Old Sturbridge Village

We attended a homeschooler's day out at Old Sturbridge Village on Monday. They offer discounted adult admission and classes for kids for a minimal fee. Elizabeth chose to learn about old remedies, taken mostly from The Family Nurse by Mrs. Child (1837.) She learned how they treated bruises, coughs, stings, sunburn, etc. The best thing we learned was that they used honey to brush their teeth and the whole family would have shared one toothbrush. Nice.

For the record, their education center there is AMAZING! It's a huge cabin-like building with small areas for teaching set around a spiral of ramps and stairs. If you ever get a chance to check it out, please do. I was grateful for the ramps because they kept Thing #2 busy, as you can see below.

We arrived just in time for the class, because it was a rainy morning. After that we headed into the park and the day was just lovely! We didn't actually stay very long; I'd left the sunscreen in the car and E's feet got tired. But we were there long enough to see plenty!

This is a functional sawmill.

the blacksmith making ox shoes

calves

running to find more baby animals

lambs

chickens

a funny face

Can't leave without pumping some water!

Or getting a treat!

If you live near Boston, OSV is only an hour away, just at the intersection of I-90 and I-84. It makes for a great day trip with the family. Or you can stay at one of the local hotels and spend two shorter days in the village; your admission is good for 2 visits in a 10-day period. We've been several times and never been disappointed!