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.  

Homeschool Photos

Olive reads a book to her sister...little sis says, "read me more!"

Jem measures herself with blocks.

Olive building steps for her castle.

These are just a few reasons why I'm glad that Olive is not in Kindergarten from 8-4pm, five days a week.

Our Homeschool Room

Well after two weeks of school I totally reorganized the room. It flows much better now!

 I should show you now because it probably will never be this clean again! 

This is our book nook with a CD player for books on tape and music. 

    I hang a thick ribbon to the wall and use clothes pins to hold our letter-of-the-week and art projects. 

This is our morning board: Calendar,  Clock,  Make the date,  Days in School,  Months and Seasons,  Prayer,  Color of the week,  the middle (left open) will be for our poem of the month.  I will be adding Weather, and Phases of the Moon to our daily activities.

             I just revamped our workbox system using these 5 drawer bins.

I keep our curriculum, printer, and my school supplies on this shelf. I found many useful morning board printables at Homeschool Creations, Confessions of a Homeschooler, and Mama Jenn- Thanks for your kindness.  Happy Homeschooling!

Curriculum Swap Winner

Drum Roll Please............................ The winning number was pulled out of a hat by Olive. Thank you to all who participated and a special thanks to Jolanthe for hosting to fantastic clean-out!
On a side note, if you were not the lucky person today, I'll be hosting 2 giveaways in the month of September so I am wishing you much luck!

The winner is: The Unsell Family
She writes:  Thanks for the great give-a-way. My favorite part of my day is curling up with a great book and reading to my kids.
~Jen Unsell

I really enjoyed reading about the favorite part of your day. I cherish my early mornings before the kids get up and getting the first cuddle of the day.

Curriculum Swap

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