Meadowcroft Village

Flat Stanley was so excited that he was allowed to join Team Lewis on their field trip to Meadowcroft Village.  Meadowcroft Village is in Avella, PA and a great place to learn about the history of our ancestors.  It took about an hour to get there by school bus, but was well worth the ride! 

Almost there, Emmaline, Kira, Stanley & Emma were still having a good time on the bus ride! 

An annual tradition for Team Lewis, the class picture at the covered bridge!  

Stanley got to sit in a desk in the one room schoolhouse, too! 

Our teacher meant business!  There was no fooling around in her room! 

If you got in trouble, the teacher may place books on your hands as punishment.  Emmaline & Meg promised they would be good!  :) 

The boys had a different punishment -- if they were bad, they had to wear the bonnet!  Tyree doesn't look too thrilled, but Robby finds it funny! 

Anthony & Stanley were laughing about his bonnet!  

We got to tour the Miller House.  It was a small house where 8 family members lived.  The parents bedroom was on the first floor.  It also served as the living room, dining room,and the kitchen.  The six children shared one bedroom on the second floor.  The outhouse was behind the house.  

Stanley was a little exhausted from all of their walking so he took a quick nap.  The bed looks comfortable, however, the mattress was made from hay!  The quilt was homemade!  

Before lunch, we stopped at the Black Smith's shop.  There, he made J-hooks out of iron.  He had to make a very hot fire, place the iron in the fire until it turns orange, and then take it to the anvil and beat it with a mallet to achieve the intended shape.  The black smith was even able to put a twist into the iron!  It was so neat to see him create masterpieces! 

Last year, a Native American Village opened at Meadowcroft.  It was the neatest thing to explore, especially since we learn many things about the Native American tribes in Pennsylvania!  

Here is a replica wigwam.  While in the Village Life part of Meadowcroft, the buildings are the originals, in the Native American Village, they had to recreate the buildings.  

Stanley thought it was neat that he got to go inside of the wigwam with his friends!  

Here is a picture of the fence that the tribe would have around their property. 

We even got to try to hunt with an arrow and an atlatl (at-lat-el).  The atlatl helped the arrow to go farther with very little effort.  Sadly, no one in our group hit the target.  Guess we went hungry!  

We got to learn about the different animals the Native Americans hunted and what they used their skins for.  We even got to feel the pelts of a few different animals, such as a grey fox, river otter, and raccoon.  

It was an awesome field trip, and we are extremely thankful for our PTA for sponsoring our trip!