The story of the Christmas Tree Ship, or otherwise known as the "Rouse Simmons" is a part of the Midwest's and Great Lake's heritage. This story has been revived due in part to a popular musical, recent paintings by Charles Vickery, and a book by Rochelle M. Pennington.
It has become an important part of our studies here at Quincy Elementary, and this year our group took this story into their own hands. It was a daunting task to pull off this short play in just two days. From learning about the story, writing the script, designing the props, and bringing in costumes, all the students pitched in to pull this off.
We had some help from an activity gleaned from an amazing Odyssey teacher named Linda Hamilton of Richmond Schools, who put together quite a performance of this story. Next year we hope to build on what we learned from this years group and help bring this story alive for more than just a classroom. Thanks again to my phenomenal group of fourth grades for making this story their own in just two days. The memory of the Christmas Tree Ship lives on!
