Weekly Wrap Up: War of 1812 Fort Field Trip

Esther Practicing her soldier moves at the Fort Field Trip!

Lining up for battle!

The period soldier - preparing his ranks for battle!

Graham learning how to bake tea biscuits for the fort!

The highlight of our week was the field trip to a local Fort that was used in the War of 1812.  We are able to participate in one field trip a month due to a local Mom who does a wonderful job organizing these trips.  It's great to get out to meet local Homeschoolers and do some learning together.  We'll be doing Canadian History this year and this was a bit early but that's okay!  They will remember this field trip, it was that good!  The staff were dressed in period costume and did a wonderful job telling all about when the fort was built and rebuilt, how it was used, and what they did there.   The staff was incredible.  The period soldier taught the kids how battle was fought during that time.  He explained what weapons were used, as well as the strategies for warfare.  The kids got to participate in a mock battle, featuring how to line up for battle, how to load your weapon, how to march and how to run into battle.  They got to wear 'red coats' for the demonstration.  The period soldier even shot a musket three times to show the kids what it would have looked like.  It was fantastic!

They made their way over to the Cook House where they got to bake tea biscuits which were a steady part of a soldiers diet at the fort.  They cooked them right there and tasted the fruits of their labour.  My son got to participate in that part of the demonstration.  He was very thrilled about that!

The visited the soldiers barracks, getting a look into how soldiers lived life on a fort.  They often brought their families with them.  The kids were fascinated to learn how so many people fit into one room with bunk beds, a wood stove and tables.  They were also astonished that food was often scarce as each child would have got the portion of a hamburger sized amount of food for an entire day!

We will go back this year as it is the two hundred anniversary of the war of 1812 and there will be numerous events to honour the memory of that war.

My son purchased a replica of a musket gun (with his own money), and explained it to everyone he comes across.  But what I love about it, is that he is talking about the history of that war, not just the musket gun! :)

***This post is linked back to Weird Unsocialised Homeschoolers Weekly Wrap Up!  Please join in the fun and link your own Weekly Wrap up back to this blog!