The Old Stone House

We are happy to welcome new students and old to our Garden Explorers Spring Session. Space is limited so please register online today so you don’t miss out!

Wednesdays, March 28 to June 6
No class on April 11th
12 sessions, 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Fee: $325
For children ages 7 – 11
We offer free pickup from PS 321 and The Children’s School

Discover the world of plants, gardening and food at the Old Stone House.

• Start seeds indoors and outdoors
• Transplant flowers and herbs 
• Work with compost
• Use garden tools for spring planting
• Study plants, flowers, insects and other garden dwellers
• Prepare simple foods 
• Play lots of games

The program will take place inside and around the Old Stone House. A light snack is provided.

Register online now > >

Our popular program is back this summer with more hands-on fun at the Old Stone House for children ages 7 – 11.

Two-week sessions
9 am – 3 pm, Monday through Friday

Register online > >

Session 1: July 2 – 13 (closed July 4)
Session 2: July 16 – 27

$550 each session
($350 non-refundable deposit due upon registration)

Learn about plants and their uses; gather and plant seeds; explore soil, worms, and insects; use garden tools; play; make art projects; and share experiences.

Much of the day will be spent outdoors in the gardens surrounding the Old Stone House and MS 51, with an indoor meeting room next door at MS 51.

To register online, click here >>>

• New for 2011-2-12
• 90 minutes, grade 4-12

Students will use hands-on activities to explore life near a tidal creek in Brooklyn, before and after Europeans settled along the Gowanus.  They will learn about the plants and animals found in a salt marsh, and how Native Americans fished in the Gowanus and grew crops near its shores.  Students will also discover how the Dutch used the creek to power tidal mills and to transport their crops.

• New for 2011-2012
• 90 minutes, grades 2-5

How did colonists treat illnesses?  Students will compare colonial and modern medicine, and learn to identify common herbs, including some that still grow wild in Brooklyn.  Students will also use a mortar and pestle to grind up more familiar garden herbs–such as sage and lavender– to make a traditional poultice. At the end of the program, students will taste some refreshing Freedom tea.

• African Americans in the American Revolutionary War Era
• Grades 4 through 7
• Time period covered: Revolutionary Era, 1735 to 1790

The Declaration of Independence announced that “All men are created equal.” Was this an opportunity for African Americans to call for an end to slavery?

This course explores the lives and works of five prominent African Americans of the 18th Century. Students learn about the inventions of Benjamin Banneker, read the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley, and learn about the courageous struggles of patriots Crispus Atticus, Prince Whipple and James Armistead Lafayette.

• New for 2011-2012
• 45 minutes, ages 4-5

Designed especially for the youngest learners, this program allows children to explore life in 18^th- century Brooklyn through pretend play and object-based learning.  Students will dress in period clothes, play with traditional games and toys, try out household chores —and enjoy a colonial treat.

• Exploration and Interpretation of Period Documents
• Grades: 4-12
• Time period covered: Colonial Era – Early Revolution Eras

Working with original letters, bills of sale, maps and official public documents, students gather in small groups to examine source material and discuss what information these documents can provide about life in Brooklyn during the American Revolution.

• Work and Play – A Child´s Life in Colonial Brooklyn
• Grades 1- 4
• Time period covered: Dutch Colonial Period c. 1700

This workshop allows students to experience the Dutch colonial period through hands-on activities of the era. In addition to chores such as butter making, carding, spinning and weaving, younger students rotate through a variety of Colonial games. Older students learn about spontaneous fermentation through bread starters, candle and soap making and sewing and quilting.