I’m so very fortunate to have a friend who loves to travel and see our state and those states closest to us cheaply. It means I get to go on fun field trips too. Last week we were able to go to see Helen Keller’s house Ivy Green. We loved it! It was such a fun day. It’s about a 3 hour drive from Middle Tennessee. We packed our lunch, thermos of water and snacks and off we went early one morning. It was a fantastic day. The kids watched movies and talked while I drove and chatted with my friend. We saw a lot of Alabama back roads. We stopped at the Alabama rest stop and got some cute pictures there. Then on we drove. Here’s some pics of our day.
We learned a lot about Helen Keller. She was born seeing and hearing and lost both around 18 months from Scarlet fever. We learned that she ran wild up to the age of 4. When a doctor referred her to Alexander Graham Bell who was working with deaf children at the time. It was Alexander Graham Bell who referred her to Anne Sullivan her teacher and constant companion for the rest of her life. From here she was educated some at the Perkins Institute for the Blind and by Horace Mann. She had the best of educational opportunities. But it was up to Anne Sullivan to get the wildness out of her after everyone had let her do whatever she wanted. She took Helen to a small empty house on the property to get her schooled without interference or interruption from her family. After a week of working with her she was able to reintroduce her to the family and get her signing and learning language. There’s a water pump on the property that is said to be where Helen first understood that signs and language have meaning by being able to feel/taste the water.
The home in Tuscumbia, Alabama is set on beautiful grounds. The home used to be on 640 acres but now it’s about 2 acres with city homes around it. It’s a beautiful little town. I asked the kids what they liked best about visiting Helen Keller’s home. My youngest boy said he liked looking at the old key that Helen used to lock Anne up when she first got there. My oldest said he liked seeing all the books she wrote and feeling the braille. My girl loved that we had a picnic on the lawn. I learned that Helen Keller is loved by many in all the world and many show their love at her home with sending things to be displayed. It was such a fun day trip. We ended it with a day at Joe Wheeler Lake State Park and some swimming.
If you’re looking for something fun to do I highly recommend checking out Helen Keller’s home Ivy Green! What fun field trips have you taken the kids on this summer. Tell me in comments!
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