Dear Plimoth Plantation,
My daughter (6 years old) spent 8 weeks studying Colonial Plymouth history, culminating in our trip to Plimoth Plantation. We had a wonderful time exploring our country's heritage.
When we first walked into the village, my daughter ducked into a building and ran out, beaming. She cried, "It's a Keeping Room!!!!!" and proceeded to point out points of interest, such as the mattress on the floor for the children, the parents' bed, the cauldron, and dried herbs. She asked the ladies if they made "bubble and squeak" (which was a vocabulary word for a lesson)but the ladies said they called it "fish and herb stew". We also met Oceanus Hopkins' mother. Our research neglected to mention that he did not survive the first winter, and my daughter was quite sad to learn of his demise. We also met "Peregrine White", a delightful little boy, (the first baby born in Plymoth) setting up a snare. He demonstrated its use for us and let us inspect his hat and garters. He also told us about a game called "France and England".
We attended a "Breakfast with the Animals", also, and learned so much from Johnny. My children, Grace and AJ, loved feeding the lambs a bottle! We learned that animals roamed free and it was the responsibility of the garden owner to erect a fence around the property, not the animal owner. We liked interacting with the cattle, also. We did not realize that cattle were initially imported for the purpose of clearing land rather than meat or dairy products.
When we went back later that week, Johnny, dressed as "Goodman Brown" recognized my children and called them by name, making their day. He was very knowledgeable and clearly passionate about his role.
We had a wonderful time and are so grateful to Plimoth Plantation for the opportunity to learn about our heritage in such a hands-on manner. Thank you for your dedication to educating this generation about the hard work our forefathers put into making this country what it is today.
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