Dressed as Pilgrims, Hampton Bays Elementary School kindergartners made the difficult voyage across the mighty Atlantic Ocean in a makeshift Mayflower as part of teacher Mary Motz’s fourth annual Mayflower re-enactment on Nov. 22. 

While on the “ship,” Motz read “The First Thanksgiving” by Linda Hayward to her class. When they reached land, the students disembarked the cardboard vessel and learned to “survive” in the new world the Wampanoag way. 

The kindergartners took part in a variety of hands-on activities, including simulating corn, bean and squash planting in the classroom’s sand table; making clay pots embellished with shells; and beading wampum necklaces. They also constructed a Pilgrim shelter using boxes, sheets, tape and yardsticks and played the Pilgrim game ninepin.