We took the most wonderful field trip yesterday! Are you ready?? This is going to be a long post! It was called Living History Day put on by an organization called Vision Heirs (
www.visionheirs.com). There must have been over 500 people there and I'm not usually good with crowds of that magnitude, but they did a fantastic job of controlling the crowds and giving everyone something to look at and do.
They started the morning with a fife and drum corps marching into the gymnasium, followed by a short drama which set the stage for the time period (Spring, 1777). We watched them re-enact a few scenes during Colonial America when the Redcoats were demanding allegiance to the King. They did a wonderful job!
Then the crowd was divided up into seven groups and we went to our first of 7 stations. We were sent to games first, where we learned what early American children did for fun. Here, Morgan is trying his hand at a hoop & stick! Mason and Morgan both did very well at it, but neither one could figure out what the colonial kids saw in it!
Next, they played a game called Graces. You toss a hoop back and forth by crossing two sticks, then quickly sliding them apart to fling the hoop toward each other. This is supposed to be done in a very graceful manner, which was used to teach the young women grace and poise... hence, the name. I daresay, my boys were not very graceful at it. :)
They also had some 9-pin games set up (bowling), some checkers, Shut the Box, and my Aunt Ruthie's favorite - Nine Men's Morris. The boys enjoyed the jump ropes, and even gave Maddox a go at it.
As an added surprise, we ran into several of our friends from church who were on their own homeschool field trip. Here's a couple pictures of two of our favorite friends...
Above is Mason with our friend, John. He's a baseball player and also likes to collect coins (one of Mason's passions), so we took John with us after the field trip to visit a couple of coin shops and then to our Friday night juggling lessons! I think John had a very full day. :)
Below is Morgan with our friend, Elizabeth - John's younger sister. Elizabeth is in Bible study with Morgan and she is the most joyful young woman you'd ever meet! I always love running into her because she can lift your spirits like no one else!
Next, we went to the militia station where a British soldier explained to us exactly what it was like to be on the battlefield. I was impressed by their full costumes...
Maddox was fascinated by their swords and kept telling our friend, Sully, to "Yook at dat SORD!!"
Then they lined up the boys on two different sides and gave them a taste of what it was like to be on the front lines of a battle.
During the above battle, the women & girls were taken aside to learn what "camp followers" did. There's no question how hard it was to keep the soldiers fed and clothed during the long war. Below is Elizabeth learning a new appreciation for her washer and dryer at home.
And we saw how the women cooked a couple chickens over a spit fire dug in the ground. She said these chickens needed to be turned every 30 minutes and they'd cook all day.
Looks yummy!
Our next station was Agriculture, where we saw some sheep in a pen, along with chickens (we already saw their fate) and turkeys. Then they showed us the natural progression of the sheep's wool after being sheared. They taught the kids how to clean the wool, card it, and then spin it into thread.
Little does Michael know, but this is my next dream! You may think I'm crazy, but one of these days, I will have a spinning wheel of my own. What could be more rewarding than crocheting or knitting something out of wool that you spun yourself?! I'll leave the sheep shearing for someone who is a little more experienced... and someone who can actually keep sheep. :)
Then they showed us the process of weaving it into something useful. I was amazed at how complex the process is just to THREAD this loom! It was neat to watch her use the pedals below to determine the pattern of her weaving.
Next stop was to learn how to make baskets and brooms.
One thing that was so neat about this field trip was how incredibly patient these young people were. It was a huge crowd to manage, and they had to give their presentations 7 different times (plus another 7 for the afternoon session)... but they still had enough enthusiasm and patience to help little guys like Maddox have a fun time.
It was interesting to watch this woman make a broom completely from scratch. Boy... we sure do take a LOT for granted.
Along with baskets and brooms, this station also demonstrated several woodworking tools. My dad would have LOVED this part! The boys all sure did!
Check out this lathe... he's making chair legs.
...but what you can't see in the picture is how the guy had to step on a treadle to keep the lathe spinning! Below is the whole contraption. Okay, Dad... get busy!! Certainly you have to parts and pieces to make one of those?!
Other tools we saw in action included this planing saw. This man was working on a gun barrel which we would see in a more finished form later...
And below is John wielding an adz! Can you imagine doing all of this by hand in order to build your house? No wonder they were just small one room huts!
And here is where we saw how they made rakes.
Other stations included music where we listened to songs of the time period - songs that celebrated and songs that mourned.
We also saw more cooking... and we got to sample some "orange suck-it". This is orange peel that was boiled twice, and then boiled a third time in sugar water. I liked it, but the boys didn't care for it. I told them that in those days, there weren't any airheads or sour patch kids... and that they would've been thrilled to have had something so sweet to suck on!
There was also a gunmaker (here's where we saw what the earlier man was making with the planing saw).
Our last station was the blacksmith, and because time was short, we didn't get to hear his whole presentation. Therefore, I'm not sure what he was working on.
But the kids got to help him with the bellows to keep his fire hot!
Lastly, they had a battle re-enactment. This was what Mason & Morgan loved the best. They were shooting blanks, so the smoke from the guns made it look so real.
As a final climax to the morning, Colonel George Washington even made his grand entrance and talked with the crowd. I couldn't get a good picture of him.
Well, that's all my pictures! Can you tell that I had a good time?! My boys loved it as well, but any of you who really know me, know that I probably enjoyed it ten times more than they did. In my heart, I truly wish I could've lived among these strong people and learned to endure life the way they did. In my own personal opinion, all of the modern conveniences we enjoy today have only served to make us a weaker race. So I embrace anything having to do with homesteading and being self sufficient. I would be pleased as punch to live in a world without Wal-Mart.
The Vision Heirs group puts on these Living History Days twice a year, so if it looks like something you'd enjoy, make plans to come up in the fall! ...I will DEFINITELY be going back! (they may just have to hire me...)
Michele
Below is a photo I took from one of the tenders that took us to the port. You can see our windows better. In fact, when you'd stand on the bow of the ship, you could look up into our windows and see us waving!
When you first walk in, you're in the "living room"...aka, "Maddox's room". This is actually the second window to the left of my arrow:
Shown above, this room had two chairs, two footstools, a TV, and storage cabinets for the fridge, room safe, and clothes. It also had a couch that folds out into a bed. Maddox has never slept in a bed so big! The photo above shows Maddox playing around on it as a couch. Our stateroom attendant turned it back into a couch every morning.
From the dressing room, you entered the "bathroom". This one was bigger than our last - which doesn't say a whole lot! You can see the reflection of the shower in one of the mirrors. It's just big enough to get in, soap up the walls, and then spin yourself around to get clean. 
Also from the dressing room, you could enter the "Master bedroom"... it even had it's own door for complete privacy! It's not shown in the photo, but off to the right there was a full closet with two hanging racks and several shelves. It also had a desk area with lighted mirrors, and several drawers. There was a TV on a stand with more storage, along with two nightstands. And, of course, a big window all to ourselves!
Finally, there was the "guest bedroom", just off the living room. It was separated by a door as well, and served as Mason & Morgan's room! They loved their bunks, and they also had a full length closet and their own window. This window is the one my arrow is directly pointing to in the photos above.
Needless to say, we were living in STYLE on this cruise!! 
...to be continued!
