I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but I really wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder growing up. So it only made sense that Living History Farms was by far my FAVORITE field trip.
As a 3rd grader, we visited the farms after learning about how our small, midwestern town was settled.
As a 5th grader, we took it a bit further. We dressed in traditional pioneer attire, spent half the day in the one room schoolhouse, ate the lunch we packed in a pail, and then toured the rest of the farm. (That’s me, with the navy bonnet, blonde braids and red apron.)
When my brother was in 5th grade (and I was a college student) I eagerly volunteered to chaperone his trip, dressed in my pioneer clothes again, and probably had more fun than any of the kids there.
When I was nannying in college, I took the kiddos to Living History Farms for a little field trip, too.
Finally, my own son is big enough to appreciate the farms, and when we visited last Saturday, he loved it!
“Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, tells the amazing story of how Iowans transformed the fertile prairies of the Midwest into the most productive farmland in the world. While at the 500-acre open-air museum, visitors travel at their own pace through historical time periods spanning 300 years. On-site interpreters provide a unique learning environment of seasonal activities and demonstrations.”
I wish I had checked out the website before hand…they have a great visitor’s guide for children under 5 (and another for grades 4-6) as well as a blog for children! But we still had a great time and Adam learned a lot.
Here are a few pictures from our trip…
Adam was so busy exploring, he wouldn’t stop for pictures.
We only had time to tour the 1900 farm and 1875 town, and this was the look on Adam’s face when I told him we didn’t have time to see the 1700 Native American village or 1850 farm.
We are, however, planning to go back, and thanks to the generous folks at Living History Farms, you can go, too!
Follow the directions to win a 4 pack of tickets to visit the farms this summer!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I love Little House, too -- if we had a daughter, her name would be Laura. I would be "Ma," of course!!!
ReplyDeleteI love how you dressed up to go to Living History Farms and it looks like you are passing on your joy and love for Living History Farms onto your kids!
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