Mom Behind a Blog: Field Trip

Showing posts with label Field Trip. Show all posts

The Biltmore House is the largest privately owned home in America. Not only is it the most beautiful home of its time, it was also wildly ahead of its time. With indoor pluming, bowling ally, pool, and elevator, the Biltmore, in the 1880s, held more luxuries then general population holds in our year of 2014.

The 250 room house contains 34 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms. George Vanderbilt purchased 125,000 acres in western North Carolina and started construction on the elaborate home in 1889. There are parts of the house that were not completed in George's life time. My advice to really capture the beauty and history of this house would be to take a weekend staying at the on site hotel and take both the architectural tour and the butler tour.

As if the house wasn't enough to be completely floor you with its beauty and character, there are many wonders to see while walking the grounds. Take a walk through the gardens, the conservatory, the village and winery. Also, stroll around the pond and view a beautiful waterfall. After all that walking your sure to get hungry and though you have many options of dining, my favorite was the Stable Cafe. On exiting the house you can enter the stables that have been transformed into beautiful shops and an amazing cafe.

Biltmore Estate

by marissa on 12:30:00 AM

The Biltmore House is the largest privately owned home in America. Not only is it the most beautiful home of its time, it was also wildl...

The Civil War has played a huge part in our history; and I often find that when talking about history with my children, it is looked at more like a fairy tale instead of something that really happened. It is hard for us as adults to grasp what life was like in the 1860's, so it is even harder for our children to understand. My children often talk about American history and seem to be very intrigued by the differences in lifestyle, but I do not think they understand what living in a non-fast food world would be like.

While walking along the dusty roads towards Prairie Town at Conner Prairie, we approached a few signs stating the year we were about to enter. The signs then listed several different inventions that the people of prairie town lived without. As my children read the signs out loud for everyone, you could hear a gradual change of tone in their voice. Of course, this created great debate on how you could survive without such modern inventions.

As we walked along the road, we stopped as the union soldiers made their way through the grounds to their camp, as if we were in the background of history actually happening. We strolled through the towns going from the school house to the general store watching young men sign up and be sworn in to fight the confederates. Children enjoyed hoop rolling and racing while soldiers rested along the fence cleaning their rifles. We also had the chance to meet President Lincoln! Conner Prairie's Abraham Lincoln was an amazing depiction of one of our most beloved presidents.

Entering the town of Dupont, Indiana of 1863 you'll notice the towns people are very alert and concerned about their small town and the safety of the people in it. In visiting the General Store, you are pulled into an interactive simulation allowing you to full on feel and understand the invasion of General Morgan and his raiders. While leaving the store you notice the destruction left by the Confederate raiders while encountering Union soldiers now setting up camp in the area.

In leaving the small village and making our way toward the fields, a cannon erupted and the battle had begun. We watch from a distance the Union and Confederate soldiers standing their ground until finally the Union prevailed. Although my 1 and 3 year old enjoyed watching the horses and watching the cannon, it was my 2 oldest (10 and 9 years old) I enjoyed watching as they began to grasp a very large part of our history that had always seemed as a fairy tale to them.

Conner Prairie's Civil War Days is like stepping back in time and watching history unfold before your eyes. One of the truest of live examples of what life was like for not only the men fighting in the war but the women and children they left behind to carry on in their absence.

Learn more about Civil War Days at ConnerPrairie.org An event no one should miss out on!

A Bit of History

Historian J. David Hacker said “The traditional estimate has become iconic. It’s been quoted for the last hundred years or more. If you go with that total for a minute-620,000- the number of men dying in the Civil War is more than in all other American wars from the American Revolution through the Korean War combined. And consider that the American population in 1860 was 31 million people, about one-tenth the size it is today. If the war were fought today, the number of deaths would total 6.2 million.”

The Civil began in April of 1861 when Confederate warships bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter and ended in April of 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major army to Ulysses S. Grant.
In just a mere 4 years we lost over 600,000 American lives. This is the most American lives lost in any other conflict/war.
Roughly 300 women disguised themselves as men to fight in the war.
200,000 soldiers were no older then 16 years of age

Civil War Days at Conner Prairie

by marissa on 12:57:00 PM

The Civil War has played a huge part in our history; and I often find that when talking about history with my children, it is looked at mor...

Pirates, Parades, and Jousting!

It is that time of year. The time of year to pack up the family and head to The Ohio Renaissance Festival!
Last weekend, I was able to get my family together so we could all enjoy this event. Even my grandmother went, which means a lot to me to spend these moments with her and see her laugh at the shows and enjoy the environment.

I enjoy going myself but seeing my children get excited, laugh and try new things makes it that much more pleasurable to me. The set up and scenery alone is worth going, but the fun doesn't end there.

The day starts with a parade where the actors sing and dance their way around the village, set back in the 16th century, and they end their march at the jousting field where the Queen allows the games to begin. The Jousting is full armor tournament jousting and wildly entertaining. Moms, get a good seat and you might be chosen to receive a rose from your Knight. This year I let my children dress up in some old Halloween costumes and my daughter, who was dressed like a queen, absolutely loved having the actors walking the park nod and say "my lady" or "good day."

The shows, jousting, games, amazing food and shops make it the perfect adventure for you and your kids to experience. What better way for your children to learn history than to experience it for themselves. I've only been able to attend this event twice due to various circumstances, but this will definitely be something I try to work in again for next year.

The Kamikaze Fireflies pictured to the right here as they preform. This was the first time my family and I were able to watch this laugh out loud talented duo. They have now climbed the list to our favorite and must see show.

My Family Favorites:

Full Armour Joust
The Mudde Show
Kamikaze Fireflies
Pirate Comedy Shows
Kighting Ceremony
Human Combat Chess Match
Tower of London Dungeon
Eating on a Giant Turkey leg
Walking through all the shops

The Ohio Renaissance Festival

by marissa on 7:12:00 AM

Pirates, Parades, and Jousting! It is that time of year. The time of year to pack up the family and head to The Ohio Renaissance Festi...

I have always had a passion for history and have enjoyed taking my children to learn and experience some of our nation's history. We were able to experience many things on our trip to Gettysburg, D.C., and Mount Vernon; but I will not be able to express how amazing it was for me to stand in the same room in Mount Vernon that George Washington stood when he found out he would be the first President of The United States of America.

While walking through the mansion, there are a number of original pieces that you can view - from George and Martha Washington's bed where George laid as he past away from the highly debated, epiglottitis, to George Washington's Presidential Chair and the iron key that was given to Mr. Washington as a gift from Marquis de Lafayette as a symbol of freedom and liberty that still hangs on the wall where Mr. Washington mounted it over 200 years ago. One of mine and my childrens' favorite things at Mount Vernon was the staircase. With its original banister, you go upstairs holding the same banister that not only George Washington and his family would have used daily but all the important men that would have used the railing while visiting the Washington's, such as John Adams and Henry Lee.

Needless to say Mount Vernon was a beautiful plantation filled with artifacts and historical moments. Mount Vernon is a must see!

Walking the grounds of Gettysburg National Military Park, where the turning point in the Civil War took place, was exciting for me and my husband. Going along the paths of the fields and reading the monuments of which battle took place there and how many were lost or wounded was an awakening experience. It is hard to imagine what took place there and the many men that fought there and lost their lives. We eventually made our way to the Gettysburg National Cemetery and visited where Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address and where 3,500 union soldiers were laid to rest. Such an amazing moment in our history and to be able to stand there where such things took place is hard to express in words. If I had ever made a bucket list for myself prior to this, this would be something I would be able to cross off.

While on our history vacation we touched many places in D.C. Many that we hadn't gotten to on our trip in 2010. I finally got to tour the Ford's Theatre and it was well worth the wait! If you are anything like me, when you get to visit such historical places, you often set yourself into that era and experience it as if you were there in that said date and time.

Not only did we walk Ford's Theatre, we also walked through the Petersen's house across the street where Lincoln was taken after he had been shot and eventually died.

If you ever want to feel like you were a part of history, then Ford's Theatre and the Petersen's house is a place to visit.

My family also visited:

Lincoln Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
The National Archives
The Library of Congress
Arlington Cemetery
Iwo Jima Memorial
The Holocaust Museum
The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian Natural History Museum
The Smithsonian American History Museum

Gettysburg and Mount Vernon

by marissa on 11:41:00 AM

I have always had a passion for history and have enjoyed taking my children to learn and experience some of our nation...

I try to do several new activities/fieldtrips with my kids, but there are a few places we like to go back to every year. One of our annual visits is to The Cincinnati Museum Center. This Museum is packed with fun things for the kids to see and do, as well as adults. Whether it is walking the streets of Cincinnati in 1860, exploring their 20 minute underground cave, viewing thousands of artifacts, letting your children run wild in "The Woods" or watching a movie in their Omnimax Theatre, there is something for everyone to do.

Considering how costly things can get since I have four kids to pay for, as well as myself and my husband, it is nice that The Museum Center holds free admission days a few times during the summer.

As much as I am a fan of history, I also very much enjoy seeing the beautiful structures that were made before my time. I am absolutely amazed at the detail that was put into old buildings and homes and that is another one of the reason I like to visit The Museum Center. The Cincinnati Museum Center made its home in what was once the Cincinnati Union Terminal. The terminal is a must see in itself, opening in 1933, it was called an "architectural marvel."

Although me and my family visit the Cincinnati Museum Center at least one time a year, it is always exciting and brings something new to us that we hadn't previously experienced.

Cincinnati Children's Museum

by marissa on 11:25:00 AM

I try to do several new activities/fieldtrips with my kids, but there are a few places we like to go back to every year. One of our annua...

Washington D.C.

If you enjoy history, then Washington D.C. is a perfect vacationing spot for you. It also is a low budget vacation, seeing as most things you visit and experience there are free( I say free but our taxes fund them). I have always been a lover of history and it is special for me to see and experience what America once was.

Walking through D.C. for me was like walking into the past. Standing in places where many great men before me had been was thrilling, not to mention a great opportunity for me to teach my children about our nations past. We spent most of our time walking over D.C while using their area map which is provided at almost every museum. Although I had most of what I wanted my family to see mapped out, just walking from one location to another, I caught things I had forgotten to list. As we walked down the street making our way through the city trying to take in everything around us, to my surprise we came upon Ford's Theatre. How could I have forgotten to add this important location in our "must see" list? Since I had forgotten about this location, I did not have a tour booked and only got to stand outside where the theatre sign hangs. Still, standing outside the theater, I was set back for a moment knowing all that took place there many years ago.

Another highlight for my family, as I am sure is with generally most, was reading the actual Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights at The National Archives. Our Forefather's were so wise and gifted in how they approached things and set things into action. They knew that with a growing nation things would change and people would, at times, look to change or come against what is stated in these documents. They, without question, have set the bar high for their successor's.

You can see some interesting things while making your way through D.C. The Smithsonian Museums are filled with fun and historical artifacts, from the original Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" to Benjamin Franklin's walking stick. Of course, one of my favorites was the Hope Diamond.

With so many things to do in D.C. here are some things my family enjoyed: