Emmaus Heritage Alliance plans a program for East Penn 3rd Graders... In June of 2017 the 1803 House, along with the Knauss Homestead, Shelter House and “God’s Acre” hosted a Pilot Program in partnership with the East Penn School District. Representing each historical site, the Emmaus Heritage Alliance’s goal was to match a program with the third-grade curriculum.
During a two day adventure, third graders from Lincoln and Jefferson elementary schools had a walking tour from site to site exploring and learning about the history of Emmaus and how children lived during the time periods of each location. Prior to the site visits, the children were visited by two representatives from Emmaus Heritage Alliance who told stories and showed pictures of what the children would see on their site visits a few days later.
The 1803 House [built in 1803] showed the children hearth cooking, butter churning, apple paring and herb usage. The Knauss Homestead [built in 1777] talked about children's chores, writing in a diary and the importance of streams near the homes. The Shelter House [built in 1734] taught the children about the trails into Emmaus, how to make corn cob dolls and that there is a not part of the corn that was wasted. The Moravian Church [established in 1747] showed the children the importance and layout of God’s Acre Cemetery, which was also the first location of the original church. This program was the 1st step in matching their studies with local history.
Since its inception in 2017, the program has grown in leaps and bounds. In 2020, 5 schools will be participating in Fall: Jefferson, Lincoln, Macungie, Alburtis and Shoemaker. Grants have been acquired for transportation and activity supplies, many more volunteers have come forward to help and the programs at each site have expanded. The 1803 House looks forward to our next adventure with the 3 graders this Fall. 2017 Picture Summary; 2019 East Penn Press Article For all published articles Go to Resources.
