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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Back in the Day...

If you don't already know this about me, I was really meant to live in another era. I'm not sure exactly which time period it would be, but it would be some time long ago when the pace was much slower. I am a bit old fashioned and often feel the "tug" of wanting life to be simpler...less-"techy"...and more innocent. I am fascinated with the good old fashioned ways of doing things, and in my dreams, I imagine myself having even half the work ethic that women had in years past. I like to think I would have loved sewing my own clothes, growing my own food, and wearing big long frocks of dresses. :) The one exception to this is that I would absolutely need to have air conditioning. And, maybe a microwave.

So, now that I think about it, maybe I should stay right here in the 21st century, with my cool air and quick meals.

Meanwhile, I do still love learning what other generations did in their daily life.

Last week, we got to travel back in time at Kendyll's long-awaited Pioneer Day! Providence has a "living history" day each year, and in second grade, they study pioneer history. Of course, the nerd in me just loves these days, and I love seeing the children learning and having fun all at the same time!
I got to work with a good friend of mine to head up this year's Pioneer Day...so, of course, our poor husbands got "volunteered" to be the Trail Bosses for the morning, before they started their real jobs for the day. :) They gathered the kids from their classes and took them on a wild goose chase for a runaway buffalo. It was hilarious.

Look at my cute Daniel Boone!
And, here is our little pioneer family. (Thanks to Carrie for lending our matching costumes!)
The whole morning was filled with experiences that the pioneer children would have had back in their day, as well as lots of artifacts from real pioneer families. (The company that brought this in is called Pioneer Living, and the owner has a passion for educating children about history. VERY cool.)
Of course, Kendyll gets really into things like this. And, she was so serious every time I came to take a picture. In fact, at one point, I was calling her name, and she said "Mom! I can NOT take pictures all day!" Quite the pioneer temper!

Here is the "serious girl" spinning wool into cloth...
And panning for gold...
Washing clothes by hand...
...while the boys learned to shave.
Making biscuits (wouldn't she love to have baked with Lil Mama?!)
Singing pioneer songs with her friends...
Posing with her teacher...
Playing croquet and pioneer games...
Meeting a real buffalo...
Making friends with Indians...
Eating pioneer lunch...
And, they ended their day with a square dance! It was so cute to watch them all demonstrate what they had been learning in music....and they were really good!!
Oh, the sweet awkwardness of 2nd grade boys and girls holding hands. :)
It was a fun memory with my big girl, and since she is reading this over my shoulder, I will say that I am so proud to be her pioneer mama. :)

4 comments:

Shelley said...

How FUN! I just wrote a post on my second grader's pioneer/ heritage farm time! Fun times with our growing girls! Your family would enjoy Heritage Farms outside of Waco. It is really NEAT! We have been there a few times. Kyndall is growing, growing, growing!

Amy said...

How fun is that!!! What an awesome thing for them to learn in school. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Nicole said...

I always get a kick out of your posts like these...the cool things that your school & family does, the passion that Kendyll shows for new experiences and of course, the costumes! It's one of the reasons that I love you and Alyssa so much - she's also always game for dressing up in costume!

Alyssa said...

Thank you, Nicole. I was just thinking how I could get Clint to dress up like Daniel Boone sometime! Chels... love these blogs! What wonderful memories for you and Kendyll. I love your school... it adds so many wonderful experiences for your girls... what a blessing!