Monticello Review

  Virginia is the hot spot for past presidents. Several of them were born here, lived here and died here.  Virginia is one of the best states pertaining to the history of our country and the presidents.  These historic homes are open to the public providing a glimpse into the past.  They hold some of the original artifacts, plants and along with a great guide your trip through history is both intriguing and entertaining.

  Monticello the home of Thomas Jefferson resides near Charlottesville, VA.  The ride alone provides a beautiful scenic view of mountains.  Thomas Jefferson had the right idea when he choose the location of his home.  The sights are amazing from this level.

  We decided to explore today as it was a special Home Educators Day.  There were a lot of learning and entertainment along with different experiences for the kids.  When we arrived my kids were excited at the entrance to the Thomas Jefferson grounds.

  We parked and picked up our tickets at will call.  Our first stop was the house as we had a 12:30 tour time.  We took a shuttle to the top of the hill and waited our turn for the tour.  This gave me more time to prep my children on proper behavior, not to touch anything and be quiet while someone else was talking.

  The tour through the house was about 45 minutes.  Our guide was fantastic.  I don't think she left out any details.  She mentioned the pictures on the wall and it seemed to create a realistic story around it.  Each room we went in brought us closer to the lives of the past family.  You even wanted to dine in the yellow room.  It was so bright and inviting.  A game of chess sat waiting for someone to play with or a game of hide and seek would have been unimaginable with 11,000 square feet.

  The house had so many current features. Ideas and concepts he created to make his life easier and more functional.  Skylights, dumbwaiters in his fireplace and a system of pens writing at the same time to make a duplicate copy to list a few fascinating facts.

  The kids were able to write with an ink quill,

play hoop games in the back lawn,

and gather seeds for future gardens.

  

  Different areas set up for kids to explore including checkers, a chocolate tasting and even an archeological dig.

  This was a great field trip for everyone in my house.  My daughter is able to relate what she saw and is a little more knowledgeable about Jefferson and of course we can always build on that but I appreciate the stepping stones in making it a reality.

  We had great weather and it was an overall great day for our tour of Monticello.

They have more special events planned.  Different programs available, plenty of add on to make your experience even better.  Plan a trip to monticello.