Smarty Pants

A few weeks ago, we attended an assembly at Emily's school to watch her receive an award for academic excellence.  Emily's school went through a significant amount of turmoil in January and as a result, there is a new, interim principal who is absolutely wonderful.  One of his greatest challenges was bringing the school together as a community and getting all of the students to feel appreciated; and part of that is recognizing students for their commplishments. 
The assembly was really great.  The principal recognized Students of the Month from each grade, as well as the academic and social performance of several students (awards included "doing great independent math work" and "being a good friend to her classmates").  Emily received an award for making improvement in her journal writing. Kindergarteners write in their journals each week and the progress that she has made since the beginning of the year (with her handwriting, her spelling, and transferring ideas from her imagination to paper) has been remarkable.  Lee, Elizabeth and I are so proud of her and she was so honored to be rewarded for her hard work!

So happy that we were there to see her get her award! 

Just in case anyone is wondering - no, I did not know about the assembly before sending her off to school that day.  If I had, she would have been in a dress, not an Angry Birds t-shirt!! 

Proudly showing us her certificate.

Mystic

The girls and I ended their school vacation week with an afternoon at Mystic Aquarium.  It was incredibly crowded due to a short term Titanic display, but we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless.  Mystic never disappoints and I have a feeling that we will be renewing our family membership yet again, they enjoy it so much.

Up close and personal with Juno, a super friendly beluga whale.  This photo really captures how the belugas interact with the visitors and how amazingly social they are.

Love this photo, as Elizabeth shields Emily from the crowd at the beluga whale tank. 

Watching the sea lion feeding. 

Ballard's Titantic display, commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the sinking. 

A replica of the communication room.  The entire Titanic exhibit was very dark and this was one of the only photos that I took.

The jellyfish exhibit is always one of the girls' favorites. 

Visiting Plymouth

As much as we enjoyed Plimoth Plantation, Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock, we also enjoyed walking around historic Plymouth and Plymouth Harbor.  It was a chilly day, but the scenery was beautiful and everywhere we turned, there was plenty of history to drink in.

Artisans at Plimoth Plantation did wood working and pottery in the way of our ancestors, more than three hundred years ago.

Jenny Grist Mill, the oldest grist mill in the country. 

Massasoit, great sachem of the Wampanoags. 

Exhibits at Pilgrim Hall Museum. 

Touching a piece of Plymouth Rock.

Plymouth Rock

After about an hour on board Mayflower II, we headed over to check out Plymouth Rock.  Elizabeth, who had recently read several books about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock (as I prepared her for this trip, unbeknownst to her!), was filled with all sorts of facts and information for us about this historic landmark.

Looking down at the rock. 

The portico that protects Plymouth Rock.

Mayflower II

After visiting Plimoth Plantation, we spent some time aboard Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower, built in the 1950's.  It is a stunningly small ship, especially once you stop to consider that it crossed the Atlantic with more than 100 people, and their worldly possessions, on board.

Mast and crows nest. 

The Captain of the ship, who was filled with fire and brimstone. 

An old ink well and feather pen. 

Looking out of one of the small cannon windows. 

Provisions. 

A glimpse into the Captain's chamber. 

At 3:15, it was time to ring the bell..... 

...and the girls were at the right place at the right time.

Mayflower is a tiny ship.

Plimoth Plantation - 17th Century English Village

After visiting the Wampanoag Village, we followed a trail along the Eel River to the 17th Century Village.  There, play actors took their roles as Pilgrims quite seriously, inviting us into their houses to see their goods and talk politics, religion and exploration.  Some of the actors were quite knowledgeable and quite good and we really enjoyed speaking with them.

Walking the trail along the Eel River. 

17th Century English Village. 

Emily loved the chickens that were roaming around. 

The parish oven - most homes were not big enough to have their own oven for bread baking, so people used the parish over, located in the center of the village.

The spartan furnishings inside of one of the villager's home. 

We spent quite a while at this home while these sisters and their brother enjoyed a delicious smelling meal.  The man of the house was quite the talker and enjoyed poking fun at some of the so-called discoveries of the day, including the Great Lakes (a 44 day walk, according to John Smith) and buffalo (which he swore didn't exist).

View of the ocean from the Meeting House/Fort at the top of the Village. 

Cannons. 

This is a dead turkey, as in a formerly alive turkey.  This Pilgrim was literally plucking it as we spoke with her.  I was a bit grossed out but the girls (and Lee, of course) were intrigued.