We are currently about an hour away from Boston, Massachusetts visiting some very good friends. They were kind enough to allow us to camp our two RVs in their spacious backyard. It’s a lovely spot!
We’re doing our best to not trample their lawn too badly. Back in Florida, we wore away the grass down to the dirt making a path to our RV door and didn’t want to repeat that mistake again. So far so good! We have fun finding new paths to use to arrive at our door at night.
I love the area! It’s so filled with history. We’ve seen and done a lot, but the most memorable for the children will probably be the instances where we stepped into our handy-dandy time machine and were transported back in time to another era. It’s fun when the kids can actually talk to people from the Colonial era.
History is such a complex subject. There are many accounts of various events, each told from the viewpoint of the writer or speaker. Since history has never been a strong suit of mine, I’m really realizing how much I need to learn in order to help the children get a complete picture of the events of our past.
We’ve visited several fun places. One of my favorites was the Plimoth Plantation, a beautiful living history museum depicting life in 1627. It really did feel like we had stepped inside a time machine. The whole community was so authentic, complete with a dozen or so actors trained to communicate with the tourists about their lives.
We walked in and out of many homes, chatting with the residents within. Most had a fire roaring in the one-room home. Cole, Camille and Serena were able to talk to a blacksmith, a young housewife, an older gentleman, and quite a few other Pilgrims. In addition we toured the homes and camp of a group of Wampanoag Indians, interacting with hosts as well.
Normally this trip would have cost us a small fortune, but the local library had a pass that made it quite affordable. I must remember to check in with libraries on route and find ones that offer such deals. It will really help!
Another exciting adventure involved following our private tour guide, Mr. Thomas Hutchinson III, through the Freedom Trail in Boston. He played the part of the son of the governor of Massachusetts Bay just before the Revolutionary War. Standing six foot four, wearing a colorful period costume from the 1700’s, we had trouble missing him walking down the street learning about the history of various sites along the streets.
He was a fountain of knowledge and I learned a lot! As did the children. It’s definitely the way to discover the Freedom Trail, as long as you’re okay with being a bit of a spectacle, which I can safely say the Sherman family most certainly embraces.
When it comes to US history, it’s hard to go wrong with Boston.
One way to teach history is through historical board games. There is one called Founding Fathers which revolves around the writing of the Constitution and one called Underground Railroad which is pretty self explanatory.
I think this is a great idea! I’ll connect with you privately to talk more. Thanks, John!