November 4th was a homeschool day (one of a few offered each year) at Sturbridge village. Maddie and I went early that morning; packed to the gills with food, car activiites for Maddie, and our trusty video camera. After breakfast and Mc'ds we were off. Its a quick drive about 2 hours. I only heard one "are we there yet" so that was good! Once in the village Maddie had time to rush into the dress up area to get "in costume". The kids play area is in the main entrance building and has many hands on things to do. Maddie seemed intent on washing all the clothes. We had 2 classes to attend during the day. The early class was "celebrations"; where maddie learned a traditional Thanksgiving dance. She made a fancy paper fan and learned the language of the fan. Ask her to show you next time you see her!. The second class was after lunch in the afternoon. Maddie used apples to make "rubber stamp" prints in an apple information booklet. We both could have done without the 30 minute story on how an apple grows, yawn! Some of the highlights of our trip. Maddie got to chat with many of the villagers. She spoke with the lady in the farmhouse, who was making use of the many harvest items available to her. Pies, preserves and such. We watched the blacksmith, we saw the farmer moving his oxen (she was invited to touch but declined stating "no way man their HUGE!", we talked to the banker and learned all coins were accepted no matter nationality since they just weighed them for the gold or silver to determine the worth. The main highlight I beleive was chatting with the potter. Maddie was invited out of the whole group of kids to spin the wheel using her foot. I think she really got a kick out of that. We had a great time a mixed in a bit of learning too. We will no doubt be back many times.Maddies video with the potter:
The farmer and his oxen:
Maddie setting the Thanksgiving table:
No comments:
Post a Comment