While we were visiting Williamsburg, we set aside a day to enjoy Jamestown, which is just down the road. It ended up being one of the highlights of our trip – we absolutely loved it.

During the Homeschool Days, our tickets got us a full family tour of both the settlement, boats, and Powhatan village that was filled with reenactors.

For part of the tour, we were able to go down into replicas of the ships, and had a “sailor” tell us about the voyage.

I have to say our favorite part was the Powhatan village and learning about the Native American tribe. Because my girls are into all things “princess,” I jumped on the Pocahontas story.  Yes, they watched the Disney movie – but we also watched “The Making Of” part, which talked about the fact that much of story wasn’t accurate. I also found a biography of Pocahontas in the thrift store, of all places, and we read the “real” story as well.

We took classes about the Powhatan tribe – how they lived, what they ate, etc. Here is my oldest dressing up like Pocahontas. You’ll be so pleased to know that they wore very little clothes – in fact the ONLY thing they wore was this “apron.” (This is an adult size apron on a seven year old.) My girls spent weeks afterwards trying to be exhibitionists – after all, if Pocahontas didn’t have to wear clothes, why did they? Sigh. Not exactly the lesson I was hoping for them to take home from this!

Making rope

The entire family had a fabulous time, and no one wanted to leave! In fact, after dropping me off at the hotel so I could work that afternoon, hubby took the girls back to enjoy more time there, and check out their museum.

We really could have spent more time there. If you get a chance to go, be sure to take advantage of the tours and classes offered. The volunteers there are wonderful!

Historic Jamestowne
Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center Homeschool Days