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Posted in Field Trips

Day 3

Well...the kids had another great day.  Today it was a little longer day.  We went to the Randolph House, the Cooper, the Brickyard, the Cabinetmaker, the Milliner and Tailor, the Silversmith and the Bindery.  It was a long day, and by the last couple of places, the little guys were "reminding" me that it had been a long day.   

The kids love the Randolph House.  One time we went there, they spent 3 1/2 hours churning butter from beginning to end.  However, today, no one was churning butter.  But as we walked through the house, the kids were able to "role play" a little.  Peyton Randolph who owned the house was also the Speaker of Virginia's House of Burgesses, which would make him the 2nd most important/powerful man in Virginia.  He was the president of the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia.  We even found out that there are documents that call him "the Father of Our Country" and he was so well respected that he may have been the first president...if he hadn't died in 1775.  There were 40+ slaves that lived on the property.  Most of the slaves lived where they worked.  My 11yos "played the part" of Johnny, Mr. Randolph's manservant, similar to a valet or butler.  He packed a bag with clothing and other personal items as if for a short trip.  Johnny would have taken care of all Mr. Randolph's personal items, help him dress, run errands, etc.  My 12yod "played the part" of Elizabeth, Mrs. Randolph's neice.  She had tea with "Mrs. Randolph" and would have been taught how to be a proper lady, running the affairs of the household.   In the kitchen, the cook was roasting meat on a spit and making apple dumplings. (Boy was it hot in there by the fire!)  The tour took about 45 minutes, and the littlest one was asleep by the time it was over.  That was good for the next few stops...the Cooper and the Brickyard.

At the Cooper, the kids learned about making barrels, buckets, butter churns and other similar items.  They had bands that were made from metal (iron and copper) or wood...depending on what you were using them for.  Barrels were used for shipping items.  They were easy to stack and move...Almost like the "little teapot, " Just tip me over and roll me out.   LOL  Each barrel was usually made where the items to be shipped were.  It would take about 2-4 hours to make one barrel depending on it's size.

The brickyard is a fun place.  Bricks were made from clay (with a small amount of sand).  Over the summer they molded the bricks...which sounded like fun.  They actually let the visitors get their feet muddy and "tread" out the clay in the clay pit.  I just hope they had a good place to clean up afterwards.   They molded about 18,000 bricks this summer, and they were all going to be baked in a kiln over the next couple of months.  While we were there, they were "building" the kiln to bake the bricks.  My 11yos was the "example" again.  Boys about 11 yo would be the ones to carry the brick molds from the clay pit to the area where the bricks would dry...making about 600 trips a day!  I think my son was worn out just thinking about that.

Next we went to the Cabinetmaker.  This is were furniture was built.  Dressers, chests, desks, chairs, and even harpsichords.  There was a harpsichord in the shop that the kids were able to play to see what it sounded like.  There was also a very nice man working there who was telling the kids a little about the diferent kinds of wood.  He planed off shavings of different kinds of wood so the kids could feel it and smell it.  I actually found this very interesting.  (Especially since I've been looking into re-doing our kitchen.  I was somewhat familiar with the names of the woods, but not their characteristics.)  Well...needless to say, we now have about 20 woodshavings per child.  I'm hoping that a few find their way into a lapbook and the rest...well, Mommy may have to help them "disappear." 

The we made our way to the Milliner and Tailor's shop, where the kids learned more about how people dressed and how much it would cost to make a dress.  One of the dresses they had was a beautiful lavender silk dress.  The lady said that it would take about 8 hours to make the dress, and it would cost 2 schillings...Of course, the silk material would be 7 schillings per yard at 7 yards per dress), and the thread would be another schilling, and the lining would be about 1-2 schillings per yard...a grand total of about 60 schillings (and with 20 schillings = 1 pound, that would cost about 3 pounds or approximately $6).  Of course, if you chose a lesser expensive fabric, it would only cost about 9 schillings for the same dress.  The kids were fascinated by this shop, even though the little guys were starting to get tired of acting like "little gentlemen"...but on to the Silversmith.

The Silversmith was a quick stop.  We saw some of the things made in the Silversmith's shop.  A silversmith would make items from silver by what I like to call "heating and beating."  The items would be shaped by beating the hot silver. (If you're saying "duh!" check back after we've gone to the Foundery and you'll understand. )

The last stop was the Bindery.  Here the kids learned about binding books (and the little guys were going VERY stir crazy...and in turn driving mom crazy).  The kids learned that books were bound first by poking holes into paper and "threading" string through the "spines."  Most books were not bound with hard covers.  This made them inexpensive.  Most books that were hardbound were blank inside so that the person who bought them could write whatever they wanted inside.  And (as we already knew...) the most common book in a Colonial home was...can you guess?...It's probably the same book you find in most homes today too...you're right...the Bible.  Although I'm sure those were read and cherished more than today.  And by this time, the little guys were swinging from the binding equipment  (well, not quite, but they were touching things that probably was not a good idea to touch and neither of them were in the same place for more than 2 seconds).

All in all, it was a good day. We're all exhausted, although not as hot as the past 2 days.  And the kids were able to stop and draw in their sketchbooks for about a half-hour again today.  They really loved that.  Even my 2yos was "drawing" in his book.  Now, I'm not sure what he was drawing, but it was very "colorful."  LOL 

Right now, the girls are watching the Felicity movie (American Girl) and picking it apart based on what they've learned at Williamsburg so far. It's funny because I've been interrupted about 50 times since I started writing with "Mom, that's not what they said at Williamsburg," and "But I thought that the Governor was Lord Dunmore, not Lord Templeton," and "I thought girls wouldn't be wearing their hair down,"  and "I thought you'd be hung for stealing a horse," and a million other very good questions.  Surprisingly enough, I'm finally finished.  Looking forward to tomorrow...

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The kids an I have been having a great time visiting all the great places in Colonial Williamsburg.  We'll be here for the whole week, so hopefully I'll be able to get back on and blog a little more about our trip. On Monday, we went to the Capitol, the Gunsmith, the Apothecary, the Wigmaker, and the Public Gaol (a funny way to spell "jail" :-) ). 

DAY 1

At the Capitol, we saw the chamber where the Governor and his Council met, the court room where the same men heard serious misdemeanor and felony cases. We saw the committee meeting rooms for the House of Burgesses (similar to our House of Representatives) and the chamber where the House of Burgesses met.  I always love the Capitol...but the funniest part was my 2yos ended up sitting in Patrick Henry's seat in the HOB chamber...and he couldn't keep quiet either.  If I actually believed in that kind of think, I'd think he was possessed by the spirit of Patrick Henry. LOL 

At the Gunsmith, the kids learned that it takes about 400 hours to make a gun, 100 of those hours is spent solely on the barrel.  They saw a number of different kinds of firearms, including 3 original 18th century rifles, and a number of replicas made in the shop.

Then we went down the hill to the Public Gaol. It was built there because it housed all the felony and serious misdemeanor criminals until they were heard by the Governor's Council at the Capitol building.  It also housed the debtors who owed more than 20 lbs. until they could afford to repay their debts.  The kids learned that the jailer was usually a family man. Why?  Because he had "free laborers" who could help him do his job.  My girls were told that, at the age of 5 they would start learning how to cook for the prisoners. The boys would start learning how to do things like chop and carry wood about the same age. My kids are so '"spoiled."  :-)  They loved seeing the different cells they kept prisoners in.  They especially loved the toilets...I don't know why.  I know they aren't "original,"  but it still gave me the willies to see them climbing all over them.  :-)

Then we did something they've never done before...we sat on the grass area between the Capitol and the Gaol and had a snack (No, we've done that before)...We took our our sketch books and started drawing whatever we saw.  I've been trying to implement a few of Charlotte Mason's ideas, and this seemed to be a great place to do that.  The kids LOVED it.  They even asked if they could draw more after we got back to the hotel.

Then we headed down the street to the Apothecary. This was a fairly quick stop.  The kids learned that the Apothecary sold medicines of the day.  Most people grew herbs in their gardens, but occasionally would need to go to the Apothecary and purchase other medicines.  almost all Apothecarist were also Doctors.  The kids favorite part of the Apothecary shop?...The skeleton hanging in the back room.  They found out that it was a real person's bones, and not just a "sculpture."

The last stop of the day was the Wigmaker.  The kids learned that most of them would already be wearing wigs.  At age 7 you would get your first wig.  If a girl wore her hair down, it would be the same as walking around in her underwear today.  And short hair on boys?  Well, they did that to the criminals. (so I guess I should have left the boys at the gaol.  LOL)  All men would have worn wigs, and the style was based on their profession.  You could also have it made from human hair, horse hair, or even yak's hair. 

DAY 2

We started out the day at the Wythe House.  This was the house of George Wythe.  The house was actually in his wife's family, and went back to them after their death.  He was a law professor at the College of William and Mary, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  He had a great interest in science and there were dead animal in jars in his study (which the kids loved...see pic below).  He also tutored Thomas Jefferson. 

Then we went on to the Everard House. My daughters are fascinated with this house because it is the house that the American Girl Felicity's house was "styled" after.  He was the Clerk of Court in York County, even though he was born in England, orphaned, and sent to Virginia as an apprentice.  He did pretty well for starting out so "humbly." It reminds me of a line from the movie "Love's Enduring Promise"..."Never despise humble beginnings." 

Then we went on to the Governor's Palace.  The crowning jewel of Williamsburg.  It was beautiful.  But the best part is the gardens behind it...although my kids would argue that the best part is the Boxwood Hedge Maze behind the gardens(see pic below).  They had to spend at least 30 minutes at the maze when we come here.  There is a small hill behind the maze that they love climbing.  This was a great place to wear them out.  Our one rule...you can't walk through the hedge.  We found out on an earlier visit that if people walked through the hedge, it would kill the plant.  So the kids stay on the open paths.

Then we went on to the kitchen.  On our way there, we saw pomegranate trees in the garden.  I've never seen them on the tree...just in the produce section of the grocery.  It was very cool.  :-) At the kitchen, they were just wrapping up for the day, because in Colonial times "dinner," the large meal of the day, was served around 2PM, and everything would have already been done.  Interestingly enough, the cooks went to the local market every day and the day's menu would be based on whatever was available at the market.  If I recall correctly, they would be cooking for about 140 people at the Palace kitchen DAILY!  And I thought I had a lot of people to cook for.  LOL

Lastly, we went to the Wheelwright where carriages and wagons are made.  They were working on a carriage when we were there.  We saw one side being framed and placed on the base of the carriage that had already been done.  By this time the little guys had had enough, so we quit for the day.  And since it was in the mid-90's, I was "done" too.  LOL

Well, we're off to see more today.  If I can figure out how to add pictures, maybe I'll upload some of them.

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