Plimouth Plantation and Mayflower II

Plimouth Plantation

 

We read that the Native Americans used the river like a highway for trading and commuting. This was a canoe that was made from hollowing out a tree trunk. 

 

 The kids learned that fire was treated like a human. It was fed and tended too and never left to die.

 This is a replica of what the winter houses of the native Americans would have lived in. This house would've been away from the river and more inland because of the weather coming off the river.

 The early Pilgrim settlers made candles from bee's wax. They also made pottery and

 This is a cannon in the fort outside of the plantation. The fort was above the common meeting space and allowed the pilgrims to see for miles around in order to protect their village.

This was a broom that was made out of sticks. It was very different than our brooms, but the floors of the pilgrim's houses were made of dirt so a stick broom was useful.

Inside one of the pilgrim houses. Each villager we visited with was in full character of an actual person who lived on the plantation. You could ask them their name and they had a story about who they were and what was their job and who lived in their house. It was very fascinating to watch them work and hear their story. Life was very different for them than it is for us. It was nice for the kids to understand how easy we have things today. Each person we met talked with a British accent which the kids also enjoyed hearing. We learned so much about the life on the plantation.

 

 We were able to learn about the muskets that were used back then and got to watch some musket training. Derek found it SO fascinating. It took so long to prepare the mustket - load the powder, light the fuse....the kids were comparing it to how much faster the Star Wars "puming" happened.

 We left Plimouth Plantation with a greater appreciation for our life and the modern advantages we get to experience. We thought about how hard they worked everyday all day and how our work has changed. We learned that reading wasn't an important skill to have back then and children usually worked to help out their family. I am glad we were able to experience what life was like back in the 1620s.

Mayflower II

Earlier in the week, during our vacation on the Cape we had tried to see the Mayflower II but it was dry docked for repairs. Today the ship was back and we got to visit it. Learning about the journey that the Pilgrims took and then seeing a replica of the actual ship they took was very eye opening. The Pilgrims had to stay below deck during the 3 month journey. There was no light below deck and the space was very tight for 100 people to be living. It cannot imagine how horrible the conditions must have been. I am glad that we got to experience what the Mayflower was like.