Henley Elementary's Pioneer Day a step back in time

Third- and fourth-graders at Henley Elementary School took a step back in time for a few hours on Thursday, spending the morning learning about games and activities children their age participated in during the 1800s. They learned to make homemade butter, created twirlers and whirly gigs, and used a hammer and nail to create a tin start Christmas tree ornament.

The activities were part of the school’s Pioneer Day. Students were encouraged to dress the part as well. Some girls wore pioneer-style gingham dresses and several boys dressed in coonskin caps and cowboy hats. The day ties in with the social studies curriculum, which focuses on Oregon and the Oregon Trail in fourth grade and the nature of communities in third-grade.