Colonial Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan Part 2

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of our Fort Michilimackinac adventures thus far.  By now we were ready to explore the fort as a family since we participated in the group tour of the property.

Here is the outside of the Blacksmith shop.  We were hoping there was a demonstration, but there wasn't oh well.  Maybe we will come back later.



 

Below, is a beautiful organic garden much like that of the 1700's.  Here is a woman making bread.  Can't wait to see if she bakes it in the oven.  Yum!!  Did you know that back in those days every person consumed 5 pounds of bread a day? Lots of carbs!  They definitely needed it as hard as they worked just to survive, especially during the cold winter months.

 



 

Now we are taking a tour inside what the priest's house what have been like!

 

Here is the living area with fireplace.

The priest's dining area!

A statue of a priest kneeling and praying the Rosary.

 

The priests bed.  Doesn't look very comfortable does it?

 

 

This is inside St. Anne's Church.  There is another St. Anne's church on Mackinac Island!

 



 

The local fur trader.  Often struggled in the business.

 

 

Of course I had to capture a shot of the Fur Trader's shoes!

 

 

This is Helen.  She was getting ready to make a yummy chicken stew!

 

 

This is Maddie.  She was telling us about bread making and how the oven process worked back then.

 

 

Now inside the French museum. French Uniform

 

 

A French Fireplace which was part of the original house.  This is what was left of the house before demolished by British Soldiers in 1780. So cool!

 

 

A unique map of all the rivers and islands in Michigan

 

 

The outside of St. Anne's Church.  Had to get a quick shot since I already have gotten a pic of the inside.  Cute little church.

 

 

Now on to the Cannon demonstration.  To be continued in part 3 of 4 tomorrow.....

Colonial Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan Part 1

As a part of our homeschooling adventures north of the state of Michigan, we spent the morning at Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinac City, on Wednesday, August 7th. This was the day after our Tahquamenon Falls visit in the Upper Peninsula. We woke up to a very rainy and dreary morning in Mackinac City's Clarion Hotel.  Slightly bummed to say the least, but after breakfast we noticed it started clearing up.  By the time we got to the fort it was beautiful and sunny!

We got to Fort Michilimackinac by 9:00 am since it was just down the road from our hotel.  Kelly (10) was beyond excited as she loves history.  What better than learning about our state history?  Lyssa (6.5) and Bethany (4) ended up enjoying it as well even though they didn't understand every single detail.

We were fortunate to have the Michigan Archaeology team digging at a site.  They found more relics and objects dating back to 1700-1800's.  Kelly was enthralled by all of this and couldn't wait to see all of the items that were housed in replicas and actual historic finds.  The girls got to help pic herbs for a homemade stew and they watched bread making and learned about the ovens and the process.  Here are some pics highlighting our adventures below.

When you walk into the lobby of the store prior to the fort, there were some really neat facts about the historical finds by the archaeologists!

 





Next to it was a cool display about the Colonial Frontier etc.  I loved the details that were put into the presentation below:

Now it's time to take a tour through the fort.  The girls were pretty excited of what was ahead of them, especially Kelly!

On our way in this book was on display.  Would love to pick it up at the bookstore sometime!

Just before the actual outdoor tour of the fort, we got to watch a brief movie explaining the life and hardships of the people during the early and late 1700's.

After the movie it was time to take a walk outside through the fort.  A quick shot of the Mackinac Bridge on Lake Michigan side.  Yay, the sky is clearing up.

Here is the historical cannon kind of like the one used in the war of 1763....................................

Here is a fun replica of the Native American Indian life. The girls loved this!
There was a young man reenacting those hardships etc., but didn't get a chance to take a pic.

Almost inside Fort Michilimackinac. There's Ron and the girls ahead of me.  So glad the weather was clearing up.  It was going to be a beautiful day.

Walking in................One of the common houses.

Inside the middle of the fort...........................................

One of the digging sites, we were slowly making our way over.  Getting ready to watch a rifle demonstration with a soldier re-enactment.

 Below is Englishman Jim from the King's regimen of light-foot infantry.  He did a great job with the demonstration and re-enactment!

Here is Jim prepping for the firing of the bayonet.

 

 

 

Plug your ears everyone!

 



Now it's time to visit the archaeological digging site.  Kelly was so pumped!

One of the archaeologists discussing their recent finds in an original site.  How exciting!  Can't wait to visit the Chevalier House to see all of their finds through the years.

Almost done with the group tour.  Just one more stop before exploring the fort on our own.  This young man was portraying a voyager who brought goods fur trading, etc. back and forth to the fort.

Now it's time to explore the fort on our own.  Continued in part 2 of 4 tomorrow.......

Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan

 



Going over the Mackinac bridge to Michigan's Upper Peninsula
8/6/2013
 

Made it safely over the bridge to Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  The girls very first time!

This past week, we took time out of our family vacation to do some homeschooling in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  We visited Tahqamenon Falls (Upper and Lower), Whitefish Point, and Sault Saint Marie.

Foam from the falls



Upper Tahquamenon Falls
 

God's beauty!  Looks like Rootbeer!

The girls were in absolute awe of the falls.  I think the upper was their favorite as it was bigger and sounded mighty.   "Why are the falls brown, momma?"  Excellent question as there was an info board handy describing everything about the falls.  Perfect homeschooling moment.  They loved the mist that the falls were mysteriously kicking up into their faces as it was a warm and muggy day.

Why is Tahquamenon Falls brown? "The water is notably brown in color from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains."

I didn't get a good pic of the lower falls as there were so many people. We didn't get a chance to go over by canoe to get good shots.  Oh well, maybe next time.  A nice family offered to take a family shot at the upper though, I thought that was sweet.

Bethany's little eyes soaking up all the beauty.  Such wonder, so precious

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Trails

 

After hiking the trails back to our car from the falls, we took a road trip over to Whitefish Point by Lake Superior.  The girls were enthralled with the fact it was the great lake above the UP like we had been learning about here at home from our Michigan map, etc. 

Lake Superior/Whitefish Point

Whitefish Point Lighthouse Upper Peninsula

I will be putting together a two part post from our Fort Michilimackinac adventures.  Hope to get those done next week.  Can't wait!

40% Off Little Passports During August 13-20!!

This post may contain affiliate links.  Every time a link is clicked or an item is purchased directly from that link, a percentage goes toward our homeschool budget.  Thank you for supporting our homeschool.

I totally LOVE Little Passports!  Don't miss out on this deal.....................

Little Passports takes your children on a journey around the world, all from your own living room! If you haven't heard of Little Passports, take a minute to learn about their wonderful packages that are delivered to your front door each month and teach your children (and sometimes us parents!) about different places around the world. It is a perfect addition to your homeschooling curriculum or for any parent looking to put a little fun in learning! The best part of Little Passports is all the little goodies that come with your packages each month, like a mini suitcase, passport, stickers and more! The kids love it and so will you when they start spouting out neat facts about countries around the world! Check out Little Passports today and get 40% off with the code: OFF40.

Final Summer Vacation

We are taking one more vacation for the summer. This time it will be a homeschool trip back up north to explore and learn more about Michigan history.  We will be taking our Michigan Kids Passports.  So excited for Kelly and Lyssa to fill them out.

I will not be posting again until the week of August 12th.  I will post pics of our summer homeschool adventures when we return. Can't wait!

Many blessings!

Learning with Little Passports

This post may contain affiliate links.  Every time a link is clicked or a product is purchased directly from the link, a percentage goes towards our homeschooling budget.  Thank you for supporting our homeschool.

I was recently given the opportunity to try one month free of Little Passports.  It's a ton of fun and a very cute idea.

What is Little Passports? 

"It's your child's ticket to an exciting global adventure.  Inspire a love and understanding of the world as your child learns about a new country every month." ~Little Passports

There are two editions that you can take advantage of based on ages:

• Little Passports World Edition for 5-10 year olds
• Little Passports USA Edition for 7-12 year olds

You get to take fun pretend adventures with Little Passports characters: Sam and Sofia.  I love the concept.  My girls received a pretend passport which almost resembles the real thing, a map, stickers, activity sheets, etc., in an adorable pretend suitcase.  They loved pretending to travel the world.  I am thinking of continuing our subscription in the months ahead to receive more goodies in the mail once a month.

 

How much does a monthly subscription to Little Passports cost?    Here are the available plans for both the World Edition and the USA Edition:

• 3-Month Plan: $13.95/Month or One Time Payment of $41.85.
• 6-Month Plan: $13.95/Month or One Time Payment of $83.70
• 12-Month Plan: $10.95/Month or One Time Payment of $131.40
• Month Plan: $11.95/Month Billed Monthly, Cancel Anytime

Would you utilize something like Little Passports in your Homeschool?  I thought this would be perfect for the summer months or even geography themes throughout the year.  What are your thoughts?