Monday, September 22, 2008

our pilgrimage















So many amazing historic sites are now offering Homeschool Days to all the of the families out there who are choosing to educate their children at home and have the freedom to pick up and go to these wonderful places!

On Friday we traveled up to Plimouth, Massachusetts to walk through Plimoth Plantation and board the Mayflower II. The villages, both the Native and Colonial English, are filled with men, woman and even a few children who are living life as if it were the 1620s.

The most exciting part for me was to step inside of the homes- both Native and Colonist- and see what their family life would have been like.
What they ate, what kind of bedding they had, what kind of supper did they have sitting on the table, what herbs and vegetables were growing in their gardens, was there a Bible open on their desk?
After walking through the Wampanoag Village and seeing their bark lodges, smoked-out canoes, fire pits, deer-skin beds and hunting tools, Nicolas told us that he wished that he were a Wampanoag. When we asked him why he told us because that way he could use a hatchet all day and live in the woods and hunt. Yes. This is a boy who was designed to be living off the land and pursuing the simple life of self-sufficiency!

For Sophia and Nicolas, the highlight was trying to catch the chickens as they ran through the back gardens of the Colonial Village. I think that might have been my fault. I mentioned the game chase the chicken to them and then next thing we heard was massive amounts of clucking followed by laughter and panting. I actually think this would have been there job if they were Pilgrim children. The catching and plucking of the feathers after the catching.

I must mention that we were minus one that day. My gracious and patient sister was kind enough to offer to take Elias for the day while we enjoyed a day out with the older pair. We missed him, but not enough to make us regret our decision to leave him behind! We took our time exploring and lingered over certain exhibits longer than others. This was nice and very much appreciated by all.

4 comments:

Amanda said...

Looks absolutely beautiful!

I am jealous. I hope to take my kids there someday. We loved our tour of the Mayflower II...there were ladies with English accents and one of mine especially loved that.

Nick needs a hatchet for his birthday next year.

Anonymous said...

Looks like the kids had some great hands on learning experiences. That is the best kind of learning. There is a new book out written by two Wampanoag tribal members that is full of information from their perspective: A Cultural History of the Native Peoples of Southern New England. It was very informative when I read it.

daniele @ domestic serenity said...

okay, that's it. we're heading up to plimoth plantation next yr! my younger children haven't been there and I would love to return.
glad you had such a great time. beautiful pictures.

Angela said...

wow! what an awesome experience for the kids! we have been to ft. vancouver out here on the west coast, and it was nice, but your trip seems really exceptional!