This article describes a unit of study about Colonial America given in Lubbock, Texas, in which fifth grade students learn about the crafts system by becoming apprentices for a time. The students apply to apprentice with a master crafts person, a mentor, and learn some basic methods of a craft. Mentors are typically students' relatives, friends of the family, museum educators, or business representative who enjoy teaching the basics of a specific craft. Students spend three hours outside the classroom learning form their mentors. Later, they repay the mentors for their instruction with three hours of service. Students produce a craft product, and then share some off their new knowledge to their peers and to younger students. At the end of the unit of study, students have learned a new craft and have provided community service by helping their mentors. Students gain many things from the unit of study. They learn from and relate to an adult other than their usual classroom teach; they teach social studies content to their peers and younger students; they perform useful community service for someone they know; and they are recognized for their efforts. Students get to make choices in how and what they learn; they are invited to choose a topic, learn about it, and apply their knowledge in a useful way on Colonial Crafts Day. (Contains 6 notes.)