Living in Virginia we have the joy to be surrounded by our nation's history. One day in October, Matt had not started his new job yet and I had a day off of work, also the kids were off of school so we decided to explore some of this history.
We drove an hour down the interstates to Charlottesville and went to Monticello which is the home of Thomas Jefferson. The author of the Declaration of Independence and the President of the United States.
The tour of the house was amazing and very informative. Grace loved to compare the tour to the children's tour booklet. She was very into matching everything in her booklet to the item in the house.
After the inside of the house we went to look at the kitchens, pantries, and the gardens.
The house is beautiful and wonderfully kept up. We learned so much about this amazing man who was knowledgeable about so very many of subjects.
The gardens were a favorite of all of us because we got to be outside, run around, and learn about all of the plants that were growing on the grounds.
This is the kids with the man himself!
But here is the best part of the day. We went to the Griffin Museum. This is a please touch me museum that has the kids tryout and participate in the items that Jefferson did. For instance the blocks below helped demonstrate architecture.
The cooking pot demonstrated the slave quarters and how they lived.
Games, sayings, and portraits were everywhere.
Glen found a cypher that was used to send messages.
And Grace learned how to weave.
They had so much fun and we were happy to have a day trip as a family.
