Fun Facts about Advent Calendars

It is hard to believe it is time to pull out the Advent calendar. I thought I would continue our Fun Facts Series and share some fun facts about Advent calendars today since it is the first day to open a door on yours. Be sure to check out our Fun Facts about Advent. 

Fun Facts about Advent

Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time to get ready for Christmas!! Advent begins a bit later because of how the dates fall this year. In the western world it begins on Sunday this year. In honor of that I thought I would share a bit about Advent, its history and other fun facts!

Who Was at the "First" Thanksgiving? Fun Facts about Captain Myles Standish

I hope you are enjoying our Fun Facts Series and especially our special part of Who Was at the "First" Thanksgiving. Today we are looking at Captain Myles Standish. See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Who Was at the First Thanksgiving? John Billington and Family Fun Facts

Have you been following our Fun Facts series? We started last week looking at a special spin off of "Who was at the first Thanksgiving?" Be sure to check out our Fun Facts about William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Massasoit, and Squanto. Today I thought I would share about one of the "Strangers" as the "Saints" referred to them. But this Stranger family had quite the reputation in Plymouth. I am going to share about John Billington and his family. Eleanor Billington was one of the five married women who were alive for the first Thanksgiving. 

Who Was at the First Thanksgiving? Fun Facts about Edward Winslow

Have you been following our Fun Facts series? We started last week looking at a special spin off of "Who was at the first Thanksgiving?" Be sure to check out our Fun Facts about William Bradford, Squanto, and John Billington and Family (coming soon). Today we are sharing our fun facts about Edward Winslow. 

Who Was at the First Thanksgiving? Fun Facts about Massasoit

Have you been enjoying our Fun Facts Series? This week we are taking a look at Who Was at the "First" Thanksgiving. Now in truth what we celebrate as the first Thanksgiving was not the first in America. The Native Americans held various thanksgiving festivals long before Europeans came to America and the first European Thanksgiving happened well before there were colonies. (Source) Well today we are looking at some Fun Facts about Massasoit. 

Who Was at the First Thanksgiving? Fun Facts about Squanto

Have you been following our Fun Facts series? We started last week looking at a special spin off of "Who was at the first Thanksgiving?" Be sure to check out our Fun Facts about William Bradford, Edward Winslow, and John Billington and Family (coming soon). Today we are sharing our fun facts about Squanto. 

Fun Facts about Pie with Pie Recipes & Crafts Round-Up

What are you serving or having for Thanksgiving? Some of the traditional things are turkey (although there probably was not turkey at the "first" Thanksgiving) and pie. Since we have shared fun facts about turkeys and apples I thought we would share today a bit about pies. What is your favorite pie? I love blueberry!! Steve and Hazel love apple. 

Who Was at the First Thanksgiving? Interesting Facts about William Bradford, Second Governor of Plymouth Colony

Have you been following our Fun Facts Series? Over the weekend we shared some about the Mayflower and about the Pilgrims in general. Today I thought we would start to look at the Pilgrims individually a bit. I figured I would start with the one I am most interested in, William Bradford. I can trace my ancestry back to him, so I am always fascinated by his story.

1. William Bradford was born on March 19, 1590 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. He was orphaned at a young age. His father died when he was one and he lived with his grandfather at age 4 when his mother remarried. At age 7 both his mother and grandfather passed away. He lived with his uncles, Robert and Thomas Bradford. They lived on a sheep farm.



William Bradford's Birthplace: The Manor House Austerfield By Anne Hollingsworth Wharton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons



2. At age 12 he joined the neighboring town, Scrooby, Separatists. He probably learned to read at a school three miles away from his home. One of his favorite books was Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, which told about the brave people that were tortured or killed because of their religious beliefs differing from Queen Mary’s.  In 1603 King James I became king and put out a law that Puritans could not meet by themselves.
3.  In the winter of 1607 he was thrown into jail with fellow Separatists when they boarded a ship for Holland. The ship’s captain had betrayed them. In August 1608 he finally joined the Separatists in Amsterdam, Holland. In Amsterdam William shared a house with the Brewsters and worked at a loom making silk.
4. In 1613 he married Dorothy May. They have one son, John, together whom they leave in Leiden when they set sail on the Mayflower. Dorothy goes overboard and dies.



Embarkation of the Pilgrims (pictured on the Speedwell) By Robert W. Weir 
(photograph courtesy Architect of the Capitol) (Architect of the Capitol) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons



5. William Bradford did much of the administrative planning for the Mayflower voyage.
6. While exploring Cape Cod (while the Mayflower was in Provincetown), William Bradford got caught in deer trap set by Native Americans. It was made by strong ropes that wrapped around his ankles and held him in a tree upside down. He was one of the ten men who sailed in a small boat along the coast and found Plymouth.  When they returned to the Mayflower he discovered his wife, Dorothy, had gone overboard in the shallow water and no one had been there to save her.
7. The first winter the common house was used as a hospital. The common house was the first house built. William stayed in the common house due to his hip hurting so much he could not stand up. He was there when the thatched roof caught fire. There were barrels of gunpowder all around the common house. The Pilgrims were able to move the gunpowder and muskets out of danger and get all the sick people out without any deaths. Most of what William owned was lost in the fire.
8. Squanto most likely lived in the same house as William Bradford when he moved into Plymouth. William Bradford wrote that Squanto was “a special instrument sent of God for their good.”
9. In 1621 he becomes governor of the Plymouth Colony when Governor John Carver dies. He refused to be paid for the job. He was reelected thirty times.



Statue of William Bradford near Plymouth Rock ToddC4176 at English Wikipedia 
[GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons



10. When the Fortune was first spotted in the sea, William gathered all the men and boys with their muskets in case it was not a friendly ship.
11. In 1623 he marries Alice Carpenter Southworth arrived with her 2 sons and married William Bradford. She mothered his son left in Leiden (came to Plymouth) and they had 2 sons and a daughter. Alice moved into William’s sparse house with her sons and her sister’s family. His house had only one rug and two silver spoons. He taught all of his children to read and write.
12. In 1648 William Bradford, Captain Miles Standish and three other men sold of a lot of land to pay off the loan they owed for the Mayflower and establishing Plymouth Colony.
13. He was a very fair governor. He made sure the people voted for their leaders and that each man got an equal share of land. He made sure no one starved when food was sparse. He also made sure the church did not rule the people. If Strangers (the non-Separatists) wanted to join the church they were welcomed but it was not forced.  
14. He leaves public office in 1656 and dies several months later in 1657.  He had shared the stories of Plymouth with his children and then wrote them down. He didn’t want people to forget how God had guided the little band of Pilgrims to the New World. 

Sources:

• Herring, Marianne. William Bradford. Philadelphia. (2000) Chelsea House Publishers.
• Honiss Kelso, Dorothy. Beyond the Pilgrim Story: William Bradford. http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/william_bradford.htm
• Philbrick, Nathaniel. The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 2008. New York.

Sacagawea and the Shoshone -- Native American Heritage Month Series & Giveaway

Disclosure: Quarto Knows sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As much as I love Native Americans, I tend to stick to the Wampanoag. Perhaps it is because they live in Massachusetts or because they are the ones in the "first Thanksgiving" story. Plus they are often the ones I see displays about or meet because of the locality. Well I already wrote a post about the Wampanoag for Multicultural Kid Blogs for our Native American Heritage Month Series this year and several over the years here, so today I decided to look at another tribe, the Shoshone. I am going to review one of the books that is a prize in our giveaway and take a look at one of the most famous Native Americans--Sacagawea and her tribe the Shoshone. Last month I had the pleasure of sharing another book that is one of our prizes--I Am Sacagawea by Brad Meltzer. I also reviewed a book about Sacagawea a few years ago. Today's book is Path to the Pacific: The Story of Sacagawea by Neta Lohnes Frazier. 

Fun Facts & Crafts about Pilgrims

Have you been following our Fun Facts series? Yesterday we looked at the Mayflower. Today we are looking at the Pilgrims in general, but we will be looking at some of them individually over the next couple weeks. I hope you will join us for all the fun!!

Fun Facts about the Mayflower with Mayflower Craft Round-Up

Have you been following our Fun Facts posts? I have been enjoying learning about the various topics like apples, turkeys, and more!! Today we are looking at the Mayflower. What do you know about the ship the Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic and came to Plymouth? See if I found something new for you to learn. Enjoy!

Fun Facts about Apples -- with Apple Craft Round-Up

Our autumn weather has hit New England. The past couple of months have been unusually warm for the most part. One of my favorite fall things are the apples. I love the fresh apples in the fall. A couple of years ago we explored apples as part of our fruit explorations. Today we are sharing some interesting facts about them!

Fun Facts about Turkeys & a Turkey Craft Round Up

Have you been following our fun fact posts? It is November so we are moving on to Thanksgiving. So let's talk turkey!! Below the fun facts are a round-up of turkey crafts and activities. Ready for these fun facts?

11 Interesting Facts about Trick-or-Treating

Have you check out our Interesting Facts series that I began last week? I have been having so much fun writing them, so I hope you are enjoying them!! Today we are looking at Trick-or-Treating!

10 Fun Facts About Jack-O'-Lanterns

Have you checked out our first Fun Facts post yet? There will be a total of three fun facts related to Halloween and then I will do more for Thanksgiving. I hope you will check them all out. I know I am having fun doing them and learning about so many different things. Today we are talking about jack-o'-lanterns. Have you carved yours yet?

10 Interesting Facts about the Salem Witch Trials & Salem, Massachusetts

So Multicultural Kid Blogs has a new series 10 Fun Facts About.... I wrote one the other night for Native American Heritage Month (it goes live on November 6th). It got me thinking about different subjects that would be fun to do. I decided with Halloween next week, I would do one on the Salem Witch Trials. Salem, Massachusetts is crazy for the entire month of October. On weekends it is impossible to get in or out of Salem. People are there all month long in costumes. They have a Witch Museum; a street called Witch Way; an elementary school called Witchcraft Heights Elementary School; and the high school mascot is Salem Witches. After all Salem calls itself The Witch City. Even the police cars have a witch on them.  You can read about one of our visits to Witch City.