Adventures of a Christian Military Homeschooling Family: Jamestown Settlement

Over the last two days, we've focused on the founding of Virginia by English settlers. We learned that they first arrived in 1607 and endured many hard times in those first years. We learned about important people in history such as Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, Chief Powhatan, and Captain Christopher Newport. We learned that it is only by God's grace that Jamestown and its people even survived.

At Jamestown Settlement, we participated in a guided tour with other homeschool families. Our guide, Ms. Peggy, was very enthusiastic about teaching the children all about the early years of Jamestown. Here she is helping the kids learn about the Powhatan Indians that inhabited the land before the English arrived.

Costumed interpreters asked for the children's participation in their lessons. In this photo Lydia is playing shy and letting her big sister talk to the strange man ;-)

We were able to go aboard replicas of two of the ships that first arrived at Jamestown in 1607. The Susan Constant is the largest and most prominent ship. She arrived in April 1607 with 104 passengers (all men and boys). The other two vessels were Discovery and Godspeed.

The costumed interpreters make learning so much fun!!

Inside the fort, we learned about the daily life of early settlers, from guard duty to preparing food to church attendance.

And of course the kids had to try on the armor. Such scary soldiers ;-) (Lydia forgot she was supposed to look mean :-P)

In the afternoon, the kids attended a class on "Cultures at Jamestown" (Yes, this is school...remember? :-P) Ms. Peggy was our teacher again, and she taught on the three cultures that collided here in the 17th century: Powhatan Indians, settlers from England, and the slaves brought to Jamestown from Africa.

Historical Trivia: The first African slaves were brought to Virginia in August 1619 when a Portuguese ship carrying slaves from Angola was intercepted by 2 English pirate ships in the Gulf of Mexico. The Portuguese were planning to sell the slaves to the Spanish in Mexico. Instead, the slaves were transported to Jamestown to labor in support of the ever-growing tobacco industry.

The kids participated in the class by discussing various artifacts. Here, Christopher, Emily, and Lydia were chosen to discuss interesting facts about the Powhatan Indian culture.