Since New York State history is a large part of the fourth grade social studies curriculum, Mrs. Chandler and Mrs. Rank’s classes recently took a field trip to the Luykas Van Alen House and Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse, and to the Columbia County Museum to tour the exhibition “Civil War Panorama, Columbia County 1860-1865.”
The Van Alen House was built long after NY had become an English colony, but still retains evidence of the impact of the Dutch on our area. Through observation, students learned about how the Dutch settlers maintained their foods, architecture, celebrations, language, and religion, even during the colonial period, and how these traditions have influenced our area to this day.
In the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse, students experienced life as a student in a one-room school house in the 1920s. They were able to see the similarities and differences between life as a student back then, and today.
