Wyckoff House & Association

SCHOOL PROGRAMS

RESERVATIONS FOR THE 2010 -2011
SCHOOL YEAR OPENS AUGUST 9TH AT 11 AM

If you book by September 15th, you will receive a $30.00 discount for every group you book. Please use the code SchoolPrograms2011 to receive the discount.

Our goal is to help teachers as they educate students about the past via History, Math, Science and English/Language Arts. We believe our school programs, whether at the museum or in your school, should be used to introduce or conclude a unit, in place of a lesson, or to supplement classroom learning. For these reasons, the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum offers curriculum-based school programs and materials that are directly connected to New York State Learning Standards.

All programs use cooperative learning, inquiry, discovery and multiple intelligence strategies to provide students with a first-hand experience of life on a Dutch-American family farm. For all IN THE MUSEUM programs, teachers choose one of four hands-on workshops to compliment the history program experience; butter churning, herbal sachets, quill writing with natural ink and Colonial games & toys (this is a seasonal activity). For our seasonal science program, we offer Pesto- and Pickle-making as the hands-on activity. IN SCHOOL programs allow students to create a corn husk doll to compliment the experience.

Our school program year is from September 20, 2010 through June 23, 2011. Programs are Tuesday—Friday at either 10:00 am, 11:00 am or 12:30 pm, and last for approximately two hours. Please see our school programs brochure and reservation form.

We do not have a facility for lunch; however, classes are invited to picnic in the Wyckoff House Park provided that they clean up. If you'd like to order lunch with our local MacDonalds, please call them directly at 718.451.0834 and ask for a manager.

School Program Menu

All school programs AT THE MUSEUM cost $180 per class. (Maximum of 30 children with 5 chaperones, classroom teachers and one hands-on activity.)

IN SCHOOL programs cost $250 per class and include one hands-on activity.

Good Neighbor Policy: If your school is within the 11203, 11210, 11234 or 11236 zip codes, or Title 1, you will recieve a $30.00 discount for every reserved school program. Please mention the "Good Neighbor Policy" when making your reservation.

At the Wyckoff Farmhouse, we believe educators should design how they want to use our services and lessons to enhance students learning, because they know them so well. So, we offer a menu of lessons to be used as pre- and post-visit activities to choose from to enhance your experience before, during and after your visit. Please see the "Supplemental Materials" link to find a variety of lessons for many learning styles.

History Program

At The Museum

Colonial Life
Grades Pre-K - 1

How did families in colonial Brooklyn survive winter without having a store to go grocery shopping or to purchase clothing or toys? What did the children do during the day since there were no schools in 1652. Through objects, images, storytelling, and hands-on activities, students will learn about the everyday lives of a colonial family.

A Dutch Colonial Farmhouse in Brooklyn?
Grades 2 and up

Why is there a farmhouse in Brooklyn? Brooklyn was historically an agricultural community created to grow food for New Amsterdam. What was life like on the farm? Through primary sources, storytelling and object observation, students will learn what everyday family life was like on the farms of colonial Brooklyn.

In School

Slavery to Indentured Servant to Freedom: The Evolution of African-American Life in Colonial Brooklyn
Grades 4 and up

We begin with Jan Rodriguez, a free African who arrived to help establish a trading post with the Dutch in 1613. Next, the first eleven African male slaves sent to help build New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company. Finally, we conclude by reviewing the gradual abolition of slavery. Students will learn about the everyday life, roles, and importance of African-Americans during colonial times using hands-on activities, maps and primary and secondary sources. Hands-on activity: making cornhusk dolls

An Immigrant Story: Who is Pieter Claesen?
Grades 4 and up

Why is there a Dutch farmhouse in Flatlands, Brooklyn? Why would a teenage boy leave his home in the Netherlands, to migrate to the New World seeking his fortune? Using document-based questions, storytelling, objects, and hands-on activities, students will learn the story of an immigrant, Pieter Claesen, who arrived as an indentured servant and became one of the most prominent landowners of colonial New York. Hands-on activity: making cornhusk dolls

Science Programs

At The Museum
September - November and April - June
The following programs is conducted completely outdoors, rain or shine, and includes one of the following hands-on activities: pesto or pickle making.

Urban Ecology
Grades 2 and up

During this two-hour program, students will understand what it was like to plant in colonial times, how the sky helps plants grow, how a plant ‘eats,’ ‘drinks,’ and ‘breathes,’ and why Brooklyn is an urban ecosystem.