Sturbridge Village

We had a fantastic time at Sturbridge Village today. I really have to say that it is days like today that make me thrill to being a homeschooler. Learning out in the real world is so much more fun than being stuck in school. And when you are out learning things you are interested in, you really remember them so much more readily. E is finally showing interest in learning about the world, so getting out to do things is going to be so much easier than it has been in the past. What a totally awesome day. Truly what "Fun Friday" is all about.

The first thing we headed toward was the maple syrup demonstration. We listened in on the worker at the tail end of his presentation and then the group walked away and we had him all to ourselves. I gave my boys a good demonstration on how to ask a lot of questions. We all tasted the sap coming out of the tree. It was not a sugar maple, so it tasted like water. Later, we saw how they used to boil down the sap into syrup, and then sugar. And we got to see and smell some the of the maple sugar up close.

E was very interested in finding out what kind of tool they used to dig out the trough. I asked the gentleman for him, and we were told where to find it in the Freeman's barn. Later when we were up there, R found the area where all the axes were and we all discussed the differences between them; the one used for the trough was very different than all the others.

We had a pretty long visit with the potter. We watched him make a handle for a mug he was working on, while listening to him speak extensively on pottery in the 1830's. E had a spot right in the front and was really spellbound for quite a while. R actually had time to be finished, leave the room, and come back again. It's kind of nice for him to be the one waiting for once; it used to be E who'd get bored quickly and want to move on.

We spent quite a while with the blacksmith. We outlasted three groups coming and going. He was very dynamic and seemed to really enjoy working with the kids. He really encouraged questions and answered them all eagerly. Even the several of mine. The best part was when he told us all to move back, and he struck two really hot pieces of metal to stick them together. Sparks went flying everywhere. My kids really understand blacksmithing now. It was pretty memorable.
The subject of this picture led to a conversation about cud and the digestive system of cows. E listened attentively and R filled in on things he remembered. Also, watching one of them urinate led to an interesting chat about why dogs lift their legs when they go.
We also saw pigs which led to the fact that all those things are nipples and no, none of them are penises. We also ended up remembering helping out on the B's farm when they were away on vacation, and how upsetting it was to see our pork urinating in the water trough. I still can't believe we eat these things. E also remembered the little chick which had escaped the hen house and was following us all along. That's something he'll remember for a long time. He's really an animal person, I have to say.

R's favorite building has always been the saw mill. We were disappointed to find it is being worked on. I hope they get this up and running by summertime. They have several mills there, and R was very interested in seeing how they operate. We even went downstairs at the card mill to see the mechanics of it below. In the grist mill was a neat "touch the screen" gizmo which showed photos of different the different kinds of mills and how they function.

We got some physics concepts in too, at the simple machines building. R enjoyed learning (by doing) that two pulley's make things even easier than one. He was also excited to demonstrate that several smaller rocks would hold up a heavier one on this lever. This led to a really cool connection with how I have to move toward the middle whenever I ride a seesaw with one of them. Comprehension like this is so much harder out of a book - gotta love those hands on experiences!

We stopped in at a few other buildings, but they were mostly museum-type ones without speakers to bring it all to life. Despite this, the boys spent some time in the firearms building (surprise, surprise) and I learned that R really knows more than I thought about weapons. I was quite impressed, actually.

He also insisted we stop into the bank, but we didn't spend much time there. The banker asked R if he knew what "this" is and R responded with "it puts candles out" (it was a snuffer.) He was very impressed that R knew how it worked when he asked him. R wasn't interested in being tested any further so we left there pretty quickly.

We finished at the bakery/candy store, where R picked out two stick candies and E chose a giant sugar cookie. I had nothing, thank you, thank you. I bought one rootbeer barrel to bring home for B though.

We decided that the next time we come we will start with the buildings we didn't get to this time. We also decided to come back in April when the lambs are born, and again in May when the pigs are born (my kids have a thing about watching pigs nurse - must bring back warm fuzzy feelings or something.) I'm so psyched that they are looking forward to it, and that buying the membership will be worth it.

On the way home we listened to LionBoy since we finished Dragon Rider, which by the way, we loved. I'm so happy that they didn't even think to ask for the DVD player. E has come so far. Half way home he did ask that we turn the story off and enjoy some quiet time though, and after 10 minutes began singing. Hey, I'll take it. When B arrived home this evening the first thing he said was "I heard they have a good bakery there" so some things may never change.

E is very much into reading maps right now and kept referring to ours all day. He kept great track of where we were and where we were going. And later with B he used it to explain what we had done all day. It was so very cool to listen in on him explaining how they make maple syrup, and well, just about everything else I've written here, to B. It was kind of like a voluntary oral book report. Like I said, these real life experiences really stick.

Well, this has taken a long time to do, but now I have it all written down, and when I get my photos developed I will already have all my journaling done for my scrapbook page. This is really cool. I'll post all the photos online with a link over the weekend. But for now I'm off to put the chicken in the crockpot for the chicken paprikash. Tomorrow is the International Fair!

Here's hoping I don't time out while all these photos load. And my apologies for any bad formatting; I don't have time to fix it all, I just wanted it up!