The next couple of posts will be photo-heavy & long. We took a
fantastic field trip to Plymouth, MA. We spent one whole day at Plimouth Plantation. It was their spring "Homeschool Days" so we were able to get reduced admission but they also did classes throughout the day. The other little boy you will see in some of the photos is my nephew. My sister took the trip with us.
We arrived in time to watch the orientation film after we registered for our classes and paid our admission fee. We headed right to the first class we decided to take which was about the Bible and the pilgrims. Unfortunately, it was heavy on lecture but the boys did really well. I think the parents enjoyed it far more than the kids. We were even able to check out some Geneva Bibles (the precursor to the King James version). The instructor was excellent.
The first class ran late so the boys didn't get a break between the next class. This next one was all about games Pilgrim & Native kids played. Each child was also able to put together their own games to take home. There was a fee for this particular class so there weren't quite so many people in it.
The boys waiting patiently with their materials to make their own Native game of "Twig & Pin."
Conductor was good at this game. Although, I think I got a shot of him here pinning his cousin's ring instead of his own.
Happy & I were in a different room at this point. He wanted to use quill & ink to create his Pilgrim game.
We I made a Fox & Geese game for Happy. We I used quill & ink to ink in the board. Happy was busily using quill & ink to draw on a piece of paper beside me.
After our classes we ate our picnic lunch. It was COLD. Thankfully we found an outside pavilion that was somewhat sheltered to eat in. Then we were off to explore. There were a few school groups at Plimouth on this day but most headed out after lunch. We really didn't meet up with all that many people while we were exploring.
Our first stop was the barn. The only animal there were some goats. They were still fun to check out.
Then we headed off to find the Native village. It wasn't far away. There was a handful of Native people there that day. While they dress in costume and go about their tasks as if it were the 1600s, they talk to you as if they are your next door neighbor. This is due to the fact that we wouldn't be able to understand each other if they spoke their native tongue. It was quite fascinating to talk to everyone and see what they were doing. All of them were very helpful and knowledgeable.
This woman was working on a pair of moccasins.
He was making a canoe by burning out the inside of a tree. He said they do two a year. One in the spring an done in the fall - when it's cooler. It takes about three weeks to make one.
This woman was cooking over an open fire. She shared what it was she was making and how she did it. It was really kind of neat to check out. Nearby was her young child playing...
and a large pile of furs....
in which she said her two month old son was sound asleep. I told you it was cold!
I found it interesting when we asked about meal times. They didn't have them. The woman would make sure food was always available and they would eat when they were hungry. What a concept, right? Shortly after this I did see a few of the Native men with a bowl of the above. And I can't remember what this was called. The pot directly over the fire was full of fish chowder (non-diary since they wouldn't have anything like that back then). The other small pot was full of cranberry tea. The pots would be rotated between the stones to warm as needed.
Before we left the village we headed in to one of the houses.
This young man was in there. He was very knowledgeable. He answered any question the boys (or anyone) had. When asked about fires, I found it interesting that the Native people only used dead fall for fires. It made no smoke and this meshed with their beliefs to basically do no unnecessary harm to their world. Both this man and the woman cooking made mention of the wood and the fires. In fact, here is a photo of the smoke going up out of the smoke hole in the house....
We spent close to an hour in the Native village. From here we walked along the water front on a fun boardwalk. Stopping for some photo ops.
I really enjoyed my time in the Pilgrim village and I think the boys did as well.
There were quite a few interpretors and they were fantastic! In fact, shortly after walking in to the village we came across three woman sitting by the bread oven waiting for their bread to bake.
My sister asked, "What breed of chickens are those?" There were a few pecking around near the feet of the ladies. She was told, "Breed, mistress? Why they are just chickens. There is no breed!" That's when we realized this was going to be fun!
I loved how they each would spend as much time as you wanted to stand there with you. They answered any question you asked, but with an accent and sometimes a curious stare if you brought up something very much 21st century.
Various women were working on preparing gardens.
This woman was very nice. She was "Dutch" so her house looked a bit different than the rest. She was also working on her garden this day.
This gentleman was very gracious and spent quite a bit of time chatting with the boys.
We spent probably close to an hour in the Pilgrim village. The last stop there was at the fort. This was every little boy's (and big boy) dream!
the view from the top of the fort
See what I mean? All they need is a broken stick and an imagination.
One last group shot.
After the boys had a chance at the gift shop we headed back to where we were staying. However, we decided to take a detour through downtown Plymouth. We knew Plymouth Rock wouldn't be all that exciting, so my sister shared some of its history while we headed over to find it. We took a quick walk to check it out and then headed back to our campground to grab supper. All in all a long but tiring day.
