i went on a field trip with my son's 5th grade class yesterday. we live near washington, dc so we often find ourselves in one of the many museums, or somewhere in the city. i enjoy dc, and there certainly is a lot to see, do and learn, but it's intense, often crowded, and i usually feel that the field trips are spent herding hyper kids instead of really learning.
this week we went to stradford hall. i am from central va, and had never even heard of it. stradford hall is where robert e. lee was born, and is a plantation that has been restored and preserved. i had an amazing time. i was hesitant to go, as i assumed it would be another chaotic trip with little value outside of just time spent with my son- but it wound up being wonderful. it was an hour and a half drive, and it's located in the middle of nowhere. there are more than 2,000 acres of beautiful, rolling green pastures, and it's flanked by forest.
we went on a tour of the great house and part of the grounds. the kids got to sit in the schoolroom and be berated by the schoolmaster in full costume. it was fun watching them try to decide if she was being serious or not. they got to sign a contract with quills, and wash clothes with a scrub board. they had a short lecture on fossils (the plantation is by the potomac river and there are many fossils that wash up on the shores there) and then top off the day by hiking down to the river and looking for sharks teeth. they were engaged, they learned some fun trivia, and had a really fun time. i'm so glad i was able to be there with them. i thoroughly enjoyed it! we plan on going back as a family and taking the full private tour, fishing some, and looking for more shark's teeth. if you live around here- you should absolutely check it out!
http://www.stratfordhall.org/
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