I like going on field trips with my boys! Not only does it help make our lessons come alive, it also provides an opportunity for family bonding while learning.
I also like kicking off the new school year in our homeschool with field trips. Last year, we went to Jose Rizal’s Shrine in Calamba, Laguna. The year before that, we went to Fort Santiago in Old Manila. I used these field trips to help my kids appreciate our history lessons more. Three years ago, we also went to the Aguinaldo Shrine but it was evening and we were only able to watch the light show.
This school year, my husband and I decided that we will go to the Emilio Aguinaldo Museum at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite on June 10, 2017. It was also our family’s way of celebrating the anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence by General Emilio Aguinaldo 119 years ago.
At the Shrine’s entrance.
We went to the Shrine in the morning so we could tour the museum and the house.
It was a rainy day. It was very tempting to just sleep in and waste the day away doing nothing at home. But, I made a promise to the boys. So, off we went!
There were light rains when we arrived at the Shrine. We parked our vehicle at the park across the Shrine. Then, we walked to General Aguinaldo’s house.
There were also other tourists inside when we came.
Salute from our boys at the Museo ni Emilio Aguinaldo! This was at the entrance of the museum.
We started our activity with a tour of the Emilio Aguinaldo Museum which was on the ground floor of the house. We didn’t have a guide here. We just went around on our own and read the text on the displays. Then we had our photos taken.
They had their own bowling alley! The first in Cavite if I remember it right.
The boys were looking at the bomb shelter. The house has a secret passage from one fo the dining areas where they can jump into the bomb shelter during the war. It went straight to the ground floor. It also has a passage or tunnel to the nearby Church.
It was good that the texts were both in English and Tagalog.
It was also my first time to enter the museum. It’s an experience that I’m sharing with my family. All of us were first-timers in this place. We were learning together. My husband and I had a review of our Philippine History lessons as we guided our kids.
The General’s clothes and other things. My husband was explaining what those things were to our kids.
History was one of my favorite subjects in school when I was still a student. That’s why I love that we are homeschooling and that we are learning alongside our kids. I didn’t have this field trip when I was a student. It is my joy to make this field trip a part of my kids’ education.
My little Katipuneros and me!
This is one of the things I love about homeschooling. I get to choose the places where my kids will have theirĀ field trips. And because I’m the one who chooses, I get to make sure that these are relevant to the lessons we are discussing in our homeschool and that my kids would find it interesting.
After going through the museum at the ground floor, we went up the second floor which is the house. We were blessed that this time, we found a guide to accompany us. It made our tour so much better. She explained that General Aguinaldo designed the house. She also showed some of the secret passages where General Aguinaldo can pass or the places where he used to hide. She shared the stories behind the displays.
The tarp you’ll see before you go up the stairs leading to the second floor.
The master’s bedroom. The two ternos or dresses belonged to his two wives, the first wife who died and the second wife. There are secret passages also to and from this room. The guide also said that there is a closet that is empty and that the general used when he wanted to rest or hide from people.
Our very helpful tour guide showing us another receiving area in the house where General Aguinaldo would talk to his visitors. This is a smaller receiving area. On the right is a small room with a bed where the general can rest if he wants to.
The big mirror behind us is over a hundred years old also. We were told that mirrors were symbols of affluence during the Spanish and American times because these were imported from abroad. Their backs were lined with either silver or gold that’s why they don’t tarnish and until now are in very good condition.
They also had a grand piano which was used by one of their daughters who loved to sing and play the piano. My eldest son who is a music prodigy was happy to find a grand piano in the house.
Under this table is the secret passage to the bomb shelter at the ground floor. You have to lift the wood top. The based of the table is cement. There’s a rope that one could use to go to the bomb shelter.
My boys were inspecting the ice chests. The Aguinaldos had three (3)! Since there was no electricity yet, these served as their refrigerator during the time of the Spaniards. Ice blocks were imported daily from Massachusets, USA. I wonder how much they paid to have ice at home.
This was their indoor swimming pool which you can see when you exit the house.
We were surprised to discover how rich the Aguinaldos were! Thus, I wondered how they could afford such luxuries. I will have to research on that again so I can share with my sons.
They also had rich friends. Like their friend who gave them this huge dining table. This was a narra tree whose trunk had this diameter! This is one of the formal dining tables in their dining area. See the big mirror again at the left side of the room.
We had our photos taken outside the house also, in the garden and near his tomb. The grounds around the house was vast.Ā The family owned three hectares of land but they donated the rest to the city government already. Still, the remaining land around the house was still very big. It looked bigger than the land where Jose Rizal’s house stood in Laguna.
According to our guide, the General can see the surrounding provinces from the house’s watch tower. One can see as far as the Dambana ng Kagitingan from there. But we were not allowed to go up there anymore.
The General died at the age of 95 and was buried at the back of his house.
There’s a souvenir shop at the back of the house where a replica of the house is on display. We bought a magnet and a keychain as souvenirs.
This is the souvenir shop where you can buy magnets, key chains, mugs, t-shirts and many other kinds of mementos. They also sell DVDs of the movie on General Aguinaldo’s life. Inside, you can also find on display the old P5 bills where the general was featured.
There’s an interactive library also in the garden area where people can watch an audio-visual presentation. It was closed when we went. But we saw that there are many computers inside.
We finished the tour of the house and the grounds after around two (2) hours.
We also had our photo taken in front of General Emilio Aguinaldo’s statue at the park before leaving.
Our original plan after the tour of the Shrine is to go to Kawit Church also where General Aguinaldo was baptized. But since we were pressed for time and it was already lunch time, we just passed by the church on our way to the restaurant and didn’t get down any more for photos. Maybe next time, we will have visita iglesias of the historical and old churches in Cavite.
This was the branch in Tanza, Cavite. They have another branch at Robinson’s mall which we passed by also on our way to this branch.
The traffic was bad on our way to our next stop which was Calle Real Restaurant in Tanza, Cavite. It is one of the recommended restaurants in the area and the theme is also in keeping with our history lessons that’s why I chose it as the restaurant for our lunch that day.
It was a good thing that Paella is their specialty. They had three kinds of Paella. I ordered Paella Marinera (seafood). Since it was already past lunch time (late lunch) and we were so hungry because we were stuck in traffic for quite a while (there was also a construction on the road where we passed), I ordered beef nilaga. The nilaga was good and it’s obvious that the vegetables used were fresh. We liked the soup. Perfect for the rainy weather. The Paella wasn’t bad but not that impressive. I love Spanish cuisine that’s why I was happy that they served Paella. My eldest son and I enjoyed the seafood.
We had churros for dessert.
Then, we had fun taking photos while posing near the mural.
We were all glad that our trip home was faster. The traffic was light and before we knew it, we were back home.
It was another trip down memory lane where history came alive to us. I’m glad we pushed through with our family field trip even though it was rainy. We all enjoyed it, minus the traffic!
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