Homeschool Days
Homeschool Days
Join is for our second year of Homeschool Days. Homeschoolers may pick which days they wish to attend without the hassle of a group scheduling a tour.
Each day will have a theme as described left. Created with the broad age range of homeschool groups in mind, each day will be able to accommodate various age levels and learning styles but any student is welcome to join in the activities, not just homeschoolers!
Each day will max out at 30 students and parents. Please use the link below to reserve your spot!
Active Activities
Ninettenth- Century Games
We provide a collection of nineteenth-century games for students to try out. The games include quoits (corncob darts thrown through a hoop), ring toss (like horseshoes with heavy cord rings), washer pitch (tossing washers into bowls), graces (tossing a large hoop between two people and catching it on two sticks), and various running games.
Ages: All
Adult Participation: Not Necessary
Group Size: Any
Time: 15- 20 minutes
Hiking
There are hiking trails through our woods. Our woods are the home of many animals, especially deer.
Ages: Any you feel comfortable with taking
Adult Participation: Required
Group Size: Any
Scavenger Hunt
PLEASE TELL US YOU WANT THE SCAVENGER HUNT BEFORE THE FIELD TRIP. We provide a workbook with clues to find objects inside, outside, or both. The clues will describe what an object does and get the children to match the description with what they see around them. An additional $1/ student in material fees or can be printed out below.
Ages: any
Adult Participation: Preferred
Group Size: Any
Time: Can be combined with house and grounds tour
Hoop Skirt Obstacle Course
A fun way to understand the difficulty of maneuvering a hoop skirt, both boys and girls enjoy donning a hoop skirt and attempting a simple obstacle course.
Ages: any
Adult Participation: preferred
Group size: any
Time: 20-30 minutes
May Pole
Most commonly used in May, we can bring out our May pole to work together to create a woven pattern with the ribbons around the pole.
Ages: any
Adult Participation: none
Group size: any
Time: 15 minutes
Activities in Nature
Cabinet of Curiosities
A popular 19th-century decoration was the Cabinet of Curiosities. The cabinet would generally hold natural artifacts displayed together and intended to be taken out to show visitors. While exploring our grounds, find natural artifacts to put into the class cabinet of curiosities that can be taken with or left at Davies. This activity is a great way to talk about interacting with nature as well as introducing a fun 19th-century hobby. Additional $2/ student material fee if taking "cabinet."
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Required
Group Size: Any
Time: 15 minutes
Natural Journaling
Explore our 37 acres by taking plant rubbings and drawings of the world around you. Discover the differences between various plants and learn a little about what people thought these plants could do to help them. Each student will be given a simple journal and a pencil to take rubbings and drawings in as they go from station to station about the grounds highlighting specific plants and objects as well as any other plant or object they find that they wish to record. Additional $1/ student material fee.
Ages: Any
Adult participation: Required
Group size: Under 60
Time: 20-30 minutes, would do this instead of a simple ground tour
Bees!
We have three hives of bees at Davies that we will introduce to you. Using our observation hive, students will get a look into the busy beehive while discussing the important role of bees in nature.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: None
Group Size: Any
Time: 20-30 minutes
Fibers & More
Pioneer Fiber Arts Presentation
Starting with the cottonseed, we take students through all the steps from seed to clothing. We give students a handful of cotton to aid the demonstration and ask them to try to get the seed out while discussing the difficulty early farmers had and the inventions that make it so much easier today. Then we demonstrate the methods of carding, spinning, and weaving that eventually bring us to cloth production.
Ages: All, may go more or less in-depth with age
Adult Participation: none, (generally find interesting)
Group Size: Less than 40
Time: 20- 30 minutes
Twig Looms
Twig Looms
This activity can be done with the Pioneer Fiber Arts Presentation or as a single activity. These are looms made out of twigs and yarn that can be taken home at the end of the trip. There is an additional $1/ student materials fee.
Ages: 8 and up
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Less than 30 students
Time: 10- 20 minutes
Upcycled Drop Spindles
Upcycled Drop SpindlesThis activity can be done with the Pioneer Fiber Arts Presentation, the Twig Looms, or both. We will present students with a homemade drop spindle and describe how it was made. Then the students can attempt to spin yarn for themselves. It is not as easy as it looks.
Ages: 8 and up
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Less than 30 students
Time: 10- 15 minutes
Practical Math in Crafting
Help us figure out how much thread we will need to warp (put the threads on) one of our floor looms. We have three floor looms in Gotten Cabin that we can use for weaving. There is more math involved in this than you may expect! Once we do the math we will start warping it together.
Ages: 8 and up
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: under 60
Time: 15-20 minutes
Pioneer Fun
Whirligig
A whirligig was a toy made for children in the nineteenth century out of colored paper or cardboard cut in a spiral and tied to a string that, when spun around, makes interesting shapes in the air. We use paper plates with the spiral pre-drawn on them. The students color whatever design they wish and then either cut on the line or get assistance doing so, hole punch a hole, and tie a string to it.
Ages: 8 and under
Adult participation: Limited, cutting and hole punch
Group Size: Any
Time: 15 minutes
Button Spinners
A button spinner is a button threaded on a string that can be made to move in an almost hypnotic fashion.
Ages: 8 and under
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Under 40
Time: 10 minutes
Parlor Games
What did people do for entertainment before the internet or tv? In this activity, we will lead your group through some vintage parlor games. Both children and adults will enjoy these whacky games.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Preferred
Group Size: Any
Time: 25-30 minutes
Making Music
Pioneers often made their own musical instruments to pass the time, especially in the middle of winter when there was nothing else to do. In this activity, children will get to try making their own instruments out of objects we'll provide. All "instruments" are simple enough that they can be made at home again at a later date.
Age: Any
Adult Participation: Preferred
Group size: Any
Time: 20-25 minutes
The Pioneer Way
Lincoln Logs
A great way to discuss different pioneer building practices, we generally set these up in view of the multiple outbuildings. This allows guides and teachers to point out the different methods of construction and allow students to attempt some building themselves.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Less than 25
Time: 15- 20 minutes
Protractors and Angles
A fun activity to add onto the Lincoln Logs, students learn to use a protractor to measure the angles of the historic house. Nothing is built at a 90 degree angle in the historic house making this a fun activity to compare later to their own home. With graph paper and pencils, students will use the measurements to try to draw the house.
Ages: 8 and up
Adult Participation: Limited
Group size: 30 and under
Time: 20 minutes
Writing With Quills
For this activity, students get to try writing with quills. It can be combined with the Letter Writing activity as well or done on its own.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Any
Time: 20 minutes
Pioneer Chores
We can offer a hands-on look at some of the chores pioneer children would have done. This works especially well if the class is reading a specific book that mentions chores. Chores like laundry, darning, gardening, and others can be done. If there are other specific chores, please ask if we would be able to offer them, as we may be able to work something out.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Any
Time: Depends on the number of chores
19th Century Kitchen
We will make one "dish" together to look at the many steps required in cooking in this time period. Generally, this will include making butter and a simple baked good to go with it. We will also look at other facets of cooking, as the need for wood and the different types of stoves used throughout this period. Additional $3/ student materials fee.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Required
Group Size: Under 20
Time: 30-40 minutes
Corn Can
Follow the journey corn could make. We start with ears of corn that children feed through our cornhusker. Some are fed to animals on the grounds, some are saved for planting, and some go on to become lunch. Try using a mortar and pestle to grind the corn and then taste some corn-based foods to finish. $2/ student materials fee.
Age: Any
Adult Participation: Preferred
Group Size: Under 50
Time: 20-25 minutes
Lessons
Civil War Trunk
For those visiting Davies learning about the Civil War, we offer out Civil War Traveling Trunk. Available on its own (see Traveling Trunk brochure), the Civil War trunk can be set up during a field trip to provide hands-on materials relating to the Civil War as well as other discussions about the war.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Limited
Group size: Any
Time: 15- 20 minutes
Book Spotlight
If a specific book is your reason for visiting Davies Manor, we do have areas where your group can sit and discuss the book. This can be combined with lunch or as its own activity. Generally, our guides would step back and let the group or groups discuss by themselves, moderated by the adults of the group.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Required
Group Size: Any
Time: Depends on the depth of analysis
A Discussion of Slavery
Available for any age but best suited for middle to high school groups, this activity would use our new exhibit "Omitted in Mass" for an in-depth discussion about slavery here at the manor, in the region, and in the South in general. This discussion can be limited to a discussion or can also be supplemented with copies of slave documents from our archives. This can also be combined with the next activity, Oral Histories.
Ages: Any
Adult Participation: Limited
Group Size: Any
Time: 20 minutes discussion
Oral Histories
Using some clips from our oral history archives, we discuss what role oral histories play in historical research and discuss the chosen theme of the clips. Some themes include how the area has changed, the racial divide in the 1950s and 1960s, and other possible topics as well.
Ages: 10 and up
Adult Participation: None
Group Size: Any
Time: 30-45 minutes