St. Augustine’s Old School Museum

You knew, when I said “St. Augustine’s Old School Museum” in the title of this blog, that we’re talking about an old school building- not old school as in Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hurray Heeeyyy, hoooo, heeeyyy, hoooo, hip hop hurray, hoooo, haaaaay, hoooo…” or something even more Old School like… well, I don’t know like what because I’m not that old.  {Help me out, Karl?!}

Anyways, this post is about the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum in St. Augustine - a St. Augustine attraction for decades and a nice place to prop up your feet for a bit in the midst of busy tours.

We’re grateful to be able to visit for free.  Several local attractions allow St. Johns County Residents free admission, including the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum.  My kids like to pop in and buzz through these parts of the attraction:

We always have to push the button and listen to the teacher.  Usually two or three times.  At least it’s not six times, one for each kid!  My children have never commented on the stiff movement of the automated teacher or why sometimes the button needs to be pushed 4 times before it works.  They genuinely love the old school facets of this Old School House! {you knew I was going to work that in, didn’t you?!}

Then someone always comments on the kid in the dark time-out room under the stairs.  I usually make some quip about bringing back the good old days in our homeschool & they usually give me the “ohhh, MOM!” bit.

Sometimes predictability is a good thing.  These fond memories of being together as a family are being etched into our lives.

My favorite time of year to walk around the Old Schoolhouse gardens is Christmas.  St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights make the entire city radiant and this property also shines with a little extra Christmas cheer.  Year round, though, I like to find an empty bench and prop my feet up while the kiddos freely explore the old well and statues placed around the enclosed gardens.

Before we leave, we always must ring the bell.  I say “before we leave” because otherwise it’d be tolling the entire time we’re visiting… and that makes for a Mamma headache.  So we save it for the end.

Protip: Save the bell ringing for the end of your visit to the Oldest Schoolhouse Museum!

The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum is a small attraction.  But it’s a genuine step back in time if you’ll slow down long enough to read the signs, listen to the old school teacher and, hearing the laughter of children on St. George Street outside, imagine all the sweet blessings that have passed through these doors.

Stop & smile at the next kid you see on the street.  He may not smile back but you’ll have made an impression just like the schoolhouse has on my family.

The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
14 St. George Street
1-888-653-7245

A Homeschool Day in St Augustine

One beautiful thing about homeschooling is it’s portable.  We’ve walked through the zoo while studying land mammals, read about the War Between the States then visited Civil War Battlefields, and lazed in the backyard on sunny afternoons while immersing ourselves in lives lived long ago when kids collapsed into meadows to daydream when their chores were finally finished.

When we read I, Juan de Pareja, a book set in 17th century Spain, I decided to immerse ourselves in 17th century Spain.  We visited St. Augustine.

photo credit: www.StAugustine.com

     Mass was in the great cathedral, with its soaring arches, its tall pillars, its glinting gold on altars and picture frames, its soft candlelight in the scented gloom.  This was for me, as always, a delight.  I loved the melodious chanting of the priests, the beauty of their vestments, the glorious moment of the elevation.  Mistress often had to rap me with her fan in church, for I quite forgot her, her sweetmeats and her rosary, everything, while I sent my soul upward to bathe in a golden light which seemed to come down from God.

     After Mass I hoped Mistress might go to the house of a friend who sometimes made that strange American drink for us, foaming chocolate, and served it hot in tiny cups.

- I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

We read page 8 of I, Juan de Pareja and lived it ourselves.  The children fingered rosaries in the gift shop like the ones Juan would have handed his mistress.  We walked next door to Kookaburra Coffee Shop {<- review there} and enjoyed much sweeter cups of “foaming chocolate” than Juan ever dreamed of.

Juan was the slave and assistant of famous artist Velazquez.  Over the course of this historical fiction book, we were introduced to mantillas (which we saw a painting of downtown), painting styles and tools, and food experiences from foaming chocolate to sweetmeats.  We sought out as many experiences as we could that day to immerse ourselves in 17th century Spanish culture and connect with Juan de Pareja and the humble master he served.

We lunched at The Spanish Bakery {<- review there}.  Empanadas would have been a quick food common men lunched on in the 17th century.  Since Velazquez served the King of Spain, empanadas likely would not have been their main fare but I couldn’t afford a royal spread for 6 hungry students! {grin}

She fed me well and saw that I had money to buy sweets in the street, and sometimes she let me go to watch the strolling players…

I could afford a trip to the candy shop for sweets!  My students shop this candy store often- and quite frugally.  They know how to stretch a dollar or two!  Located on St. George Street across from Cafe del Hidalgo & Pizzalley’s, this is their favorite stop on “special trips” even though I try to talk them into Bon Ami or The Hyppo {<- reviews}.

We curled up under the gazebo in the Plaza de la Constitucion with our book while it rained then called the school day complete.  Since it was still raining, we popped in to Anastasia Books- St. Augustine’s used book store.  We were delighted to be welcomed by the friendly owner who quickly showed the kiddos her Duplo Lego table- they had a blast creating with new-to-them legos!!

Walking back up St. George Street toward the parking garage, we had to stop in the knife store. Juan didn’t carry a sword to protect his master, but my 14 year old quickly found the one he thought Juan should have carried.

All school kids know that a field trip isn’t complete without checking out the gift shop!  I decided it was time to let the kids pick up a cheesy souvenir of our day, so we stopped by Grist Mill Gift Shop…

…and found the perfect cheesy thing! A Mustache variety pack with just enough for my kids! Perfect!

We all got in on the fun…

Andrew rocked his St. Auggie ‘stache.

Bwa ha haaa!  So much fun!!

We took a “Class Photo” before we left.

I love homeschooling and I love St. Augustine, so homeschooling in St. Augustine was a no-brainer!  What a fun field trip back in time to the 17th century.

Viva St. Augustine!

Field trip giveaway is going on the week of April 12 – April 19.  Enter here: http://www.simplystaugustine.com/to-do/st-augustine-schooltour/