Colonial Children

By Avery

English Chores

4-8 year old girls would pluck live birds’ feathers 3-4 times a year for making pillows

4-8 year old boys would find all different kinds of horsetail so their family could wash pewter (dishes)

9-12 year old girls would help their mothers milk cows

9-12 year old boys would have to do chores right after school

Chores

Young children would collect the fire wood on cold days

Girls of all ages would help cook and clean clothes

Many children would help on the farm so when they were older they would know how to do farm work

Once a boy was 11 or 12 they would be ready to be taught about true man work

French Chores

Fathers would teach their sons to ice fish

All children would help gather maple sap in the spring

Some children would carry stones to build houses and fences

School

Many New England children were taught to read the Bible first thing and then other school books

In the Middle Colonies school was free if it couldn’t be afforded

Families in the Middle Colonies would be fined $5.00 if their children couldn’t read or write by age 12

In the New England Colonies girls could read and write but they were not allowed to go to grammar school or college

In the Southern colonies most kids were home schooled because they couldn’t afford school

In New France many children didn’t go to school because it was too far away

New Spain

•In New Spain soldiers wouldn’t take their children with them because it was too dangerous

•Priest didn’t have families

•Native Americans were forced to read and write

•There was constant fighting between Native Americans and New Spain

Bibliography • “Children in Colonial Times,”

/http://www.nps.gov/archive/fofr/col_kids.htm#school 11/1/06

http://www.etsb.qc.ca/en/teacher_resources/ICT_RECIT/resources/webquests/nf/Resources/dailylife.htm 11/7/06