For those of my readers who homeschool, next week (September 17-21, 2007) is the designated “Home Educator Week” on site at Colonial Williamsburg, the 1700s living history museum in Virginia that my own family visited earlier this summer.
The Home Educator Week information sheet lists all sorts of places that you can visit and the role that they played in America’s Colonial daily life.
There are tradespeople like weavers and the wheelwrights (who kept carriages and wagons on the move) that you and the kids can watch in action, and the info sheet tells you who’s doing what and on which day.
For example:
“If you make your way back to Duke of Gloucester street you will find the Blacksmith ready to meet your needs Monday through Sunday from 9-5. Directly across the street, visit the Print Shop in the mornings from 9-1, and the [book] Bindery in the afternoon from 1-5.”
There are also special learning programs this week at the Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. For example:
September 19
** 10:30am – Wee Folk – meet in the museum’s Introductory Gallery. This program is geared to children ages 3-7 and their adult friends. Participants explore the galleries through stories and activities. 45 minutes.
** 3:00pm – Crack the Code – meet in the museums’ Education Gallery. See if you can Crack the Code as we investigate various Secret Codes used during the [American] Revolution. One hour. Geared for ages 8 and older.
If you are there during this event, don’t miss musician Dean Shostak and his glass armonica (invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761.) He’ll play it and other instruments in concert on Wednesday, September 19th at 11:30am and 1:30pm at Williamsburg’s Kimball Theater.
If you can’t make it to Virginia, there are electronic field trips and other teaching resources available, including a teacher’s e-newsletter.
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Technorati tags: travel, family travel, homeschooling, Colonial Williamsburg
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Yay! We are totally going. We were going to go to the one in May, but for some reason — the weather, or something I can’t even remember prevented us. They do it three times a year — September, February, and May. We’re going on Friday, I think.
Hi Lydia,
Sounds great; feel free to come back and let us know how it went!
I had heard about that. Wish I lived a tad closer!
Hi Dana,
They do have a lot of “electronic field trip” set-ups, but you’re right, it isn’t the same as being there. The reenactors are really superb, and they don’t seem actor-ish or fakey.
We are home schoolers who live in Charlottesville, VA. We did this last year and the kids had a good time watching the weavers, blacksmiths etc. If you live out of state, you might want to combine a trip to D.C. and other historic destinations such as this. It’s fascinating.
Michael
http://www.familyhack.com
We went — it was really cool! And the price is right during homeschool week — WOW. We will definitely be going back. Thanks for the heads-up! Here’s our report: http://www.littleblueschool.com/2007/09/colonial-williamsburg-in-inappropriate.html
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the suggestion; in fact I have two guest posts coming up on the 27th and 28th that cover things for kids in Washington, DC.
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