Thanksgiving in the Big Woods

A couple years ago I found this very cool looking place on the Washington State "Places to Visit" website. It is called Ohop Pioneer Farm & Indian Village in Eatonville. 

A LOOOOONG 300 mile roundtrip drive for us, but 100% absolutely worth every minute! I've been talking to the kids a lot about Pilgrim life lately, obviously due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. This would be the closest I could get to letting them experience what I've been talking about-it was PERFECT! I woke up yesterday morning & had an itching to go right then. Boy did I marry the perfect guy. After mentioning my "idea", he didn't complain or whine that he had other plans that day, he just hopped in the shower while I told the kids we were headed to a far away adventure in the next 15 minutes!

We got there & these 2 were so excited to see a farm, with lots of places to explore, mud to run in & lots of cool stuff to see & do! Of course Bryce had to use the potty right away-so THIS was his option :)

What a life lesson he got! He asked Mike why there was a "Shrek Potty" at the Pioneer place. ha ha ha. We couldn't stop laughing. There was even a moon painted on the outside of the outhouse door.

 First stop was the Trading Post (an old family cabin from 1887). There we purchased our tour tickets & the kids checked out all the fun antiques & trading goods for purchase-like rabbit furs, bonnets, hats, sugar sticks and more.

They loved running through the small creeks, and jumping from rock to rock throughout the property. Mike loved it too. It was a beautiful piece of land.

Here the kids are standing outside the school teachers "personal cabin". It was T-I-N-Y!!!!

Our tour started with a small family cabin where the mom used to sell "meals" to make money. 

I was shocked how enamored Em & B were with all the stories & artifacts. 

All the kids were always invited to enter the cabins first & sit down on the rugs to listen to more stories-history of the homes & families that once lived there. 

These walls were being insulated with straw & dirt that the pioneer kids had to make as part of their chores. AMAZING! And I'm a mean mom???? I knew I wasn't! he he he

EmmaLee was super excited about the little chalkboards she kept finding. She thought that the pioneer children did the same "Handwriting Without Tears" curriculum that we do at school! lol. Maybe they did?

 These were their actual "schoolbooks"....Look how giant that letter opener is!

The indoor wash basin....in the kitchen...

and the kitchen sink :/

The authentic covered wagon was especially neat. Very run down but that made it even cooler!

It was SOOOOOO cold today, that the water in the outdoor wash basin was FROZEN!

 There were a couple cute little ponds full of ducks  between cabins-very quaint.

Bryce & Dadda checking out the crops in the garden. Cabbage, Pumpkins, Carrots, Green Onions, Beets & more.

Inside the next cabin the kids were given lots of hands on experience. First they were given pioneer attire to wear while they completed various tasks. 

 

They learned to grind corn into cornmeal for making cornbread....
and grind wheatberries to make flour for bread. All using actual antique tools!

The watched as one of the museum helpers got a "shave" with a straight edge razor.

 They learned how milk was skimmed and used to make butter in this churn.

 They were given cabbage from the garden outside & showed how to chop it!

There were many more lessons too. After all the instructions had been given-they were sent to explore the various areas of the cabin & do these tasks on their own! IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY!

Grinding Coffee beans...

and Cinnamon sticks for Apple Pie.

Bryce works on the cornmeal while EmmaLee gets an old fashioned curl!

they literally put the curling iron (on the left) in the flame of the kerosene lamp & left it there until it was hot! I can only imagine the burns experienced!!!!

 But oh how cute the curls were!

Look at this happy (warm & chore-less) pioneer boy!

Emma explored wooden pioneer toys & decided to try out a button catcher...

 Of course Dadda had to play too....

The kids spent time kneading bread-which smelled DIVINE....

EmmaLee learned to brush wool, and run it down her leg to make yarn. Then tied it around her wrist for a bracelet!

 Bryces MOST enjoyed part this far was doing the wash! He did this about 4 times. His poor little hands were completely numb, but that didn't stop him! He LOOOOOVED it!

Emma worked on the butter...and gave the cinnamon a go.

While B attempted to master the art of coffee grounds.

 We cleaned up inside the cabin & went back out for the next stop: The Barn, Blacksmith shop & Carpentry shed.

 Learning about t-bone the cow, Coco the sheep, Bacon Bits the piggie, Stew the Bunny, Goldie the horse & Sir Rooster. lol

 In the Blacksmith shop they learned the art of making Horseshoes with completely antique tools! Bryce could NOT wait for his turn at this!

(coal for the fire pit)

At the Carpentry Shed, the kids sat so well & patiently listened to stories of pioneer children chores-from as young as 4 years old. Like gathering/cutting 4 boxes of wood before breakfast, taking the bark off logs to make them last longer when building, shaving branches to make table & chair legs, etc. Em & B were TOTALLY sucked in to these stories. It was incredible.

 Once again, everyone was set loose to explore the things they had learned about! Bryce dragged Dadda straight to the Blacksmith station.

 Emma went for a ride through the farm on Goldie.

 She worked on filling up the wood bucket....

 and shaved some bark of logs....it was determined to be pretty hard & time consuming!

 Bryce & Dadda had a great time making horseshoes together. Something they would NEVER experience anywhere than right here. A great hands on lesson for both boys. Something I'm sure Bryce will be able to connect with stories he hears in school one day!

Stoking the fire

Pounding the hot metal....

and cooling it in the bucket. Done!

The giant hay pile in the barn was a favorite. I wonder how many mice they smashed? lol

 Emma was THRILLED, to say the least, when she was asked if she wanted to milk the momma Cow, Betsy!?

 Bryce came back from his horse ride to discover that Em was doing this awesome thing called "Milking a cow" and he desperately wanted to also! So he had a go at it too. Another plus on his list for the day.

 I turned around and caught Em right inside the pigpen playing with Bacon Bits. No fear. She was in HOG heaven ;)

A few more rounds in the hay pile....

 and trips inside the pigpen....

 Then back they went to the carpentry shed.

Look at this boy carving some table legs! He REEEEALLLLY liked this station!

some drilling & a little hammering

and one last trip through the Trading Post for a piece of candy & a galavant through the woods before heading back on the long ride home.

 Below is the schoolhouse-which we didn't stop in on our tour, but apparently when school groups come on field trips, they give them a school lesson inside & do some old fashioned activities there too! I serioulsy wish we had something like this closer to home. I would without a doubt bring my students here.

I dream of a schoolbell like this outside my classroom. 100% serious.

What an incredible experience we had today! Memories to last a lifetime!