FIELD TRIP!!!!

Yesterday we went on our very first official field trip with the homeschool group we belong to. This is our first year in a "homeschool group." It is made up of quite a few families and that all share the same ideals regarding homeschooling. Anyway, through this group we are invited on a lot of different field trips and most of them have minimal fees or, like yesterday, were free.

Anyway, yesterday we went to Mission San Luis. Having been in this town for 21 years, I had never been to this historical site before. Apparently archaeologists found this site where the Spanish and Apalachee Indians lived together. I know I won't have all the facts right but this is a little history about it.

Mission San Luis was around in the early 1700s. The Apalachee Indians were there first and when DeSoto passed through their village he left behind sicknesses that the Apalachee didn't know how to cure. The Apalachee saw that the Spanish in St. Augustine on the east coast didn't suffer from the same illnesses so the invited them to come into their village. It was highly unusual for missionaries to be invited into an Indian village. Usually the missionaries just came. When the site was discovered their were the same number of Indian structures as Spanish surrounding the oval plaza. The archaeologists feel this was because the Indians invited them to be a part of their village.

There were so many interesting things I learned, like if an Indian could throw a "ball" and make it into a really high nest that Indian was treated like a sports celebrity. Children had to go to work by the age of 5 or 6. If the children had any free time, they had to make the toys they played with, thus honing their carpentry and sewing skills.

But, the field trip wasn't really about what I learned. At least I guess not. Anyway, this is what the kids learned:

Little Mama: She liked all the different types of houses. And she learned that the Apalachees bathed about three times a week (Spanish 3 times a year.)

Boop: He liked the big mountain we went in (the Indian community center.)

Nature Girl: She liked the the Spanish lady's house. She learned about the types of toys they played with back then.

We will definitely go back there again . . .