Williamsburg and Jamestown Settlement

The girls and I took a road-trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Va for the last few days of their homeschool promotion.  We spent 7 hours exploring the shops, playing the spy game, and exploring the grounds of the lovely Govenor's Palace.

(The classic Williamsburg picture)

The girls and I enjoyed seeing what food would have been prepared for the wealthy and they found a fun hedge maze on the palace property.

(Since everyone is in the first person, it was funny when we asked for a selfie.)

We heard the Declaration of Independence being read at the foot of the Courthouse and listened to the fife and drum march the troops into battle.

The girls really enjoyed the cannon firing and notice those purple bandanas....well, those were given to them upon entering for a special spy game.  You would really need a full day to devote to the interactive game, but we enjoyed the first few clues.

It was a full day at Colonial Willaimsburg and sure worth the discounted price.  They have homeschool days in the Spring, Fall, and sometimes Winter.

Jamestown Settlement

Jamestown Settlement was even better than Williamsburg for the kids!  This is separate from Jamestown island.  Here they have a fantastic History museum, Powhatan village, an example of the first Jamestown, along with ships that you are  encouraged to explore.

Seeing how a log becomes a canoe was one of the highlights and they even helped carve out a canoe with oyster shells.

Next we got to see how Jon Smith lived around 1610-1615.

The Susan Constance was the largest of the 3 ships that set sail from England. The girls were thrilled to touch everything on the the ship.

The day ended with racing paper canoes after spending about 5 hours walking around. This place was so interactive and we loved the Powhatan Village.  Jamestown Settlement has homeschool days every Fall.  Next Year we plan to come back to Jamestown Settlement and add on Jamestown Island, and Yorktown.

We had fantastic weather and it was a perfect way to start Fall.  I think the girls now have a better idea of what life was like during the 17th century.