Our field trip to Lexington County Museum

Today was our field trip to Lexington County Museum. This is a wonderful trip back in time to the Colonial Period. What amazes me is this place is nestled in the heart of Lexington, yet it is so quiet you would never guess you are inside the city limits!

My class had to divide in half. Six students got to visit The Kitchen and The One Room Schoolhouse. The other half also got to visit The One Room Schoolhouse and The Pasttime Toys. I had the help of three wonderful parents who helped tremendously with keeping everyone on track! Mr. Keisler, Mrs. Maxson, and Mrs. Handley were kind enough to give up their day and travel back in time with us!

The One Room Schoolhouse was quite different for the children to imagine. They had a hard time relating to how children could learn without SMART Boards, TV's bathrooms, water fountains, and of course a cafeteria! They really did enjoy the games at recess and they all got a chance to write their name with an ink quill. They quickly realized that writing with a quill may look easy but was hard and the ink would blot if you had too much ink on the end of your feather.

The toys from that period were so much fun for the children to experience. The church dolls made of handkerchiefs and penny wooden dolls were interesting objects that the children got to touch and feel. They also liked the tops and saw buzz spinners. We made connections to the FOSS kits from last year in first grade where we made zoomers and tops.

The Kitchen was also very interesting for the children. That group got to see how hard the moms worked to run the kitchen and keep a well balanced diet on the table! No Kroger's or Bi-Lo's back then. All the food was grown on the farm and all the meat was raised on the farm to eat.

We discussed how the Colonialist were really the pioneers of recycling. They used everything they grew. The corn husks were used to make dolls, the corn cobs were made into dolls and doll clothes were fashioned from old clothes that were torn or worn out.

I will post pictures as soon as I get them downloaded. Look for a photo story to appear soon on our web page.

We hope to make some Handkerchief Church Dolls and Saw buzzes next week in class. I have ordered some wooden tops that I hope the children will be able to decorate and enjoy spinning for awhile.

Stay tuned for more updates from Perkins' Pups as we get ready to learn more from The Colonial Period next week!