The kids really enjoyed playing with Abigail.
And Thomas.Saturday, we decided to go visit Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Before our tour of the house, we stopped by the discovery room for some hands on fun for the kids.
Monticello, which means "little mountain" in Italian, is a beautiful example of American Neoclassical architecture, designed entirely by Thomas Jefferson himself. This block set as well as a computer game encourages the children to try their hand at architectural design, Krystal was proud of her design.
There were several different station where the kids could try out period activities like weaving, joinery, and nailery. It was enslaved boys Jared's age who worked in the nailery, but Jared decided that this bucket of nails was a little heavy for him.
There were activities from Thomas Jefferson's pasttimes, like chess, letter writing, reading, code deciphering, etc., but the girls were much more interested in the activities that took place on Mulberry Row (where the slaves worked). They enjoyed dressing in the clothing, playing with the doll, sleeping in the beds, and cooking at the open fire.
Monticello, which means "little mountain" in Italian, is a beautiful example of American Neoclassical architecture, designed entirely by Thomas Jefferson himself. This block set as well as a computer game encourages the children to try their hand at architectural design, Krystal was proud of her design.
There were several different station where the kids could try out period activities like weaving, joinery, and nailery. It was enslaved boys Jared's age who worked in the nailery, but Jared decided that this bucket of nails was a little heavy for him.
There were activities from Thomas Jefferson's pasttimes, like chess, letter writing, reading, code deciphering, etc., but the girls were much more interested in the activities that took place on Mulberry Row (where the slaves worked). They enjoyed dressing in the clothing, playing with the doll, sleeping in the beds, and cooking at the open fire.
After the discovery room, we headed up the trail towards Monticello. First stop, a statue of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America.
It was a beautiful spring day. We enjoyed the little hike and all the plants and flowers on the way. The Eastern Redbud and Dogwood trees were in bloom and just gorgeous.
We stopped at the gravesite of Thomas Jefferson and the kids tossed nickels onto the tomb. We were going to throw pennies, but decided that nickels were more appropriate.
Despite Jefferson's astounding range of accomplishments, the epitaph he wrote for his tombstone included only: "Author of the Declaration of American Indepedence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." Another interesting detail of his death is that he died on the day of the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the same day as John Adams, second President and signer of the Declaration.
We took a self-guided tour of the "dependencies" of Monticello which are under ground in long corridors. These included the kitchen, ice house, stables, laundry facility, privies, cellars, smokehouse, dairy, carriage bays and some of the workers housing as well.
One of my favorite parts by far was the 1000 foot long vegetable garden that functioned as Jefferson's laboratory where he planted and experimented with 330 varieties of vegetables. "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." Thomas Jefferson, 1811.
The house tour was amazing (photography is not allowed). Everything from his impressive art collection, his Indian artifacts, his scientific inventions, and all the custom designed elements of the house speaks of the genius of this man. My favorite part of the tour was the book room and adjoining greenhouse where the walls were lined with volumes of books and beautiful plants respectively.
It was a beautiful spring day. We enjoyed the little hike and all the plants and flowers on the way. The Eastern Redbud and Dogwood trees were in bloom and just gorgeous.
We stopped at the gravesite of Thomas Jefferson and the kids tossed nickels onto the tomb. We were going to throw pennies, but decided that nickels were more appropriate.
Despite Jefferson's astounding range of accomplishments, the epitaph he wrote for his tombstone included only: "Author of the Declaration of American Indepedence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." Another interesting detail of his death is that he died on the day of the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the same day as John Adams, second President and signer of the Declaration.
We took a self-guided tour of the "dependencies" of Monticello which are under ground in long corridors. These included the kitchen, ice house, stables, laundry facility, privies, cellars, smokehouse, dairy, carriage bays and some of the workers housing as well.
One of my favorite parts by far was the 1000 foot long vegetable garden that functioned as Jefferson's laboratory where he planted and experimented with 330 varieties of vegetables. "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." Thomas Jefferson, 1811.
The house tour was amazing (photography is not allowed). Everything from his impressive art collection, his Indian artifacts, his scientific inventions, and all the custom designed elements of the house speaks of the genius of this man. My favorite part of the tour was the book room and adjoining greenhouse where the walls were lined with volumes of books and beautiful plants respectively. Thomas Jefferson said in 1787, "I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe." In a time when our government is struggling, maybe we should look back on how this country was founded and remember the great men who are our Founding Fathers. Although not free from faults, Thomas Jefferson who was a lawyer, scholar, scientist, botanist, farmer, politician, architect, artist and musician is a man that we are proud to call one of the Fathers of our country.
3 comments:
What a great weekend! I love the family picture.
The family picture is beautiful. I've been to Monticello several times (due partly to field trips) but I never tire of it.
You've inspired me to take my family back to Monticello. You'll have to go back sometime too,in the summer, as the gardens are amazing when they are grown--it's amazing.
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