Fifth-grade teachers Paige Campbell and Jane Donsker, at the private Hillbrook School in Los Gatos, kicked off a unit about the Civil War (1861­65) with an explorative, supplemental approach to classroom activities. The two teachers and a handful of parents took more than 40 students on a field trip March 3 to the Saratoga home of Bill and Kathy Cleary. The Clearys have two boys who attend Hillbrook—Dylan, a sixth-grader, and Ian, a fifth-grader.

Since he was 6 years old, Bill Cleary says, he has been forming an extensive collection of Civil War artifacts and memorabilia, which he pulls out of storage once a year for the fifth-graders. This is the second year he has opened his home to the students. And the display will stay up for the next three months for other students in surrounding schools to view.

There are enough relics to transform the Cleary house from floor to ceiling, including: an 1858 American flag, actual clothing, musical instruments, tools, model trains, weapons and dioramas of toy soldiers that detail battle scenes such as the 1863 Battle of Fredericksburg.

"It's a real hands-on museum where the students can touch artifacts and get a visual feel for what happened," Campbell says.

The students moved in groups between stations in the Cleary home, learning about, handling and exploring Civil War encampments, technology of the time, colorful uniforms, naval battles and the Battle on Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

"We are trying to teach the kids about living history," Cleary says, adding that he hoped students left his home with a love of the past and an understanding of its relevance to present times.

"The fact of the matter is, it was not just a war," he adds. "It's a war that still goes on, and there are issues that are not resolved."

Cleary gave examples of slang vocabulary from the era such as "skedaddle," which means let's get out of here. "Greenbacks" were what soldiers would have called money, and "grab a root" translates as get back to work.

In his library, Cleary has displayed vintage swords, including one belonging to the honor guard, George O. Vail, who served as a pallbearer and watched over the remains at President Abraham Lincoln's funeral. These artifacts are the real thing, but Cleary notes that the weapons are no longer functional.

While Cleary was giving students a pop quiz about the Civil War in his backyard, his wife, Kathy, was overseeing the preparation of a period meal of Yankee pot roast, apple tart and other foods associated with the Civil War era. The food was prepared by French chef Philippe Bressolier.

Kathy Cleary says her husband's goal was to have a few kids leave their home "infected with the history bug." When students see pictures and dioramas of battles, she says, it sparks them to ask questions about what the military actually experienced. Visual and audio stimulation is sometimes easier for students to grasp, she says, than dates and general concepts outlined in a textbook.

"This gives the bigger picture," she says.

Ten-year-old Katie Williams learns that when soldiers ran out of ammunition, the end of their gun could be used as a bayonet. But Cleary adds that bayonets were rarely the actual cause of mortality.

"It was interesting to learn that one of the main reasons the Civil War started was because some people wanted to stop slavery," says Katie. Another factor that caused the war, Cleary says, was the dichotomy between the states.

As the Civil War unit continues, Campbell says, students will be researching one area of the Civil War and writing a historical report. Then in April, the Hillbrook campus will be transformed into an encampment.