This year the kids are taking a history/government class with a few other homeschool kids in our area. Over the course of the year, the kids will learn about our government's history and then learn more about how the government is run today. I was thrilled when a fellow mom offered to teach this since she has experience working in the Capital.
So one of her goals is to take the kids on two field trips for the class. Their first field trip was to Mount Vernon. We had never been to George Washington's home so we were eager to make the journey to see the home of our first President!
Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington, is situated along the Potomac River. The view is absolutely breathtaking. I can only imagine what it would have been like to sit on the back porch during the warm summer days with the cool breeze drifting up from the river.
Our visit to Mount Vernon was a cold, winter day. Thankfully, the rain held off so we could enjoy the grounds.
Our exploration of Mount Vernon began with a 25 minute movie about the role of George Washington in the Revolutionary War.
After watching the brief movie, we headed outside to head over the the home. We had a scheduled time to tour the house and outbuildings.
After our tour, our group ate a quick picnic lunch on the grounds and then we headed to a special ceremony of laying a wreath at the foot of George Washington's grave.
This was a special ceremony our group was able to do. We had a few other visitors watch the wreath laying ceremony since they had never seen it done in the multiple times they had visited Washington's home. After our wreath laying ceremony, we headed over the the greenhouse for a talk about Christmas at Mount Vernon. Our guide gave a very entertaining talk to the children about what they would receive as gifts and how the Christmas season would have been spent. We loved how he stressed that Christmas didn't end on Christmas Day, but went on for days after....the 12 Days of Christmas!
It was right before Christmas when we visited so the grounds were decorated to reflect this festive season.
So if you ever find yourself in the area, I would definitely recommend a visit our first president's home.
Till Next Time,
Monique
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