Miller Avenue School second-grade students had a remarkable educational experience when they visited the historic one-room schoolhouse at The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook.

As part of their social studies curriculum, they learned what a typical school day was like for a child in the 1880s by solving math problems on slate boards, learning about Spencerian script, the standard writing style of the period and playing 19th century games. To add to the day, some of them brought their lunch in a paper bag, a basket, a tin pail, or wrapped in a piece of cloth.

Students were encouraged to dress as if they lived in the time period – girls with long dresses, aprons, bonnets, shawls and boots, and boys who wore straw hats, suspenders and pulled their socks up over their pants to give the appearance of breeches.

“We had a wonderful field trip,” said teacher Kristen Gironda, who encouraged students to share their experiences with their families and note the differences between the modern Miller Avenue School and the vintage one-room schoolhouse.