Boston Junior Ranger Badges

The girls have been to historical sites in Boston twice (September and December last year), working on their Boston Junior Ranger Badges.  They had to visit five different sites and work on activities in their booklets to earn these badges.  They had two places left, and today was the day to finish their booklets.

Our first stop was the Old South Meeting House.  Evelyn took off on her own, searching for answers to her scavenger hunt.  I shadowed Julia, helping her read the questions and spell out the answers.  The most interesting thing about the Old South Meeting house (for me) was learning that Benjamin Franklin was born across the street.

 Then we walked a few blocks north and found the Old State House.  In the picture below, the girls are reading the pavement marker for the Boston Massacre.  (On the train ride into Boston this morning, we girls read books about the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party - both historic sites we visited today focused on those two events.)

 When touring the Old State House, we were each given a card with the name and information about a historic person.  As we walked through the displays, we were given questions about our characters - how would they respond to a certain situation, would they be involved in the conflict, etc.  This really helped the girls make connections to what they were learning about.

Oh, and the kids' area was fun for the girls to play in, too.

 After completing activities for the last two historic sites in their Junior Ranger booklets, we headed to Faneuil Hall, where the National Parks Service ranger station is.  The girls took the Junior Ranger oath, and they were awarded their badges.  This is the seventh badge the girls have earned.  And they proudly wore their badges as we made our way back to the train station.