School Project on the Seneca Tribe

The sun is shining, it's 60-something degrees, and it's Spring Break! Woo-hoo! You know it's spring in Augusta when the azaleas, the dogwoods, and the Golf Traffic signs are in bloom. Another sign of spring: school projects. Mary Beth's class has been doing a unit on Native Americans.

Yesterday, the two 2nd grade classrooms were transformed into a museum about Native Americans. Each child had researched a different tribe and prepared a report, a poster, and a model home. They had also made clay pots, weavings, and dream catchers. Earlier in the year, the students had written letters to the current governments of their tribes, and some had mailed back letters and information. Mary Beth's tribe was the Seneca, and they had mailed her lots of brochures. Too bad she didn't get the Creeks (Muskogee) since she's 1/64th Muskogee herself, but we enjoyed learning about the Seneca tribe! All of the parents came to see the displays. They were all very proud!




We made our longhouse by gluing bark and sticks to a structure made from a narrow shoebox and an oatmeal box cut in half lengthwise for the roof. We spray-painted it brown before putting the bark on. Our "hide" door was cut from a scrap of suede, and we found a doll-house sized bowl and basket and some tiny vegetables at the craft store. I tried to brainstorm how we could fashion some tiny lacrosse sticks since Seneca boys liked to play that game. But, Mary Beth said, "Mama, you're getting carried away."