Old Sturbridge Village

The girls and my Mother in law and I all went to this really neat place called Old Sturbridge Village the other day. We had not been on a field trip for a while and decided that going here would tie in nicely with what we're learning about 'Building a Village' and the Pilgrims. It was neat for the girls to see just how an old village would have looked a couple hundred years ago and see just how much different they would have lived back then. It was kind of a cloudy, drizzly day so there weren't too many people there - but that was nice, it was almost like we had the whole place to ourselves!

When we first got there, we were greeted by this group of turkeys! They were not afraid of us at all and even followed us for a couple hundred yards!


The first place we came to was called 'The Little House' - the lady inside explained that there might have been a family as large as 12 people living in this tiny abode! wow! We are so fortunate to live in our 'small' house {which is much larger than this one} with only 4 people!
This was inside - this would have been her 'kitchen', 'dining' and 'living' room. Oh yeah, and there was a bed in this room too so some of the family would sleep there at night.
We saw a lot of live animals. The sheep were very 'talkative' baaa baaa baaa!
The town church.
The girls in one of the barns.
The girls had to check out the outhouse and were VERY glad to live in our day and age with indoor bathrooms!

Hope churning some butter.
Joy scrubbing some clothes.
An old woodstove in the town bank.
Trying on bonnets in the store.

Drawing water from the well.
Riding in the back of a wagon.
Having their portrait taken.
Oh yeah, I was there! I rarely get in the pics, I'm always the one behind the camera!
Trying on the old fashioned clothing.
The girls got to make a tin candle holder. It was a great little hands on workshop. They had fun and were so proud of what they had made!


A bedroom in one of the larger, fancier homes.

The girls danging under the arbors - I bet it is really pretty here in the summer, there were lots of gardens!

The blacksmith's shop where they got to see a real blacksmith working. {Can you spy a little peeking child in this photo??}
The saw mill - my artsy shot of the day. =)
At one of the farm houses this lady was making real baked goods in the 'oven' just the way they would have many years ago. Made me very appreciative of how simple it is for me to assemble ingredients, put something in the oven, put dishes in my dishwasher, and keep food cold in a fridge!

The man was the potter. It was almost the end of our day when we stopped in his shop. Hope could have easily spent ALL day in there - she was totally mesmerized by the way he made things with such ease. We watched while he made several pots, cups and dishes, then he gave the girls each a piece of clay to take home so they could try their hand at making something.
This is just one side of his shop with 100's of items waiting to be fired in the kiln {that is on site}.
When they are fired, they turn this lovely reddish color - then the potter coats them with a clear glaze and they are sold in the shops on the property. They were really beautiful!


All in all we had a wonderful day. We also came home with a greater appreciation for all we have and all that we are blessed with - including being born in this age and living with so many modern conveniences! There was so much to see and not enough time ... so I'm sure we'll go back someday, maybe in the spring.