Simple Gifts

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At the beginning of this month, I escorted Claire, along with her Class, to Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster.  There's a small Hands-on museum next to it that we have taken the kids to a couple of times but I've never been to this "old-timey", if I may, village.

I was just getting over the major part of my flu(still sick by the way) and so I was nervous about going.  But that day, I felt pretty good.  We got going late but once we arrived, we moved quickly.  The first "exhibit" that we hit was the one room school house.

Doesn't Claire look excited to leave school just to end up in another?

Check out her Laura Ingalls' IPad!

Don't worry, she's alright.  She actually loves school but most of the photos that I have of her, from that day, she looks miserable.  I think it may have been the weather.  It was unexpectedly freezing.  We thought we were dressed accordingly but we all could have used some warmer clothes.

Once again, we started with the school house and let me tell you something, it was the highlite(for me) of the tour.  Not that the other exhibits were boring, because they were far from it.  I just fell in love with this teacher and how she got in and out of character.

Points if you get the coolness of this photo.  And I'm not talking about the clarity of it.

When we arrived, she was a "normal" person.  But then she rang a bell and became a teacher from 1892, strictness and not funny at all.  I think she may have scared a few of the kids but I absolutely loved her.  I wish that teachers these days were allowed such control in their own classrooms.

But she went over things like math and articulation(LOVED IT!).  Oh, I almost forgot the best part!  At the beginning of class, she had the kids stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance which was written on the board.  Well, the kids started and even though it was written, they still messed up.  And not because they didn't know it.  But because they are used to reciting the current Pledge.  Here is the one from 1892.  You Libs will love it.  Not one mention of God at all!  Well, the teacher tapped her desk with her pointer stick and told the kids to read it the correct way.  Seriously, I need one of those pointers to keep my kids in line.

But as quickly as she went into character, she came out of it again and started taking questions from the audience.  Like, "what is that pointy hat used for?".

Now this kid will never forget.

And how cool is he for hamming it up!

After that, we were off to the Blacksmith's shop.  He was a humble kind of guy and did a great job manipulating the metal which kept all the kids' attention.

Then, we learned( I already knew ) how to hang laundry.  The kids were certainly lost at this point.  Seriously, it sounds funny but they had no idea what clothespins were.  They didn't really enjoy the chore either.  Especially the boys.

Time to relax!

"The cow says, Mooo"

I'm not sure what the following guy was mainly talking about.  To tell you the truth, I was just happy to be inside of a building and not to be freezing to death.  But as you can see, the kids were paying attention.

And by the look of Claire's face, I don't think she liked the story of the Chamber Pot that was under the bed.

Learning how to make miniature brooms from twigs and corn husks.

Claire was not impressed.

"I came all the way here to learn how to make a broom?".

But don't let all the Debbie Downer photos let you think that she had a bad time.

Just the opposite!

They all had a wonderful time and I would love to visit when it's warmer.  Because of the cold, most people/employees stayed in the buildings in which they worked.  Still, all the employees were happy and helpful.  Totally different from the employees at Indian Echo Caverns(Claire's field trip from 2011)who were miserable and shouldn't be allowed to work with children in my opinion.  Seriously, when your bread and butter is dependent on school children, you need to make them happy.

I may be biased but I think that there is no better place in the world to celebrate Thanksgiving than Pennsylvania.  I mean, most of our homes still have dark wood paneling up on the walls which totally scream "Thanksgiving".  Guilty!

Now, I made a little slide show/video for you.  But mostly for me.  I went to YouTube and typed in "Amish" and "Mennonite" and "Pennsylvania Dutch" and I could find nothing that I loved besides "Simple Gifts" which I've used before.  However, I found a contemporary piece called "North Home" by Donna Marie who is a Lancaster County native and composed the piece in honor of her birthplace.  I thought that that was cool so I wrote to her and actually asked permission to use her music with my photos.  And you'll never guess what happened.  Wow, you're right!  She gave her permission.  So I give to you, North Home by Donna Marie and photos by Your Friend, m.  Note:  If you don't know already, change the YouTube Quality to 1080p for a clearer video.

I hope that you all have a terrific Thanksgiving and that you take a moment to give thanks, or just to stop and appreciate everything that you have.  Either one is fine by me.  I'm easy.  wink!

Comments are opened if you want to say "hi", wish me a Happy Thanksgiving or call me out on some of my previous posts where comments were closed but I got you all riled up.  It's okay, I feed off of your seething.  How do you think I keep going?

Happy Thanksgiving.

Your Friend, m.