Catherine Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Our homeschool group is looking into this. We are in the DC\Baltimore area so day trip is what we have in mind. Gettysburg seems like the default-can anyone report on their homeschool days? We would like something that is meaty, directed if possible toward middle school ages and up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 You are, of course, quite near my back yard if you head to Gettysburg... ;) It is a terrific place to learn about the Civil War (all of it, not just the battle at Gettysburg). The museum and Cyclorama are worth it if you take the time to go through it. Some just walk through quickly barely seeing anything. I fail to see the point of that. There are plenty of signs, descriptions, short videos, and genuine artifacts/articles/letters, etc that really tell the story of the war. One could take a whole day just here, but then you'd miss the actual battlefield and its moving experience. The battlefield experience is better when you've started here though as it has more meaning to the kids. Taking a bus tour around the battlefield is another option. OR... chip in and get your own licensed guide. They are superb. They have to test to become a licensed guide and their knowledge of all things Gettysburg and war is incredible. Tell them you have middle schoolers and you'll likely get someone who is great with that age. If those are out of budget, they sell CDs in the store and you can do your own driving while listening to the CD - stopping at all the points they tell you to stop at. This easily takes 2 - 3 hours or more. When we took our own kids we watched the movie, Gettysburg, first. It only deals with a few of segments of the war, but those segments gave my kids special meaning when we were out on the battlefield and saw the areas in person. We've never done homeschool days, so can't help you with that. I imagine they'd be decent (perhaps not too meaty, but a decent overview), but that's just my thoughts - no true experience. Your group's own licensed guide will give you the best experience IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I'd go to Gettysburg, but Petersburg is quite good. You can also stop in at our church, Pohick, on the way south, to hear the story of the Civil War soldiers (there's a little graffiti still on the walls) and the launch of the first surveillance balloon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Y'all make me want to head north! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduemeche Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 No real suggestion, except to read Confederates in the Attic. This is a charming book by Tony Horowitz and his recounting of visiting the Civil War sites in your area is memorable to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Y'all make me want to head north! :) Come on up! As a confession to make... Gettysburg was one of the last National Park sites we actually did with our boys. I guess part of it was that it was too close to home to consider a "trip." Another part was that we are nature lovers, not necessarily history lovers. We were out at one of the state parks on the Oregon coast when a visitor there asked where we were from. We always answer that as "near Gettysburg" as no one recognizes our exact small town (area). He immediately started gushing about the park and how "lucky" we were to live so close to it... :tongue_smilie: We visited it soon afterward - and found out we actually DO like some historical sites (even if they are close to home)! One can drive all over Gettysburg's park just by going into the town since the war was fought in and around town. Some buildings still show their battle scars. We'd done all of that, of course. My kids even did some summer things at Gettysburg College. But once we had officially done the park, so many places had new meaning. We just went again about a year ago when middle son brought a friend home from college over spring break. He was from TX and really enjoyed the park too. Oh... people always ask us where we like to eat in Gettysburg... well... we don't. We haven't found any worth the $$ to be honest. It's a tourist town. There are some with nice decor - the Dobbin House comes to mind - but usually if we're in Gettysburg and want to eat we opt for fast food or Chinese. Look at Yelp for what might appeal to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 So, this sounds weird, but one of the neatest Civil War things we did was visit the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in downtown Frederick, MD. The museum was very nicely done, with lots of displays and mannequins and such... lots of good information, talked a lot about Clara Barton, etc. It started off with a talk/lecture about the Civil War and the area- the room we were in looked out over the actual "National Pike" and they discussed that, showed pictures, slides, etc. Then we got a guided tour of the museum (and there was noone else there!!) and our guide was some old Civil War buff who was just happier than a pig in mud to be discussing every bit of knowledge contained in that museum, and his brain, with our kids and parents. Seriously. The tour took way longer than scheduled because we just stayed around asking more questions.... We went in the fall, November I think- and the downtown area was absolutely gorgeous. There was a little coffee shop across the street and afterwards we all went and ate lunch. It was a great trip! Highly recommend! We will go again when our kids are in middle school, for sure. I believe they (NMCWM) also have something set up at the Antietam Battlefield- you know they do that illiuminary thing every year, right? It's December 6th this year. Antietam is very close to Harpers Ferry, which talks a lot about the Civil War- we are going on a camping field trip in a few weeks- they are having a special education program about Abraham Lincoln and the election of 1864 one of the days we are there- check their schedule of events- they always have neat reanctments and stuff.... and again, fall is definitely best time to go there :) Just a few weeks ago we did an overnight program aboard the USS Constellation, which was a real Civil War ship- it actually caught several slave ships off the coast of Africa and set the slaves free. (It's that big ship in Baltimore Inner Harbor). The program was really neat- the guy told us all about how the Navy was during the Civil War, how the ship would have operated, etc. He really stays in character.... the kids are *still* talking about that trip. We slept in hammocks, ate hard tack, fired a (blank) cannon, did gun drills- it was seriously cool. We'll be going to Gettysburg in the spring, camping again; it's a great place to go when learning about the Civil War. ETA: This is where you want to eat in Gettyburg. Trust me. Best French Onion soup EVER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 Wow-so many good ideas! The illuminary display at Antietam sounds amazing! But the killjoy in me says we can't take a whole day just for that...I need an attitude adjustment. I'm going to talk to the people in my group and try to make plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Wow-so many good ideas! The illuminary display at Antietam sounds amazing! But the killjoy in me says we can't take a whole day just for that...I need an attitude adjustment. I'm going to talk to the people in my group and try to make plans. double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Wow-so many good ideas! The illuminary display at Antietam sounds amazing! But the killjoy in me says we can't take a whole day just for that...I need an attitude adjustment. I'm going to talk to the people in my group and try to make plans. Can you only go on one trip for the year? Or you just want one trip related to Civil War? We go on field trips every 2-3 weeks :) And, Antietam Battlefield and the Museum of Civil War Medicine are so close, that you could do the museum in the morning, have lunch, and then head to the Battlefield and tour that until it closes, then get in "line" for the luminaries, which isn't until nighttime. It would be a full day, but totally doable with middle schoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Well this wouldn't exactly be a day trip, but if you are ever in the Atlanta area don't miss the Atlanta History Museum. Their Civil War exhibition is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I've done all of the major sites, and my favorite is Gettysburg. Pay for a guide, they are well worth it. They drive your car and orient the tour toward your interests. You can do the guided tour, and then go back to the sites you missed or those you want to see again. I've been there three times, the last time was with a group of teens right after they had read Killer Angels and watched the movie. It was wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Can you only go on one trip for the year? Or you just want one trip related to Civil War? We go on field trips every 2-3 weeks :) And, Antietam Battlefield and the Museum of Civil War Medicine are so close, that you could do the museum in the morning, have lunch, and then head to the Battlefield and tour that until it closes, then get in "line" for the luminaries, which isn't until nighttime. It would be a full day, but totally doable with middle schoolers. The Pry Field House, which also has a medical focus, is on the grounds of Antietam. It is very small but interesting. It was McClellan's HQ and Lincoln went there 2weeks after the battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 We inadvertently went to Antietam. It was awesome. Unfortunately it was April and snowing, so we kind of flew through, but my kids thought it was one of the best stops ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 We had a big group home school field trip to Gettysburg one year. It was not well-received. These were families with little kids and whining moms complaining about all of the walking. It is a fantastic place to tour. We didn't use a tour guide, but you can get from the national park folks a CD (rent?) to guide your own tour. Be prepared for lots of other tourists and buses. There is no way you can do everything in Gettysburg in one day but it is, if you like history, an awesome place to tour. Make sure there aren't any re-enactments going on when you schedule your trip. It is packed on those days. Sorry, I can't report on their homeschool days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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