Intro:
Set sail to a new continent! Children will adore these crafts and the telling of historical (or
fictional) stories with them. A terrific activity for critical thinking, creative thinking,
storytelling and historical discussion.

Set Up Ideas:
Make your boat building start off smoothly by having all the materials organized and
ready. Like any construction project, children will want to have all their materials
prepared and ready before beginning.

Let’s Get Started:
The make these exciting ships, you'll need to gather sturdy craft paper rolls, wood craft
sticks, red construction paper and white construction paper. You may also wish to gather
a large roll of blue paper to serve as an ocean backdrop.

Tips and Tricks:
Measure the length of the slits that you'll need to cut in the craft roll and in the paper
before beginning. Then, cut all of the slits before running the craft sticks through them.

Follow up Activity:
Make waves by displaying your pilgrim ships on a setting of blue construction paper. Your
pilgrim ships will also make for fun dramatic play props.

Picking up and leaving home in search of a better life isn't easy, but it's what the
pilgrims did. This is a great opportunity to discuss how helping people in need and
welcoming those who are on their own pilgrimage to a better life is part of the
foundation of America.

Steps:

1. Create slits in the craft tube sized so that the craft sticks will sit inside of them and remain
   in place.
2. Make sails by cutting slits into white paper rectangles and running the craft stick through
   the strips.
3. Create flags by adding small strips of colored construction paper to the very top of the
   craft sticks.
4. Set sail to the new world and use your ships for dramatic play retellings of the journey to
   America.