Home School Day – January 27, 2023

Friday, January 27, 2023

Times: The Village is open from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. Workshop times vary; see below for details

Join us for our first Home School Day of 2023 on Friday, January 27! During this home school day, we will explore what 19th-century New Englanders did when it got cold outside. From learning about the role of Massachusetts in the international ice trade, to winter work on the farm, to staying warm with quilts and cozy textiles, participants will gain exposure to many aspects of 1830s New England life in an interactive way.

Home School Days offer you and your family the opportunity to explore the Village and participate in hands-on activities. Sign up for a workshop or explore the Village on your own using one of our many self-guides and scavenger hunts, available at both Museum Education and the Visitor Center.

Sign up for a workshop or explore the Village on your own using one of our many self-guides and scavenger hunts, available at both Museum Education and the Visitor Center.

Admission and Ticketing

On Home School Day, homeschoolers (ages 4-17) get in at the discounted rate $10 and one adult is admitted per home school youth at the discounted rate of $15. Additional adults above the 1 to 1 ratio are admitted at the full rate of $28. As always, members get into the Village for free.

Workshops are an additional fee; see below for details.

Click here to purchase/reserve tickets for January 27, 2023

Things to know:

Unless otherwise noted, workshops will take place inside or outside the Museum Education building. You may park at Museum Education during the day; click here for directions.
The Museum Education building closes to the public following workshops due to our afterschool program
Home School Days are rain-or-shine programs.
Pre-registration is required for all activities listed below, unless otherwise noted.
All events are limited to 10 students, unless otherwise noted.
Please respect the age requirements for the workshops. They are set for the benefit of our educators and all program participants.
These are not drop-in programs and our staff will have a list of registrants for each workshop.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your workshop tickets. As these workshops are in high demand, refunds for workshop fees will only be given up to one week prior to the event date, or in the case of cancellation by Old Sturbridge Village.
Students’ guardians must stay in close proximity of the program location for the entire duration of the activity for safety reasons.
Workshop times are approximate. Please stay close by during your child’s workshop.
Meeting locations for these workshops may change. Stay tuned to your email or signage at the Visitor Center on the day of the program for any potential location changes.

Check back the week prior to the event for more information on in-Village activities.

Hands-On Workshops

Winter Wildlife at OSV | 50 Minutes | $7

Register for 10:00 (Ages 3-6; Must be accompanied by an adult) SOLD OUT
Register for 11:00 (Ages 3-6; Must be accompanied by an adult)

Where do ladybugs and frogs go when it snows, and the ponds freeze? Listen to the story Just the Right Place by Jane W. Moncure, and complete a picture to match animals with their winter shelters. Come dressed for the weather, as we will take a short walk on the River Walk trail to see where animals find places to spend the winter.

Hearth Cooking: Gingerbread | 50 Minutes | $7

Follow a 19th-century “receipt” for gingerbread. Together, we’ll enjoy our delicious snack with some mint tea. Ingredients will include: flour, butter, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, molasses, mint

Hearth Cooking: Dressed Macaroni | 50 Minutes | $7

Follow a 19th-century “receipt” for dressed macaroni, a hearty dish full of noodles and cheese. While the dish bakes, we’ll talk about the types of foods people ate during the winter months and why. Ingredients will include: egg noodles, butter, cheese, cream, onion, cloves, breadcrumbs

Writing in Secret Code | 50 Minutes | $7

Register for 10:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Register for 11:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Register for 1:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT

People have been writing in code for a long time in order to keep their messages safe. Other codes, like Morse Code (developed during the Village’s time period!) and semaphore, were created to make communication easier. Learn about the history of codes, sew a secret journal, write in invisible ink, and then decipher and encode your own messages to share with friends.

Keeping Warm | 50 Minutes | $7

Without central heating in your home, it was essential that people in the 1830s wore very warm clothing. Learn about the clothing that people in the 19^th century wore to keep warm in cold weather, then try your hand at carding and weaving.

Make Candles and a Tin Candleholder | 50 Minutes | $8

Making candles was a dreaded winter task. Craft a small candleholder out of tin and make a set of hand-dipped candles to go along with it. We will learn about the different types of lighting that people used in the 1830s and experiment to see which one is brightest.

Winter Amusements | 50 Minutes | $7

Register for 10:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT

What kinds of games and toys did kids play during the winter to keep themselves occupied on long, cold days? Try out imaginative group games from period books for children, play with homemade and store-bought toys, explore magic tricks of the 1830s, and make a 19^th-century game to take home.

Printing and Making a Ball Invitation | 50 Minutes | $7

Balls were a popular form of winter entertainment in the 1830s. Some balls even celebrated George Washington’s February birthday! We will look at ball invitations from OSV’s collections, learn about the printing trades in the 1800s, and then design and create our own ball invitations using modern woodblock printing methods.

Freeze the Day | 50 Minutes | $7

Explore the history of the ice trade, beginning in the 1830s with Massachusetts native Frederic Tudor, also known as the “Ice King.” We’ll explore how the ice business got started, talk about food preservation during the Village’s time period, and then make and enjoy an iced beverage—a rare treat for the 1830s!

Reverse Glass | 50 Minutes | $7

Reverse glass painting was a very popular form of decoration in the early 1800s. Celebrate the winter by creating this period-inspired artwork painted directly on glass.

Stories and Crafts: The Hundred-Year Barn | 50 Minutes |$7

Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale. After reading the beautifully illustrated story The Hundred-Year Barn by Patricia MacLachlan, participants will learn about the barns at Old Sturbridge Village and the animals that inhabit them. Then, do an animal-themed craft to take home!

Stories and Crafts: Apples to Oregon | 50 Minutes | $7

Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale. This entertaining tale by Deborah Hopkinson tells the (somewhat) true tale of a pioneer father who brings his fruit trees to the American West. We’ll talk about how people moved west in the 1830s, then make a craft related to a popular mode of transportation from the time: trains, stagecoaches, or boats!

Stories and Crafts: The All Together Quilt | 50 Minutes | $7

Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale. It’s cold outside! Let’s read this cozy tale by Lizzy Rockwell about collaboration and teamwork. After, we’ll make our own small quilt squares from fabric and fabric markers, and then see what all the squares look like together as a bigger quilt! We will also look at examples of quilted items from the Village’s collection.

The Family Nurse and Herbal Remedies | 50 Minutes | $7

In the 1800s, women like Lydia Maria Child, Indigenous doctress Rhoda Rhodes, and countless others relied on herbs and plants from nature and their gardens to treat health ailments. Many people did not have access to doctors, so women took on a healing role in their families. Examining period books like The Frugal Housewife and The Family Nurse, we will learn about how people treated illnesses before cough medicine and antibiotics and then create our own small book of remedies.

Make a Mosaic | 50 Minutes | Ages $8

Students will create a small mosaic out of tiles. They will learn a brief history of the art and see images of examples of mosaics.

Farm Sampler | 50 Minutes | $7

Register for 10:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Register for 1:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT

Most farmers also practiced a different trade, like blacksmithing, pottery, or coopering. The New England winter was a good time for these farmer-craftspeople to work at these trades, along with various other mending tasks around the farm. Participants in this workshop will work with clay, use a draw knife to make a tool handle, split logs, and other winter, farm-related tasks.

Make a Quilt Square | 90 Minutes | $10

In the 19th century, quilting parties were a vital part of people’s social lives. Gathering together around a quilting frame, the crafters would sew and talk about the latest news. Household inventories from the 1830s show that most homes had at least one quilt. While quilts kept you warm on a cold New England night, they were also an art form and a way of making sure that fabric scraps did not go to waste. Participants will explore quilted items from OSV’s collections; learn about different stitches and patterns; and then piece together and hand-sew a small, quilted item.

Winter Work and Play Tour | 90 Minutes | $7

How did people keep warm in cold weather in the 1830s? What did they do for entertainment, and what necessary work needed to be done during the quiet New England winter? Join an educator on a Village tour that explores day-to-day life during the colder months, and how 19th-century people kept toasty. Please note: this tour involves a lot of walking and will last about 1.5 hours. Adults may accompany children on this tour, but the registration spots are for students only.

Art of the Alphabet | 90 Minutes | $10

Explore how the combination of hand lettering (calligraphy) and 1830s printing methods are the basis of modern typography and graphic design. Students will use historical models in designing a unique, personalized visual communication in the form of a logo or illuminated letter.

Be Among the First to Hear About Registration Opening for the Next Home School Day