in case any of you have been living under a rock... I LOVE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE!! i have a serious addiction to the show (i have season 1-6 on dvd...and yes, my boys watch it!), the books (i've got all them too & read them about once/year) and anything to do with that time period! lately, i've been reading a lot of christian fiction books based in the late 1800's...lori wick & laurainne snelling have great series...books are such a great escape, and i love those that have a faith in God weaved through them.
wow, i went off on a tangent....focus, rach.
so, last month dawson's first grade class was studying one room school houses and how kids learned in the late 1800's...and they went on a field trip to a one room school house - of course i went along!!! the kids and parents were encouraged to dress from the time period...some of us mom's were given "lessons" and games that we would be "teaching" the children...we spent the WHOLE day there, lessons inside, recess and lunch outside...it was so much fun!
it is called the #10 schoolhouse museum, and it is in grandville! i never knew it even existed. they moved the building from its original site (cant remember from where?)...it is open to the public, i believe you just need to call ahead... an 80-year old guy gives you a quick intro to the building and time period...and the school is situated in a beautiful park...i encourage y'all to take your family there some saturday or sunday and check it out!
dawson with his straw hat...
my grandpa was paid 50 cents per week starting the fire each morning, sweeping floors, and ringing the bell when he was 10 years old
this is a picture of my grandpa, les beld. as a surprise for the first graders, the parents had to interview a grandparent about their school days. we had to compose it in letter form, and the kids would open it and read it at the school house.
this turned out to be a cool project...this is when my grandpa was in the nursing home...he is ALWAYS more than happy to tell stories! i was only there for a short time and had over 4 pages of notes...i had to cut him off, because i had to go ;) he had some neat memories, and i will always cherish all the time we got to spend together talking, those 2 months in the nursing home!
anyway...just a couple stories...he was in a fight on his very first day. due to a little harassing from the big 8th-grade boys, he and another boy ended up in a brawl, resulting in torn up clothes and a "whippin'" from the teacher (he hit hands so hard with a ruler, that you couldn't milk cows)...he was most nervous about facing his dad when he got home. when he did get home, his yard was full of neighbors, becuase it was fall...time to butcher pigs! well, his dad listened to his story, and didn't blame him. relief!!
also, when he was 11 years old, the teacher told him (during school hours) to take his plymouth and DRIVE down to the cobbler (@2miles down the road) to get the softball sewn up. on his way back, my grandpa chose to take a short-cut...taking a different driveway up to the school yard, and tipped the car over in a ditch! well, everyone in school watched it happen and had a pretty good laugh - even the teacher. all the bigger kids went out and tipped teacher's car back upright.
he had 1/4 mile walk to school each way...and on wednesdays, teacher dismissed them early, because they had a 4 mile walk to catechism!!
it was really amazing what he could remember...he's 85 years old. the letter i have is much more detailed...i'm thinking of making copies and passing it on to my brother's kids, so they will have grandpa's school days, too.
morel mushrooms....found in the blendon area. and thats all i'm saying.....oh, and they were delish!
we had so many monsoon rains, i thought it would never end!! when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! the boys had too much fun...the path that cuts through pret's woods looked more like a river. did i ever have a TON of laundry & thank goodness for rubber boots!
