Adventures Through the Looking Glass!

April 28, 2015

Have you ever come to Living History Farms to hear a story and then gone to see some animals for our Barnyard Readers program? During April, we had some very special guests at the Flynn Mansion, kids just like you, who came to hear the story of Alice in Wonderland for our new Victorian-themed Barnyard Readers!

Alice in Wonderland is the story of a young girl who thinks her life is very boring. She ends up going on a crazy adventure and meets many goofy friends like the White Rabbit, who is always worried about being late; the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, who celebrate their unbirthdays at a very silly tea party; and the Queen of Hearts, who likes to win and yell, “Off with their heads!”. Just when Alice thinks she’ll never be able to go back home, she finds her way back.

Our guests not only got to hear the story while sitting in the Parlor, they also got to look around the rest of the Flynn Mansion to see what kinds of toys and games kids got to play with in 1875. Do you like playing with blocks, reading stories, or having tea parties with your dolls? So did the Flynn children! In the boys’ room, we also made fun crafts.The first week we made bunny ears and noses so we could look just like the White Rabbit! There were also coloring pages and a snack in the Dining Room where we could use our good manners, just like Alice in the story.

The last week we even got to go outside and try a new game that Alice played with the Queen of Hearts…croquet! In croquet, you hit a ball with a mallet through small hoops called wickets. The first person to hit his or her ball through all the wickets wins! In the book, Alice and the Queen use birds as mallets! Isn’t that silly?

We had so much fun reading a story together and making crafts and learning new games. If croquet sounds like a fun game you would like to learn, come out and visit us this summer! Croquet is one of our favorite games, and we would love to teach more people how to play! We will also be having tea parties and maybe even celebrating an “unbirthday” or two.

Caregivers: The Spring Barnyard Readers series is now over. But there are still spots available in our Summer and Fall Barnyard Readers programs! You can find out more about these programs here.

Read more posts on the LHF Kids Blog

Categories:

Fun and Games   Victorian Kids