Walnut Grove Plantation - our last day of kindergarten

I really meant to post this a month ago, but it's so hard to find any time to blog!  Our last day was Friday, May 10, and it was not only our last day but also a field trip day!  We found a wonderful homeschool field trip group online, signed up for this trip, and spent the morning touring Walnut Grove Plantation with lots of other homeschooling families.  Jordan took the day off work to go with us, and it was wonderful.  I think we all learned a lot, and it also got me fired up for teaching history when we start first grade.  The plantation was established around 1765 by Charles and Mary Moore, who immigrated from Ireland.  Here are some photos from our tour.

The Moore family had ten children.  Their house would have been considered a mansion at the time, but was not much bigger than our house, which feels crowded some days with only three kids.  There was a little master bedroom downstairs, much smaller than ours, which they would have shared with their babies and toddlers.  Upstairs there was a large, open "dormitory" (pictured above) where six or so older kids would have slept.  There were also two rooms where the older daughters would have stayed for a while before getting married and moving out, but it was hard to get a good photo of those because the stairs and hallway were so tight.

The other side of the dormitory

Here's a close-up of the ropes that the mattresses rested on, which had to be tightened regularly.

Dining room.  Very small, especially for so many people.

This is the kitchen, which was in a separate building close to the main house.  This way, if there were a kitchen fire that got out of control, it wouldn't take down the entire home.

This sleeping loft is also in the kitchen building.  If I remember correctly, our tour guide told us that when they first arrived here they built and lived in this building, and slept here, before and while the main house was built.

This is part of the school room where the Moore children and other area kids were taught.

Reason #1 why I LOVE homeschool field trips:  Families stick together and enjoy some time with each other!

There was a butter churning demonstration in the picnic shelter.

They took turns shaking the cream in a jar in addition to trying the traditional churn.

Mmm!  Buttah.

 I love how Robert is reaching for the butter with his tongue in this picture!  That's my little butter-lovin' baby!

They had a neat little gift shop, along with some interesting antique displays.  Got some neat stuff for next year's history!

After lunch, we went to look at the little doctor's office.  Would have been more interesting if Robert hadn't been melting down, but that's what you get after lunch.

 We also walked down to the cemetery and back up the short nature trail.

It makes me so happy when Jordan takes the day off and joins us on a field trip!

I tried to get a nice photo of my family in front of the house, but the sun was in their eyes.

This was the best field trip and we'll definitely be going back!