Mood:
chillin'Now Playing: Hall & Oates "Private Eyes"
Topic: History
This past week, my oldest son's class took a field trip to Old Deerfield. This is a really fun field trip for both the kids and adults, and Cal's teacher, knowing I'm a fiber person, requested that one of the events would have to do with spinning or weaving.
Our first stop there was with Mr. Wells, who talked about how the Native Americans would have lived around the time that the Deerfield outpost was built.
Here is Mr. Wells telling the children about hunting practices for food and clothing. He is holding a deer skin.
Here is the dedication plaque in the Indian House Memorial.
Our next stop was in the Bloody Brook Tavern, which is now where they have the fiber arts.
Our demonstrator showed the children how to card wool, finger spin and weave.
Then on to the kitchen, were our next demonstrator showed the children how one would cook using similar tools such as a birch branch whisk.
The children made a cheese omelet and baked pumpkin with spices. Both items were delicious!
Our last stop was at Dame School, where our dame teacher talked to us about how a child would have gone to Dame School to learn how to read and recite. Unfortunately, the picture came out too dark, but we had fun in this area too.
I'm grateful to my son's teacher for introducing the children to Historic Deerfield. She has brought out an intense interest in my son for colonial history, something I have myself due to my father's influence during the Bicentennial in 1976. My dad took us on trips around Boston, Philadelphia and Valley Forge that year showing us historic sites. Since then, I have loved colonial history and now I see that happening in my own son.
I must share that during the cooking demo, my son told the demonstrator that he was part of the sheep and wool festival, and that his Mom raised rabbits. :) This lead to a quick discussion between the demonstrator and I about angora rabbits, and spinning, which was fun for me.
This next week at Deerfield, they will be hosting a tea for people to learn how a "tea" would have been done back in 1705. It sounds like fun, and I hope to get there!
