Gr7News

Group: Allison, Maria, Jenna, and Kelly.

11/13/08 Colonial Day

__Colonial Schooling__ 1. A typical day for students in colonial times was different depending on where they lived. For New England colonies the parents wanted their kids to learn about Christianity so they taught them to read so they could read the Bible. They could read school books too. In the villages with more than 100 families they set up grammar schools that taught boys subject they needed to know about for college. Girls could read but they weren't allowed to go to the schools or colleges. In the middle colonies, they had mostly private schools. Some girls went to dame schools. The southern colonies had a lot of farms that weren't close to each other so they were homeschooled or hired a tutor. Then they would go off to college or to Europe. They had little schools. The boys were also taught a trade. I think the best part of the day would be learning how to read. 2. Going to school in Colonial times was different from today’s schooling, because boys and girls never went to school together. Schools were also generally small, not like today where we have big schools with lots of supplies. Kids would be lucky to have one book. Kids learned to read from special books called hornbooks. A hornbook had everything in it. The Bible, the alphabet, and numbers. We don’t have one special book that helps us read and learn. We have many. Kids would learn trade, often like their father’s so when they grow older they can take on the family business.

3. Hornbook was a book that had the alphabet, bible readings, and numbers to help the children learn. This book some what relates to the Bible and dictionary put together. Dame schools were for boys generally from six to eight, it taught them prayers, to read, and spell. This is very much like a day care center for children in today’s world. The New England Primer was an American school book that used Old Testament texts to help children learn like Bibles.

4. If I had a choice to either go to school in colonial times or today, I would rather study and go to school in present day. Present day schooling is much more civilized and fair. Back in colonial times, schools were meant for boys and the only learning girls did was learning to be a proper gentle women. Also, schooling practically revolved around math, Latin, and the Bible. Another topic that was unfair in colonial times was how the only way to get a proper education was to go to Catholic schools. If you weren’t catholic, then you wouldn’t get a proper schooling.

Group 2 Colonial Schooling November 13, 2008 Everyday Life by Emily, Dana , Christine , and Kayla
 * Alex, Caroline , Rachel , Daniella **
 * 1) A typical school for a colonial child was going to school in December to March when he or she was not needed to work on their family’s farm. They learned geography, arithmetic, penmanship and difficult reading. They would wake up early and head into the one room school. Textbooks were scarce so boys and girls had to memorize their lessons to learn them. School was different for girls because they were only taught enough math and reading to be able to read the Bible. They were also taught household chores. In my opinion the best part of the school day is being able to learn as a girl.
 * 2) School was different back then because the school rooms were smaller and there were many more children in one room back then, then in the present. Schooling is much more important now then it was back then, students were more needed at home then at school. Schools today teach basically the same things that they did in the 1700’s.
 * 3) The Hornbook is a piece of wood with a sheet of paper to help teach the younger children to read. Dame School is an early form of private elementary school taught by women for women. The New England Primer is an educational textbook to help beginner readers.
 * 4) I would rather tend to school this day because we have so much more offered to us then back then. These schools are more organized and less crowded which makes it easier to focus and learn. Better learning tools and supplies to help us get a better education.

A Woman’s Life Colonial Women work was very difficult. Women cook, clean, care for the house, care for the children, doctored the family, took care of animals, made house goods that can be sold or used, and tended gardens. If you were middle class or wealthy you might have a servant, but you could also do the work. A typical day starts very early with modern standards, they built fires, carried water, gathered fresh fruit and vegetables from their garden for the days meals. The also got meat from the smokehouse and prepared breakfast, for dinner and lunch they mostly had stew that needed very little tending. Women also trained young girls to weave and help their mom around the house, cooking and caring for children. They also made clothes. Single women did the spinning, sewing, knitting, and weaving. Girls spun wool and flaxseed that’s would become fabric, mittens, hats, and scarves. Girls sewed by hand, their stitches were very tiny and durable that would hold over a long time. Every colonial housewife made a supply of candles in autumn. I would rather be a woman in the present day because colonial day woman had a lot of work that was very tiring and difficult. In the present day women go to school, they were not judged by if they were married or not. Also if I women wanted to get food they would go to the store and buy it instead of gathering it. Young girls would be going to school and hanging out with her friends instead of staying home learning how to cook, clean, sew, etc. A Child’s Day Children in colonial times had many responsibilities and also had a lot of free time. Children learned to read books and girls learned to dance and sew. While sewing, girls would work on samplers or mend clothes. Boys learned skills from their fathers. Education was available to whoever could afford it in a middleclass area. Boys had more education then girls because many thought that boys needed more education. I would much rather be a child now rather than back then because there are equal learning opportunities and life seems a lot easier. I do not think I would be able to get up and work everyday and I don’t think I would be able to make a sampler or mend clothes! Colonial Meal Time The colonists had very strict rules at meal time. They were not allowed to move any body parts with any noise nor were they allowed to say that a meal was good even if it was. Children weren’t allowed to sit down. If you had wealthy neighbors, you would hide your fish when they came to visit because you didn’t want them to know that you ate cheap fish. Most of their food was hunted, grown in a garden, fished for, or was farm animals. They would also eat turtle. On Sunday, colonial families would eat baked beans, which were made the night before. I feel that the rules are too strict and some of the food may not have been very good, such as turtle. Because they ate some things that may be considered strange today and the rules were extremely strict, I would not want to eat the way they did. **//__ The Colonial Times   __//** Colleem, Taylor , Colleen , Brittney Children in colonial times wore many different articles of clothing, depending on what age they wore. Vulnerable toddlers wore padded hats much like crash helmets. They wore stays to improve straight posture, although laboring class children often did not. Both boys and girls wore dresses. Today, young children do not wear stays at all, and boys wear pants as babies, instead of dresses. Girls wear adorable dresses, but they aren’t tight or constricting. They comfortable and loose. Men in the colonial times would wear a three cornered hat, A white under garment, A long coat that normally went to there knees. They would also use a walking stick which was very popular accessory in that time era. Men also would wear long wigs normally in a pony tail. Men in colonial times would also wear breeches which were short pants with leggings underneath them. Men in modern time where normally pants or shorts with a shirt. There is no proper way for men to dress now. But in colonial times it was very proper to wear breeches a long sleeved shirt with a coat. Men in colonial times are very different than now. Women in colonial times wore many wore many accessories and clothing pieces. They wore colash bonnets, a muff and pocketbook, hats, and other accessories. They wore mitts, pockets, stomachers and aprons. Also, they wear petticoats, hoops, shoes gowns, caps and stays. Today, women wear designers, and sweatpants. In the colonies, women made their clothes. Also, they bought their clothes at stores but mostly made themselves. They would sew or sit at a loom and use it to make these clothes. To color their clothes, the women would die their clothing. They would make these clothes when they had time and/or before or after tea. Question One: What was a typical day for a colonial woman? Would you rather be a woman during colonial times or in the present? Explain.
 * Describe what a child in colonial times would wear. Compare and contrast what children wear today to what children wore in colonial times.  **
 * Describe what a man in colonial times would wear. Compare and contrast what men wear today to what men wore in colonial times.  **
 * Describe what a woman in colonial times would wear. Compare and contrast what women wear today to what women wore in colonial times  **
 * Describe how people in colonial times made their clothing. Who made the clothes? How did they get different colored clothing? When did they make clothing?  **

A typical day for a colonial woman was full of hard exhausting work that was not appreciated. She rose very early and kindled the fire, carried water, and gathered fresh fruits and vegetables to use in the day’s meals from the kitchen garden. She also fetched meat from the smokehouse for the three meals she would make that day. She took care of the children as well as training girls for their roles and wives and mothers. Even young girls worked hard, cooking, cleaning, and gardening. I would rather be a woman in present times because they have more opportunities. Woman then were expected to become wives and mothers or perhaps midwives, tavern keepers, or school mistresses. They only received a rudimentary education and could not attend college. They had almost no rights and were considered the property of their husbands who they were pressured to marry. Most married at the age of thirteen or fourteen and if a woman was not married by twenty-five she was socially disgraced. That is why I would prefer to be a woman now. Here is answers 3 and 4. Our group was Mallory, Kelly, MacKenzie, and HEather! 3. In colonial times, women’s outfits would consist of a cap or bonnet and a dress that included a bodice, stomacher, and petticoat usually worn with a gown over top. Underneath all those garments, they wore a shift, stays, hoops, and wool, silk, linen, or cotton stockings. As you can imagine women would get very hot under all of these clothes, especially in the summer. Just like today, women back then loved their jewelry. It was the most popular form of accessory for women. Today, women’s fashion has evolved to fit into much more modern times. In these more recent times, women can wear more than one style of clothing. To go to work a business woman would wear a three-piece suit or she might wear a skirt or dress depending on her occupation. To go to a formal party or event, one might wear a evening gown or a cocktail dress made with a variety of colors, fabrics, and textures. This would be matched with a pair of high-heels, an attractive bag or purse, and a plethora of jewelry ranging from bracelets to necklaces. On a casually occasion her outfit might consist of jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers or ballet flats, and a fashionable jacket or hoodie. As you can see fashion has changed dramatically over the past few century’s.

what a women would wear in colonial times 4. In colonial times, women would make both her and her family’s clothing. A richer family would buy bolts of fabric from a store and then take it home where she would hand sew the garments. In a poorer family they would make their own materials spun from natural resources. To make their garments colorful they used dyes made of materials like indigo plants and certain bugs.