Emerson Family Vacation

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an important figure in the United States, especially where literature and the philosophy of transcendentalism is concerned.

As a result of this, it is equally important to expose our families to pieces of culture like this. In fact, you can base a whole vacation around the Ralph Waldo Emerson and the principals of transcendentalism.

Do you only have a day or so to spend on Emerson? That’s okay. You can easily tack on these extra sites to your vacation to Massachusetts, especially if you visit Boston or any of the Revolutionary War sites in Concord or Lexington.

Visiting Emerson’s House

Your first stop on the Emerson tour will be to visit Ralph Waldo Emerson’s house in Concord, MA. You can tack this on to your existing time spend in Concord or you can visit the town just to take a look at his house.

It’s located near Louisa May Alcott’s house, the author of Little Women. It is here that he entertained some of the important people of his day, including Alcott and Henry David Theroux.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Grave

You can continue your Emerson pilgrimage by seeking out his grave. It’s located at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in a section called “Author’s Ridge” in Concord, MA. He’s buried there with his wife.

While you’re there, you may want to bring some paper and a crayon so you can do a grave rubbing to put it in your scrap book. Or, you can just take a photo.

Emerson’s Library

While he was alive, Ralph Waldo Emerson kept an extensive library. It is no longer a part of the house. You’ll have to go to the library at Harvard (the Houghton Library) in order to view the collection. If you are going to be in Cambridge, MA anyway to visit Harvard University, you may want to pay a visit.

Concord Museum

This is another place that has something of Emerson’s on display – all of the furniture that was located in his study. Since he was a writer and a philosopher, it is safe to assume that much of his time was spent in his study. When you visit the display it is fun to imagine how he spent his time.

Experience Transcendentalism

If you want to experience transcendentalism, a great place to go is Walden Pond. This is really the home of Emerson’s contemporary, Henry David Theroux.

However, the two were friends and their ideas were similar. This can be a hard idea for children to grasp but if anything, there is a nice walking path around the pond and it can be a fun excursion in the outdoors.

Look up transcendentalism and try your best to explain in to your children. Give everybody a notebook and a pen and some crayons and have them find a spot in the woods near you.

Tell them to write or draw whatever comes to mind, inspired by the environment around them. Transcendentalists were very interested in nature and if they do this exercise can help bring the difficult concepts to life.

Taking a vacation that focuses on Ralph Waldo Emerson can be a fun experience. It is a good opportunity to teach them a little bit about history and literature and have fun in the process.

 

 

You can either travel to Massachusetts just to understand Emerson, or you can visit these points of interest while you are already in the area.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson

http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com/go/ma/boston_west
/concord/sights/emerson_house.html

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden/