San Jacinto Christian Academy fourth-graders set their time machines for a marketplace, doctor's office and pharmacy in Colonial America.
The 41 students traveled back in time on Oct. 26 to discover how people settled the 13 American colonies. The costume-wearing Colonial Day served as the culmination of three weeks of history study about the time period, teacher Frank Blackwell said.
The day included a doctor's office and pharmacy, where earthworms subbed for the blood-sucking leeches, and a marketplace containing "actual live chickens and things the colonists would have bought when going to market in a colonial town,'' Blackwell said.
Fourth-graders learned about games that were played back then, including checkers and dominoes. They also sampled teas and food from the era, such as Johnny cakes, ham and chicken pudding, he said.
During the study unit, kids have been most amazed that things did not move at today's fast pace, Blackwell said.
"I think the surprising thing that they've discovered is the fact that it took so long for (colonists) to get from Europe to here,'' he said. "We're used to everything being instantaneous. It took as much as three months to get from England to America in a ship.''
The fourth-graders also talked about the diseases people faced during the time period.
"They were really shocked at the number of people who died from illness,'' Blackwell said. "When they get the flu, they go to the doctor, they get it fixed.''