Before we go and experience something new, I like to prepare them for it. We get lots of books and movies about whatever we are going to go see. Whether it be the history, science or current status, I want them to know somewhat of what to expect.
This does a few things for me. It gets the kids excited for learning. They want to know as much as they can about what they are going to get to experience. It also help
them to appreciate more when they get to see it. It puts what they were imagining in real perspective.
Colonial Williamsburg: The Story: From the Colonial Era to the Restoration
There are tons of non-fiction books available about Colonial Williamsburg. I liked that this one has a wide timespan instead of just then or now.
However I am a firm believer in the power of the story. I find for myself that the facts don’t help me much until I can bring them to life. I will always add some historical fiction into my teaching to help bring more to their understanding of time and life.
I grew up reading all of the American Girl books. I had the Samantha doll but I loved all of them. Each and every story brought history to life for me. So since I was probably 8 years old I have wanted to visit Williamsburg. When I saw that it was on our way to another destination I decided that we had to make a stop. I read the Felicity books to my boys and they enjoyed these stories too. Even though it was about a little girl her sense of adventure made my boys like her stories as much as I did.
Young American’s Colonial Williamsburg Series
These books were my absolute favorite in preparation for our trip. Though the stories themselves were mostly fictional, they talked about real kids in the real places that they lived. They give the reader an understanding of what life was like in each of the places and the types of work and troubles that people experienced at this time. For me then what was really cool was taking my kids to these places and them being able to tell me what they knew about the apothecary, magazine and the different places.
Visiting
Our trip to Colonial Williamsburg was so much fun. Be sure to get a map and schedule of the day. We opted to do the one day pass. It was fascinating and educational. It was so neat to hear the stories of the lives that took place in the very spot we were standing. Some of it was exactly what I was expecting and other things were not at all how I had imagined them. I did thoroughly enjoy our trip. My one problem was trying to do it all in a day. There is so much and we exhausted ourselves trying to get it all done and we still missed out on things that we hoped to see. If you have time on your side, I would definitely recommend staying at least 2 days.
The buildings and atmosphere were amazing. The trees were beautiful. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. I just wish we could have stayed a little longer! It was a dream come true trip for me. And the kids loved it too!
Locate It Games: Colonial Williamsburg: See Places in a Fun, New Way
This is a fun book. I recommend it if you are going to be in Williamsburg multiple days or are not planning on getting the pass to go on all of the tours. As we were only there for one day, we didn’t use it as much as I had hoped because we were on a time crunch.
And by the way, at the end of the day if you are looking for a good meal, I highly recommend Food For Thought. It was delicious. We actually drove out of our way on our way home to eat there a second time.
