Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susie Pickering

Oak Lane Day School

137 Stenton Ave, Blue Bell, PA 19422

Phone: 610-825-1055

Fax: 610-825-9288

Email: spickering@oaklanedayschool.org

First Graders Experience Lenape Culture

Each autumn at Oak Lane Day School, First Grade students study the culture of five groups of Native Americans, including the Lenape of the Eastern woodlands. Other nations under study are those of the Great Plains, the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Arctic. During the three-month long social studies unit, the children, in addition to other projects, try their hands at weaving, read many books on Native American traditions, beliefs, and myths and learn how a canoe and wigwam are made. The class also takes a trip to the Churchville Nature Center where they encounter actual Lenape artifacts and experience interactive exhibits depicting the life of the Lenape people.

The Churchville Nature Center located in Churchville, Pennsylvania provides a very hands-on approach to learning the various aspects of Lenape culture. The children spend their time at the center learning about what was like to be a Lenape child of 500 years ago. Activities include planting corn, beans, and squash, known as the “Three Sisters”, grinding corn, curing buckskin with rocks, fashioning tools and utensils from rock and wood, and cooking traditional foods. First Grade teacher Carol Finer remarks, “This trip is such an important part of our study because it really helps to bring to life what the children have only read about or seen in pictures.”

Oak Lane Day School students are comfortable with studying other people groups due to the value that the school places on diversity. With over 23% of students coming from diverse backgrounds, Oak Lane is naturally accepting of varied skin color, countries of origin, and religious beliefs.

Oak Lane Day School Information

An independent elementary school, founded in 1916 and located in Blue Bell, Oak Lane Day School serves a diverse population of boys and girls. Oak Lane honors each child's unique individuality while fostering intellectual, creative, academic, and personal growth within a diverse community of active, engaged learners. Small class sizes and an atmosphere that encourages children to develop their academic and social skills are priorities at Oak Lane, where learning is a meaningful and joyous pursuit. Oak Lane's country-like property of 30 acres along Butler Pike and Stenton Avenue boasts a stream, pond, woods, meadows, and specimen trees as well as athletic fields and playgrounds.

Oak Lane Day School is accredited by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS).