I’m grateful to my friend for loaning me her Prairie Primer text (and all additional resources to boot) to use with my 3rd grade daughter. I bet she wishes she hadn’t told me to keep it as long as I needed it! Now, five years later, I’m finally getting up the courage to use it…although with a different daughter!
The week we began this study of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, a field trip was announced to a one room school house. To me, that’s just God’s stamp of approval on our curriculum choice this year! Thank you, Lord!
I worried that maybe we were building ourselves up too much for this experience today. My daughter helped me sew a new prairie bonnet to match her simple calico dress. We packed old-fashioned lunches for the two youngest pupils in old tin pails. My two oldest were a little skeptical as to the need for themselves to participate in this, but I assured them that it would be ok and they’d not be too awfully embarrassed.
No one could have prepared us for the wonderful adventure ahead as we set off this morning at 7:30 am for the hour long drive to Mineral Wells, WV to visit the New Era One Room School. When we arrived our large homeschool group was divided in two. For over an hour our group was free to play outside (recess) and experience old-fashioned entertainment: teetor-totter, marbles, stilts, hopscotch, wooden toys galore, and an exercise in Maypole dancing while the first group had their “lessons.”
We had the privilege of being allowed to use the restrooms of the public elementary school next door. It was a lovely facility. What an eye-opener as we walked through the cafeteria during lunch! My kids were equally amazed with this modern school situation!
Finally, we heard the authentic school bell ring and it was our turn! We were greeted at the door by our school marm, Miss Icie Henderson, portrayed by a professional re-enactor who played the intimidating part very well! Our 1 ˝ hour lesson time inside the school was amazing. This authentic schoolhouse was quite a museum! Plus the students had been given individual instructions ahead of time to be prepared with certain knowledge or items that would bring the experience to life. Girls were caught passing notes and punished by having to stand with their noses to the chalkboard, a boy threw a marble (the original hole where that really DID happen years ago is highlighted on the chalkboard) and someone else was mistakenly/on purpose punished for his offense, children brought in pretend vegetables to make soup for lunch, there were recitations and readings too. The kids had a blast. It was hard to keep a straight face even with the school marm waving her switch to keep everyone in line. My 15-year-old son was asked to stand and spell the word “drawers” and then give the definition. When he told her it was something in a cabinet to contain things she assumed aloud that he must not be wearing his “drawers” as he should be and told him to go to the outhouse and get some on as she tossed him some big white bloomers. He enjoyed the embarrassment! His buddy had to endure it also in the first tour.
The day wasn’t all about discipline. The kids received a generous helping of historical and practical knowledge and were even allowed the experience of using real pen and ink! She even shared the story behind the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” When our school marm came out of her character at the end, she praised the children for their good-natured participation (those boys sure handled wearing that dunce cap well!) We parents were thrilled that her Christian convictions shined through as she lead the class in the Lord’s prayer and was able to refer to our Lord at many times (God was still allowed in public school in the 1800’s!) What a witness to all the school children who visit the schoolhouse annually. We had a brief discussion about the one room schools that continue to function in our country and the atrocity that occurred yesterday in PA. It was a very sobering time of reflection too.
I’d not hesitate to drive several hours for a presentation of this nature! My children and I will never forget it!
Here's my Kindergartener's narration from his point of view:
"First we went out and played with guns and whistles. Then we went inside and the teacher teached. We did the United States of America (pledge of allegience.) Her was real mean. Her was hitting her desk with a stick. Her put this hat that said stupid on the top on somebody. He was throwing marbles.
I just sit there and listened. I did that ink thing and writed all my letters. The seat was wood and metal and was big and had a chalk board on it. There were bells, a typewriter, lamps, candles, books, and a furnace in the middle of the room. Her telled all the kids to say hello to me because I was the new person. She told Adam to put on clothes that are in drawers.
It was good. I took an egg, cookie, bread, and apple in a bucket with napkins. It wouldn’t be too fun to go to school like that every day because of all that whipping stuff."
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