The American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark is offering free labor arts classes throughout the fall. Learn more about the classes and other resources they provide here.
Schedule of Labor Arts Classes, Fall 2024
Who: Designed for 3rd-5th grade students; all families are welcome
When: Saturdays from 11:30am – 1pm
Address: American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark, 83 Norwood St, Haledon, NJ 07508
Phone: 973-595-7953 Email: labormuseum@gmail.com
Oct. 5 – “Meet the Bottos, an Immigrant Family” Learn about Mom, Dad, four daughters, and community members. Visit the Botto’s kitchen, parlor, and more. Create a drawing inspired by the home using markers. Learn and play the bowling game of bocce to understand the pastime of immigrant workers like the Bottos
Oct. 12 – “Mystery Tools at the Botto House” Learn about the everyday tools used by members of the Botto family. Guess their uses and discover how certain tools and appliances shaped daily life in the early 20th century. Students will be assigned roles as members of a fictional family and act as their characters to learn more about the Bottos’ experience.
Oct. 19 – “Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta: The United Farm Workers” Learn more about the United Farm Workers (UFW) through reading about the Hispanic labor advocates Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in two short stories. Write a poem about the UFW and recite it!
Oct. 26th – “Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A.” Read Diana Cohn’s book of this title and discover how the struggle for a fair workplace extends beyond the Haledon area and into other parts of the nation. Design a strikers’ banner and play a labor-based board game to learn more about American workers’ history.
Nov. 2 – “The Clothing Workers’ Strike” Read this short story to learn about Annie Shapiro and her fellow workers who fought for fair working conditions. Select a costume; role-play your own ending to the story.
Nov. 16th – “Streets of Gold by Rosemary Wells” Learn about an immigrant girl’s life in her homeland and in her new home, the United States, through this short fictional tale. What challenges did her family face? What was it like to go to school in America? Create a watercolor painting.
Nov. 23 – “When Everybody Wore a Hat by William Steig” Explore an immigrant working family’s life in America during World War 1 and themes of solidarity and adventure, as the newly arrived immigrants navigate their new homeland. Use glue and paper to make your own hat. Optionally, create a union logo to draw onto your design.
Nov. 30 – “Learning about Labor through Story” Read Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type, by Doreen Cronin, and add 3 comic-style pages with writing and illustration to the story as an alternative conclusion. Use an historical typewriter to create a note, like the cows in the story.
Dec. 7th – “Wire Women: Light It Up by Sharon Szymanski” Learn about the experiences of union electricians who are women (in a traditionally male job). Use colored pencils and markers to create a drawing of an electrician at work in a setting of your choice.
Dec. 14th – “Child Labor in America” Create a classroom play entitled Courage at Work, acting out different characters based on real people in labor history. Select a costume and attempt to discover the many aspects of life as a mill worker through acting.
Dec. 21st – “Songs of Solidarity: Woody Guthrie” Listen to songs by renowned folk artist Woody Guthrie and read the lyrics to explore working people’s struggles and dreams for a better life. Create and write 10 lines of lyrics for your own song about a workplace of your choice. Optionally, present the song to the class.