There have been no pint-sized Pilgrims by the shores of Chickering Pond this fall.
By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
For decades, third-grade students at Wheelock Elementary have excitedly attended the Rocky Woods field trip. Once a year, students and teachers dress up as Pilgrims and participate in a day filled with fun Pilgrim-themed activities at the Medfield nature preserve. It marks the end of the third-graders' Pilgrim unit, which also typically includes visits to Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower, and involves learning about some of the early settlers’ everyday activities.
The unit discusses the lives of America's early settlers, focusing on the Pilgrims of Plimoth. Throughout their learning, the kids take trips to some of the historical locations, while also learning from visiting interpreters. The kids even learn some of the skills Pilgrims had to use, such as braiding, sewing, and carving. Teachers also spend some of the unit teaching kids about the Native Americans who lived near Plimoth, and what their lives were like.
This year, though, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pilgrim unit has had a few changes.
Though they only have each group of their students for two days a week, Wheelock teachers are still doing their best to make sure their students absorb the material - and get to experience some bits of the original lesson plan. “We’re still trying to do things that are meaningful for the kids,” said third grade teacher Erin Watson. Classes are watching documentaries about the Pilgrims, while also engaging in some of the previously-planned activities. The third grade teachers did dress up as Pilgrims, as is a usual tradition for the unit, so that kids could see what a traditional outfit looked like.
The biggest change, though, is that this fall, there haven't been any pint-sized Pilgrims by the shores of Chickering Pond.
Given COVID-19, most parents and kids realized there was a likely chance the Rocky Woods outing would be canceled. Should the situation change in the spring, though, the kids might just get to have their trip. "What we've said is if there was an opportunity in the spring - if we have a vaccine that comes in to play - then we will try to do it," explained Watson. But with the previous school year being cut short, there are still a few problems that will have to be worked out. "We didn't plant anything last year. What we plant in the victory garden is a big part of our harvest for what we make for food," said Watson. What this means: if the Rocky Woods trip is approved in the spring, the usual feast will have to be supplemented with produce from the grocery store.
Despite the fact that they saw it coming, parents and children have been equally disappointed in realizing that these memorable field trips may not be happening this year. “We get these emails, like, 'What are you doing about Plimoth Plantation and Rocky Woods?' And we just have to say, 'we're really sorry, but there's no way we can do it,'" said Watson.
With spring months away, there’s no telling what will happen with the annual Rocky Woods pilgrimage. For now, at least, the third-graders of Wheelock Elementary know all about the resourcefulness of the Pilgrims and what it took for them to land in Plimoth.
Perhaps in the future, someone will teach a unit about the ingenuity and resourcefulness exhibited during the pandemic, too.
