The award winning Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip recently featured "Remember the Ladies."  Made affordable by Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, the EFT focused on the roles of women across various levels of society in 1774.  Additionally, the EFT web activities taught how those roles changed through the course of time.

    Because the kids and I enjoy dressing up in historical costumes and "re-enacting" historical events (for family), we usually do a presentation in colonial costume of lessons learned in the EFT.   However, we are currently in the middle of a move.  To top it off, the kids were further dismayed to miss the live broadcast on Thursday, since paperwork caught us between closing on the sale of our house in Texas and the purchase of a house in Virginia.  On the bright side, this review will show that the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips are a worthy educational investment, that can be used with great flexibility according to time and interest for each student!

    Earlier in the week, we read the historical background in the lesson plans provided by the EFT. Then we looked at primary source pictures of the era and discussed their meanings, according to a lady's role in society and men's opinions (sometimes expressed through art work) when they felt women overstepped their traditional bounds.  We also read excerpts from gazettes (18th century newspapers) that "told a story" of either a woman's role or status in society.  We learned not only what was expected of a woman in a traditional role, but when they were permitted in the eyes of society to step out of traditional bounds.   

    Much to my kids' chagrin, they did not get an opportunity to e-mail a historical person. I could not figure out how to reset my internet e-mail from my now defunct Outlook Express account from Texas to my current on-line gmail account. When it was too late, it finally occured to me that all I had to do was cut and paste the e-mail address into my gmail. sigh  Also we forgot to do the on-line vote. We could have posted on the forum to have a CW historian answer a question. Actually this option is open the entire year.  Alas I keep forgetting about this. (Perhaps I can claim that my brain is on real estate overload.)

    As I previously mentioned, we missed the live broadcast on Thursday because of housing paperwork. For those who have a house...and a television...and a VCR...the live broadcasts are also shown on PBS stations and therefore can be taped.  My kids enjoy the live Q&A so much that they can never get enough of it. Neither can I.  =) Fortunately the broadcast and previously taped 2005 Q&A can be seen on-line any time throughout the year.  We got to view it the next day. My favorite question from the "Remember the Ladies" 2005 taped broadcast was, "Why do women do all the work and the men don't?" =) Additionally, one can always order a DVD from CW which includes the broadcast and the best of the Q&A. We have most of the DVDs from this year (we are merely waiting for a permament address to order the rest). The questions are called in, sent in via videotape, and e-mailed by the students. One of my son's questions made the cut on the "Make History Live" DVD and was answered by Gowan Pamphlet.  

     The on-line computer activities are also available anytime throughout the year.   One was a game show with Abigail Adams (who, in 1776, wrote to her husband to "remember the ladies.") where the kids placed milestone moments for women on a timeline. My kids did a terrific job!  They played as a team since we have access to the one laptop.  They scored nearly $600 (points)! Then Abigail Adams asked if the player was a boy or girl. Hmmm, my kids are one of each and played together. We thought there was one bonus question to come so my son said he'd answer it. We clicked on "boy."  Abigail Adams said that he got all the points, but if a girl had played, she'd only have "earned" a fraction of that amount, because that's how wages were tallied in the 18th century. My son did the math and figured that for the same game, his sister would only have earned $400.

     Another activity was to create a movie timeline of the changing roles of women throughout history. We watched each of the clips and we laughed the hardest at an old commercial from the fifties where a man and woman did ballroom dancing around appliances.  I told the kids when we get our own house and they get their computers back, they can each create their own movie timelines.  Ah, a house of our own. I am looking forward to that! In fact, when that moment comes, I may feel like ballroom dancing around my appliances. ;)Thankfully the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips are fun, educational and flexible enough to fit any schedule...even a house hunter's schedule!