inch from the edges to make wrists and hands. Slide the arm section up under the tied neck of the doll. Tie a string below the arms to hold them in place and make a waist.
Take your permanent marker and draw a pretty face on your doll.
The doll doesn’t need hair but you can give her some by gluing on corn silk, moss, yarn or wool.
If you want to give your doll some pants, cut the bottom the husks up to the waist, long-ways. Then tie each side about ½ inch from the bottom to make ankles and feet.

Blindman's Buff

Colonial children and adults enjoyed this game during the 1700s. The game got its name from an earlier version of the game where they blindfolded a person, spun them around and shoved or buffeted them. They later changed their rules. You can grab any number of your friends and family and all join in on a game of blindman’s buff.

Materials:

Handful of sticks or straws of different lengths
Scarf or similar cloth for the blindfolded
5 or more players

Instructions:

Players draw sticks or straws to see how will be blindfolded first. The player who draws the shortest stick or straw is “it.”
Once you have determined who is “it”, they are blindfolded while the others circle around him or her.
One or two players from the circle step forward, spin the blindfolded person around 3 or 4 times and then rejoin the circle.
The players join hands and walk in a circle around the person who is blindfolded. When the player who is “it” claps their hands three times the circle must stop.
The person who is blindfolded points at one person. They must step into the circle and the blindfolded person must guess who it is. If the person who is “it” is correct, that person must now be blindfolded. If they guessed wrong, the blindfolded player has the chance to tag him or her it.

Native American

American Indian Headband

During the wintertime, the people of the Algonquin tribes wore gus-to-weh’s, meaning “real hats.” They were made of soft deerskin and decorated with feathers. During the rest of the year, they wore simple headbands with painted symbols, beads and sometimes a feather. You too can make a headband like the American Indian children wore. You don’t have to find any deerskin but rather use supplies from your local craft shop.

Materials:

Several sheets of newspaper
1 ½ -by-18-inch strip of felt: tan, brown or any light shade
Ruler
One-hole paper punch
White glue or craft glue
Two 10-inch-long rawhide laces (sold as shoelaces) or string/twine
Scissors
Six 1-inch-square scraps of felt in any bright colors
Optional: small beads, sequins, feather

Instructions:

Spread your newspaper out.
Lay and flatten the felt strip on your newspaper. Hole punch two holes about ¼ inch from each end. (You should have a total of four holes, two at each end)
Fold over each end about an inch. Punch through each of the holes made so that the hole goes through each layer of felt.
Unfold the ends and then glue them back together. Make sure the holes are lined up. Allow the glue to dry.
Turn your felt strip over so that the folds are underneath. Run a rawhide lace (or string/twine) trough both holes on one end of the strip. Make sure you tie a double knot about two inches beyond the headband in your lace. Repeat the step with the other end of the strip.
Cut off one loose end of rawhide and leave the other for the tying the headband to your head for each end of the strip.
Position the felt squares where you like on the front of the headband and glue them on. If you have beads or sequins glue those on too.
If you want to add a feather, place a patch of the quill end of the feather and glue to the back part of the headband (near the laces).
In order to wear your new American Indian Headband, tie the laces at the back of your head!

Native American Stick Toss Game

Almost every American Indian child from every North American tribe played some version of the stick toss game. They would use rib bones from a deer and paint designs on them with paint made from clay and berries. You can grab a friend or two, make your own sticks out of old Popsicle sticks and markers, and play the stick toss game.

Materials:

4 craft sticks, tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks
Red, yellow and black markers or felt tip pens (fine-tips are best)
15 counting sticks (these can be twigs or pencils)
2, 3, or 4 players

Instructions:

First you must make the game. In order to do that, you color the four craft sticks like the following patterns. (Note: only the rain stick has drawings on the back while the others do not)

In order to play the game, players first sit down facing each other and place the 15 counting sticks off to the side. (If four people are playing then for teams of two.)
The first player picks up the four made sticks. With the fingertips of one hand, he/she holds the sticks in a bunch by their tips and then gently tosses them so that they land on the ground between the players.
The player who tossed the sticks score points according to which side of the certain sticks are facing up.

Front side of Four Directions: 4 points
Front side of Rain: 3 points
Front side of Lightning: 1 point
Front side of Sun: 1 point
Back side of Lighting, Sun, or Four Directions: 0 points each
Back side of rain: cancels out the entire score for that toss

Once the player determines their score, they pick up the number of counting sticks equal to their score. That player continues to play as long as he/she keeps scoring, but as soon as they toss the backside of rain, it’s the next players turn.
When all 15 counting sticks have been removed from the pile, the player tossing and scoring points takes the sticks from the other player’s or team’s pile.
The person who officially wins the game is the player who has gotten all 15 counting sticks. That hardly ever happens and the game can go on forever so you can make the rule that who ever has the most counting sticks when you decide to quit the game, wins!


	Activities Food - Household - Games & Toys - Native American Food Churning Butter Colonists could not go to a market and buy butter like we do today instead they had to make their own. They took the thick cream that rose to the top of their milk and poured it into a wooden or pottery churn. The churns had wooden paddles built into the lid and someone would use that to churn the cream until it turned into butter. Several pounds of butter would be made at one time so it took a lot of strength. You can also make butter like the colonists but without the churn or great amount of muscle power. Materials and Ingredients: 1-quart jar with lid (a canning jar is the best but any jar with a tight –fitting lid will do) 5 or 6 clean marbles or small, well washed stones Tap water Mixing spoon Rubber spatula Small dish Optional: butter mold 1 ½ cups heavy cream (whipping cream) Pinch of salt Instructions: Once you let the cream warm to room temperature, pour it into the jar. Add in the marbles or stones and then tighten the lid. Shake the jar steadily up and down, and side to side. Shake vigorously until globs of butter start to form, which will probably happen after 5 minutes. When the butter globs have finished forming, open up the jar and pour off the liquid (buttermilk) and take out the marbles. Rinse the butter in cool, running water. Gently pour the water out so that the butter stays in the jar. Add a tiny bit of salt to the butter and stir it up with a mixing spoon. Use a spatula to scrape the butter from the jar into a small dish or butter mold. Chill the butter in the refrigerator for about 20 to 30 minutes before using. It makes about ¾ a cup. Berry Syllabub Syllabubs were a cool colonial dessert much like Italian Ice. Colonists made juice by crushing berries and straining them and then used the juice to create the syllabub treat to eat plain or as a topping. You can make your own juice or buy some at the store and create your own flavored Syllabub to eat on a warm summer afternoon. Materials and Ingredients: Mixing bowl Mixing spoon Eggbeater or wire whisk 1 cup unsweetened berry juice, raspberry, strawberry or whatever you choose. ¼ cup of sugar 2 cups heavy cream Instructions: Pour juice into mixing bowl and add sugar. Add a little bit at a time until the juice tastes as sweet as you prefer. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour in the cream. Beat the mixture with the eggbeater or wire whisk until it is thick enough to form peaks. Let it chill in the refrigerator for about an hour and then serve it in ice cream dishes or as a topping. It makes about three cups or syllabub. Household Dipped Candles (Parental supervision required) During the Colonial Period they did not have electricity so they had to use candles for light. In Europe, candles were made from animal fat but the colonists’ animals were to valuable to butcher just for their fat so they had to come up with a different way to make candles. The colonists decided to borrow the skill of using berries from the bayberry bush to make wax from the Native Americans. For the wick of the candle, they used a fine white thread that they would strip from milkweed plants. They would then tie the wick to a willow stick and dip it into a hot tub of wax. Each time they would let it dry and get hard in order to make the candles real thick so they would burn for a long time. With different supplies today you can make your own candles just like the colonists did over 200 years ago. Materials: Newspaper 2 large soup or juice cans, empty and open at one end Water Measuring cup Saucepan 1 pound of candle wax (either from a craft supply store or from old candles) 1 package of candle wicks 1 wire hanger Scissors Optional: Crayons (to color the wax), candle coloring oils, scented oils Instructions: Cover your work area with newspaper. Fill 1/3 of 1 can with water and put it in a saucepan. Fill the saucepan half full with water and put it on the stove over low heat. Fill 2/3 of the other can with cool water and place it to the side on your newspaper. Break the wax up into chunks and carefully place them into the can of hot water. (Placing the wax in the water helps the wax melt and mix better) Once the wax is completely melted, turn off your stove. Cut a piece of wick about 10 inches long and fold in half. Then dip both ends into the hot wax where it will stick to the wick as you pull it out. Once you pulled the wick out, dip it into the can of cold water to cool it and repeat. Every few dips straighten the wick by pulling on it gently so the candles will be straight. Stop when your candles are the size you want. Cool your candles completely by letting them hang over the bottom of a wire hanger. When you are ready to use them just cut the wick in the center and there you go. Optional: In order to make colorful candles you can drop pieces of crayon in the hot wax and letting them melt. Or you can add candle coloring or scented oils to the hot wax to make your candles unique. Making Soap Colonists usually only took a bath once a week. Could you imagine? The reason was because they had to carry buckets up from the well, heat them over the fireplace and pour the water into a big tub that sat right in front of the fireplace. Also, when they did take baths they had to use homemade soap that was not easy to make. They had to save ashes from the fireplace to make into lye (which took weeks) and cook it with collected animal fat from their meat. YUCK! You won’t use ashes or animal fat but you can make your own soap too and almost just like the colonists did. Materials: Old bits and pieces of bar soap Water Container with a lid Empty soft soap container Optional: Oil fragrance Instructions: Take some of your bits and pieces of bar soap and place them into a container. Cover the soap with water and add more bits and pieces of soap but keep the water of the top of them so that they will dissolve. When you have a cup of soapy mixture and all the soap is dissolved, stir it up and mix it well. Optional: Add in a few drops of oil fragrance. Take your soap mixture and use it to refill an empty soap container and use to wash your self. Potpurri Today we use spray cans for freshening the air, but some people still use potpourri just like the colonists. Potpourri is a mixture of dried herbs, petals and spices that produce a delightful scent as well as make a neat decoration. You can gather herbs, flower blossoms and different spices and experiment by combining them into your own unique scent. You can even create different scents for different times of the year. So grab some herbs and flowers from your own garden (with parents permission) or at a local floral shop and some spices from your kitchen cabinets and make some potpourri to freshen your home just like they did in the colonial days. Materials: Several sheets of newspaper 15-20 flower blossoms from one or more of the following: roses, geraniums, marigolds, violets, hollyhocks 25-30 herb leaves with branches from one of the following: lavender, rosemary, lemon, verbena, mint (enough to fill 6 to 8 cups) Large mixing spoon Fruit and vegetable peeler 1 lemon or orange Spices: 4 tablespoons whole cloves 2 cinnamon sticks or 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground orrisroot or 1 teaspoon scented oil 4 small jars with lids (either glass or plastic) Optional: 3 small dishes or teacups (optional) Instructions: Spread your newspaper in a warm, dry location away from direct sunlight where they will not be disturbed. Pick the petals of the flower blossoms and leaves off the herbs and spread them out onto to the newspaper. Use the peeler to gather a few pieces of lemon or orange rind and lay them out on the newspaper as well. Allow your petals, leaves and rinds to dry for 8 to 10 days but remember to use the mixing spoon to stir them around once or twice a day. Wait until they are all dry and crisp and then they are ready to use. Divide your dried petals, leaves and rind mixture into four separate piles. Experiment by giving each pile a different scent. You can do this by shifting some of the ingredients around from one pile to another or adding spices or more pieces of lemon or orange rind. For a flower-blossom scent use lots of flower petals and lavender. Also add 4 to 5 pieces of lemon or orange rind. For a minty or citrus aroma, add mint leaves, geranium, rosemary and lemon rind. For a spicy, outdoorsy aroma, add whole cloves, lemon or orange rind and some broken up cinnamon. When you finally make your desired scents add in ½ teaspoon of ground orrisroot or a few drops of scented oil to each pile. Make sure you stir it around to mix it all in. Put each pile into separate jars. Tighten the lids and store them in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks and make sure you shake the jars every day or two to mix it up. After 2 weeks, your ready to place your potpourri in small dishes, bowls, or cups or even to make a sachet. Sachet In order to keep a pleasant scent all year round in storage chests, closet shelves and dresser drawers, colonists made sachets. They would take their homemade potpourri and gather it into small pieces of fabric and tuck it back into their drawers. With potpourri you made or bought at the store you too can make your own sachets. Materials: Several sheets of newspaper 2 cups of potpourri Four 9-inch-square pieces of lightweight cotton fabric, solid color or prints Measuring cup Scissors 4 pieces of string, each about 6 inches long 4 pieces of narrow ribbon, each abut 8 inches long Instructions: Spread your newspaper out and pour the potpourri on to it. With your hands crumble up the potpourri into smaller pieces. Spread out a fabric square. Scoop up about ½ cup of the crushed potpourri and place into the center of the fabric square. Carefully fold up each of the four corners of the fabric square and hold them together forming a little bag. (It will create four more corners but just grab those up too) Tie and double knot a piece of string to close up the top of the bag. Make sure there are no gaps! Tie a piece of decorative ribbon around the string to cover it up. Repeat the four previous steps to make three more bags to tuck away into your closet or drawers. Games & Toys Bilbo Catcher Colonial children didn’t just make their own school supplies but they also made toys too. One toy they used was the bilbo catcher made out of wood and clay balls. Bilbo means sword so some say that playing with this catcher may have reminded kids of dueling with swords. With some simple materials you find around the house, you too can pretend to play swords with a bilbo catcher. Materials: Paper cup Sharp pencil 2 feet of string or yarn 1 2 by 1-foot piece of aluminum foil Masking tape Instructions: Poke a hole in the side of the cup up near the top, pull some string through hole and make a knot. Lay the other end of the string in the middle of your sheet of aluminum foil. Scrunch the foil up into a ball shape, with the string in the middle. Poke the pencil through the middle of the bottom of your paper cup about an inch. Tightly wrap masking tape just above and below the place where your pencil pokes through in order to secure it. In order to play the game you toss your “foil ball” up into the air and try to catch in the cup! Cornhusk Doll Colonial girls played with dolls like many girls do today. Some wealthy colonial girls had precious dolls sent to them from England. They were made of porcelain, had glass eyes and human hair. These dolls were way to valuable to play with so they usually made their own just like the girls who couldn’t afford dolls from England. Almost every family grew corn so they just used the husks to turn into little dolls. Grab some cornhusks and make yourself a cornhusk dolly just like the colonial children did. Boys, you can do it too! Materials: Cornhusks (you can find them at craft stores or in the Mexican food section of your local grocery store) Heavy string or yarn Scissors Permanent marker Glue Optional: Corn silk, moss, yarn or wool Instructions: Lay 4 to 5 large husks on top of each other and fold them together in the middle. Use a piece of string to tie a neck about 1-inch below the fold to make a head. To make the arms, roll another husk, lengthwise, to make a long tube. Tie the ends, about ½ inch from the edges to make wrists and hands. Slide the arm section up under the tied neck of the doll. Tie a string below the arms to hold them in place and make a waist. Take your permanent marker and draw a pretty face on your doll. The doll doesn’t need hair but you can give her some by gluing on corn silk, moss, yarn or wool. If you want to give your doll some pants, cut the bottom the husks up to the waist, long-ways. Then tie each side about ½ inch from the bottom to make ankles and feet. Blindman's Buff Colonial children and adults enjoyed this game during the 1700s. The game got its name from an earlier version of the game where they blindfolded a person, spun them around and shoved or buffeted them. They later changed their rules. You can grab any number of your friends and family and all join in on a game of blindman’s buff. Materials: Handful of sticks or straws of different lengths Scarf or similar cloth for the blindfolded 5 or more players Instructions: Players draw sticks or straws to see how will be blindfolded first. The player who draws the shortest stick or straw is “it.” Once you have determined who is “it”, they are blindfolded while the others circle around him or her. One or two players from the circle step forward, spin the blindfolded person around 3 or 4 times and then rejoin the circle. The players join hands and walk in a circle around the person who is blindfolded. When the player who is “it” claps their hands three times the circle must stop. The person who is blindfolded points at one person. They must step into the circle and the blindfolded person must guess who it is. If the person who is “it” is correct, that person must now be blindfolded. If they guessed wrong, the blindfolded player has the chance to tag him or her it. Native American American Indian Headband During the wintertime, the people of the Algonquin tribes wore gus-to-weh’s, meaning “real hats.” They were made of soft deerskin and decorated with feathers. During the rest of the year, they wore simple headbands with painted symbols, beads and sometimes a feather. You too can make a headband like the American Indian children wore. You don’t have to find any deerskin but rather use supplies from your local craft shop. Materials: Several sheets of newspaper 1 ½ -by-18-inch strip of felt: tan, brown or any light shade Ruler One-hole paper punch White glue or craft glue Two 10-inch-long rawhide laces (sold as shoelaces) or string/twine Scissors Six 1-inch-square scraps of felt in any bright colors Optional: small beads, sequins, feather Instructions: Spread your newspaper out. Lay and flatten the felt strip on your newspaper. Hole punch two holes about ¼ inch from each end. (You should have a total of four holes, two at each end) Fold over each end about an inch. Punch through each of the holes made so that the hole goes through each layer of felt. Unfold the ends and then glue them back together. Make sure the holes are lined up. Allow the glue to dry. Turn your felt strip over so that the folds are underneath. Run a rawhide lace (or string/twine) trough both holes on one end of the strip. Make sure you tie a double knot about two inches beyond the headband in your lace. Repeat the step with the other end of the strip. Cut off one loose end of rawhide and leave the other for the tying the headband to your head for each end of the strip. Position the felt squares where you like on the front of the headband and glue them on. If you have beads or sequins glue those on too. If you want to add a feather, place a patch of the quill end of the feather and glue to the back part of the headband (near the laces). In order to wear your new American Indian Headband, tie the laces at the back of your head! Native American Stick Toss Game Almost every American Indian child from every North American tribe played some version of the stick toss game. They would use rib bones from a deer and paint designs on them with paint made from clay and berries. You can grab a friend or two, make your own sticks out of old Popsicle sticks and markers, and play the stick toss game. Materials: 4 craft sticks, tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks Red, yellow and black markers or felt tip pens (fine-tips are best) 15 counting sticks (these can be twigs or pencils) 2, 3, or 4 players Instructions: First you must make the game. In order to do that, you color the four craft sticks like the following patterns. (Note: only the rain stick has drawings on the back while the others do not) In order to play the game, players first sit down facing each other and place the 15 counting sticks off to the side. (If four people are playing then for teams of two.) The first player picks up the four made sticks. With the fingertips of one hand, he/she holds the sticks in a bunch by their tips and then gently tosses them so that they land on the ground between the players. The player who tossed the sticks score points according to which side of the certain sticks are facing up. Front side of Four Directions: 4 points Front side of Rain: 3 points Front side of Lightning: 1 point Front side of Sun: 1 point Back side of Lighting, Sun, or Four Directions: 0 points each Back side of rain: cancels out the entire score for that toss Once the player determines their score, they pick up the number of counting sticks equal to their score. That player continues to play as long as he/she keeps scoring, but as soon as they toss the backside of rain, it’s the next players turn. When all 15 counting sticks have been removed from the pile, the player tossing and scoring points takes the sticks from the other player’s or team’s pile. The person who officially wins the game is the player who has gotten all 15 counting sticks. That hardly ever happens and the game can go on forever so you can make the rule that who ever has the most counting sticks when you decide to quit the game, wins!