Thanks to the move, Emilyn had to get rid of some books she had outgrown, and Allen was exposed to the wonderful "Magic Tree House" series by Mary Pope Osborne.
The espoused "nonfiction only" reader was quickly enchanted by the exploits of Jack and Annie, siblings from Frog Creek, Pa., who travel through time on missions for Merlin and Morgan Le Fay. Suddenly, he's learning all about ancient Egypt, prehistoric mammals and the "mad genius" Leonardo da Vinci.
While Allen was tearing through the books, we noted that the Magic House, our treasured children's museum, is having a special exhibition inspired by the series. So, we had to check it out!
Three books were represented in the three sections of the exhibit: "Twister on Tuesday" deals with life on the prairie during pioneer days; "Civil War on Sunday" sees Jack and Annie teaming up with Clara Barton to treat wounded soldiers; and "Thanksgiving on Thursday" shows what life was like for the pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony.
Allen drew some Beyblades on the chalkboard in the one-room schoolhouse, before we climbed in the "storm shelter" to listen to the howling wind of a simulated tornado. Later we'd found that prairie kids really did play with spinning tops! Holy cow!
In the Civil War hospital tent, Allen pretended to be a soldier who was injured in battle. He cuddled a shark and wrote a sweet letter to his mommy: "I love you" -- and he put it in the leather mail pouch. He tried on an itchy wool coat and played a drum. Over at the Pilgrims exhibit, he landed on Plymouth Rock, ground corn, harvested vegetables for the first Thanksgiving, and hoisted the giant turkey (I love that picture).
Later, in the mockup of Jack and Annie's tree house, Allen read the first three chapters of "Twister on Tuesday," which he later bought in the gift shop, along with "Civil War on Sunday." We spent some time in the rest of the Magic House, but we had to get back to take Emilyn and Sarah to the mall. Great day of learning, imagination and fun!
To see all our photos from the Magic House, click here.
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