Colonial Williamsburg inspires our Becoming History Presentations
Since our recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg, my kids’ imagination exploded with ideas for our Becoming History Presentations.
Wanting to be just like the historic interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg, my kids decided to remain in character for the entire presentation and accept queries from the audience.
Overlapping with the Regency Era in England and the Federal Era in America, we learned the Napoleonic Era impacted the world. Everyone had an opinion.
Meanwhile our agreed-upon hero, Lafayette, continued to live life beyond the obligatory two lines of a history text. His years during the French Revolution were spine tingling.
How would Lafayette and Napoleon factor in this history presentation?
Plenty of period accurate comments were randomly sprinkled throughout the performance, based on my kids’ research.
Starting our third year of Becoming History presentations, my kids drove most of the performance decisions.
Presenting the Players
Inspired by Jefferson and Adams: A Stage Play, my son suggested we begin our Becoming History presentation with a small skit.
On the left: my daughter as Lizzy Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, reading the astonishing letter from Mr. Darcy.
On the right: my son, portraying Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, writing a letter to General William Henry Harrison.
Portraying Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, I busily checked menus.
After a few moments of our skit, my son stood up and blew his bosun’s whistle to announce the opening. Then each of us introduced ourselves. That video can be seen here at my Youtube.
Martha Jefferson Randolph, Keeper of the Keys at Monticello
Homeschooled in the classics by her father, Martha continued her education under the guidance of nuns while her father was Minister to France on the even of the French Revolution.
However Martha never learned how to run a household from her mother, because she died in Martha’s youth.
While living at Monticello with her father, husband and children, she homeschooled her own children while running the household…learning as she went.
Despite managing an efficient home that entertained guests galore, she humbly trained her daughters to the task.
Actually, her formal training allowed her to step up to the task.
The kitchen at Monticello, specially built to accommodate French cooking with the delicate sauces and slow cooking of meats, enabled the French trained cooks to create delectable dishes.
Aware of her father’s tastes, importance, and frequent esteemed guests, Martha managed a busy household to great aclaim.
Dining at Monticello Menu
After I introduced myself, I invited everyone into the dining room to enjoy some food from the Monticello kitchen, from recipes published in Dining at Monticello.
My daughter dressed the salad:
Jefferson’s mac and cheese is different from our modern recipes:
We added the fresh pasta to the broth at the last minute:
My daughter also made fresh lemonade.
After a terrific dinner, we served the dessert courses.
Chocolate ice cream served in the texture Jefferson knew:
We also had Snow Eggs that were delicious! The white is poached meringue with a subtle hint of orange, laying in a delectable custard sauce.
Musical Entertainments
After dinner, the kids played period musical selections.
My daughter read the historical background of The Star-Spangled Banner, which my son played on his fife while being quite military in his manner. That video is viewable here at my Youtube.
Then my son introduced “Ode to Joy”, which my daughter played on the piano. That video is viewable here at Youtube.
After that, my daughter read the historical background to Angels From the Realms of Glory, which my son played on the piano. That video is viewable here at Youtube.
Lewis and Clark Nature Journal
After the music entertainments, my son shared his Lewis and Clark nature journal.
He chose one entry to share, which was about the buffalo. This video can be viewed at this Youtube link.
Afterwards, everyone oohed and ahhed over his other pictures too: the eastern grey squirrel, a stately bald eagle, the ferocious grizzly bear, the abundant salmon, and the Clark’s Nutcracker, many of which we saw on previous vacations to Colorado.
Pride and Prejudice Literary Analysis
Then my daughter read her literary analysis paper on Pride and Prejudice.
She had never done a literary analysis paper before.
This was her favorite book of the first quarter of the 19th century, and was her first foray into Rhetoric classical literature.
Jane Austen Recitation
Portraying Elizabeth Bennet, she recited Mr. Darcy’s shocking letter, with great emotion. That video can be viewed here at Youtube.
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry: Don’t Give up the Ship
My son portrayed Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry who won a famous naval battle on Lake Erie in the War of 1812
Perry, a low-ranking naval officer, felt cheated that he didn’t get to sail on the open sea where all the action was.
Instead, he was stuck on the quiet backwaters of Lake Erie.
Well, the War of 1812 came to Lake Erie, where he hoisted the flag he made, bearing the final words of a good friend who had died in a previous naval battle.
Erie, October 12th, 1813. “About 11 o’clock Capt. Perry produced the flag & having unfurled it, mounted a gun slide & said “My Brave Lads, this Flag contains the last words of the brave Capt. Lawrence. Shall I hoist it?” – “Aye, Aye” they said from all quarters.” [From Samuel Hambleton’s Diary, transcribed by Gerard T, Altoff]
Even though America had a tiny navy fighting powerful England who ruled the seas, the Americans won the battle of Lake Erie against all odds.
Afterwards, Perry wrote a letter addressed to Brigadier General William Henry Harrison and sealed it.
My daughter acted as courier and took it to my dad, chosen to portray General Harrison, who had been born on an old Virginia plantation. He opened and read the letter. (See how my son used a quill, ink, and sealing wax to recreate this prop.)
“We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, September 10, 1813
View this video at my Youtube link.
Lafayette Sighting at Lake Erie
And my son was elated when he learned that the Marquis de Lafayette visited the scene of this battle on his Grand Tour of America in 1824!
Quilling Demonstration
Then my daughter demonstrated how to quill after explaining its history. It is a simple matter of wrapping a piece of paper around a quill.
Napoleon v George Washington
Finally, my son read his comparison/contrast paper on George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte.
At the end, my son explained that Napoleon could not come as a guest to our history presentation, because he was in exile.
(sigh…what will it take to help him see Napoleon in a more favorable light?)
Homeschool Museum
These books include the Dialectic history books that both kids read, the Dialectic literature books my son read, and the Rhetoric literature books my daughter read.
While at Monticello, I had gotten some seeds from Thomas Jefferson’s gardens. We are looking forward to growing them next spring and reliving memories of our early 19th century studies.
