Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day,

a day to celebrate

friendship.

Thank you, parents, for making our day fun!

  

Westward Ho! Part 2 Packing Up the Wagons

In addition to visiting the Job Carr Cabin in Tacoma, we checked out its traveling trunk. 

The trunk is a treasure trove of books, timelines, wagon models and supplies, and more. 

The Seabury first through fourth graders had a chance to play with the models and had to make some tough choices.

What to bring, what to leave behind - so many decisions!

It was like putting together a puzzle.

So many things we might need along the way 

and when we get to Oregon.

What if we put things in the trunk?

Is this important to bring?

What is it?!

  

Let's put food in the trunk.

We'll probably need a lantern.

These girls decided to leave these things behind, including the piano.

We're learning to listen to one another. 

  

How do we attach the oxen?

Let's try fitting it all in!

 

Not sure how this will travel across the rough trail.

Let's try putting the cover on.

  

If you could bring one extra thing that is special, what would you bring?

Ms Foss would bring her grandmother's cookbook that has "3000 secrets for the home, farm, laboratory, workshop, and every department of human endeavor."

 

What special thing would you bring on the trip? Here are a few of the things we listed in our diaries. 

• my grandma's sand dollar necklace
• my great grandma's charm bracelet
• a clothesline
• my teddy bear blanket
• my diary
• my cat
• my poke-a-dot blanky
• my hospital tools 
• horses and cows and dogs and cats and ducks

We are each part of a wagon group and have chosen a character to be. We have begun to write our first-person accounts in our journals. 

Each group has done the last minute shopping and packing.

We hope we have everything we'll need!

Note that this group chose to buy the larger conestoga wagon for $250. Most groups chose the smaller emigrant wagon for $150 to save money. They also chose to buy 2 oxen for $25 at the last minute, a deal too good to pass up. 

Will $69.64 be enough for the rest of the trip?

Decisions, decisions!

AND OFF WE GO!

WESTWARD HO!

Big Ideas for Little People: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

As we studied the Colonial Era 

and the idea of a new nation, 

several students were very interested in the Statue of Liberty 

that was given to the United States 

about 100 years after the Declaration of Independence.

So we went with the flow and read all about her, 

something we are free to do at our Seabury School. 

Enjoy our beautiful watercolor art creations 

of Lady Liberty. 

Westward Ho! Part 1 Bringing the Birthplace of Tacoma to Life

 To kick off our study of westward expansion, we went to the Job Carr Museum in Tacoma to see what a pioneer cabin was like. It was one of those amazing experiences that set us up for our own journey ahead. Stay tuned!

Ms Karen played "Old Man Tucker" on the dulcimer. 

Click above or here to watch.

"The Job Carr Cabin Museum is a replica of Tacoma's first permanent non-Native residence. It was built in 2000, about a block away from the original site of Job’s frontier home.

Entering the Cabin, one steps back in time to see the living space much as it would have been in the late 19th-century. Docents greet you and share Old Town stories. Learn about Job and his family, as well as other people and events that shaped this historic part of Tacoma."

What a perfect way to be introduced to western expansion 

as Miss Karen told us about how early pioneers 

came across the prairie in covered wagons. 

That's Job Carr in the picture above the fireplace.

This is how big a wagon was.

 

How do we know so much about pioneers?

From their diaries!

Another perfect set up for our own journal writing.

The following pictures show us 

playing with a variety of handmade toys,  

making a quilt, 

and dressing up like pioneers.

Even Grandpa Richard got into the action.

    

We found the real diary of Job Carr.

The diary

The original home was surrounded by a forest.

The cabin also became the first post office of Tacoma.

THANK YOU, JOB CARR MUSEUM, 

FOR THE WONDERFUL FIELD TRIP!