Your Life as a Settler in Colonial America

33 Pages·2012·7.341 MB·English

by  Chris Canga, Kevin Byrne

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You just tried out for
m
the school play. Who wants the lead
e
r
part more than anyone? YOU! Imagine riding
i
c
in horse-drawn carriages. Dining with the a
finest silverware. Wearing fancy clothes and
powdered wigs. But be careful what you wish for.
That might not be the way it was for a settler
in Colonial America …
Reinforced Library Binding

Thanks to our advisers for their expertise, research, and advice:
Kevin Byrne, PhD, Professor of History
Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minnesota
Terry Flaherty, PhD, Professor of English
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Editor: Jill Kalz
Designer: Ashlee Suker
Art Director: Nathan Gassman
Production Specialist: Danielle Ceminsky
The illustrations in this book were created digitally.

Picture Window Books
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, MN 56003
www.capstonepub.com
Copyright © 2012 by Picture Window Books, a Capstone imprint.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without
written permission from the publisher. The publisher takes no
responsibility for the use of any of the materials or methods described
in this book, nor for the products thereof.
All books published by Picture Window Books
are manufactured with paper containing at least
10 percent post-consumer waste.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Troupe, Thomas Kingsley.
Your life as a settler in Colonial America / by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
; illustrated by C.B. Canga.
p. cm. — (The way it was)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4048-7156-4 (library binding)
ISBN 978-1-4048-7251-6 (paperback)
1. United States—Social life and customs—To 1775—Juvenile
literature. 2. Colonists—United States—Social life and customs—17th
century—Juvenile literature. 3. Colonists—United States—Social life
and customs—18th century—Juvenile literature. I. Canga, C. B., ill.
II. Title.
E162.T76 2012
973.2—dc23 2011029598
Photo Credits:
Shutterstock: Kenneth V. Pilon, 3 (map), 31 (map)
Printed in the United States of America in North Mankato, Minnesota.
102011 006405CGS12
Your Role
Congratulations! You’ll be playing the role of Colin Smalley
in our play “Life in Colonial America.” It’s April 1762. You’re
an 11-year-old boy who lives with his family in the town
of Williamsburg, Virginia.
You’ll sleep on a hay-filled
sack and go to the bathroom
in an outhouse. You’ll be up for
chores before sunrise. Oh, and
there’s lots of homework. But
you’ll learn a valuable trade
and make your father proud.
Tough life! You ready?
ACTION!
3
Duty Calls
Here in bustling Williamsburg, everyone has a job
to do. There are shopkeepers and blacksmiths,
shoemakers and tailors. Some people lay bricks.
Others make wigs. Even a boy like you has a job.
Your job right now? Go to school!
“Hurry, Colin!” your sister Mary shouts.
“You’re going to be late!” She runs off to
a small white house. You run to a
schoolhouse just down the road.
4
Young boys and girls in Colonial America
often learned letters, numbers, and some
reading in a dame school. These schools were held
in a teacher’s home. After graduating from dame
school, boys went on to elementary school.
Most girls, however, were kept at home. There
5
they learned to sew, knit, and cook.
Listen and Learn
You slide into your seat with your hornbook and Bible. An older boy is
already reading aloud. You carefully open your jar of ink and dip your
quill pen into it. Yesterday your classmate Henry spilled his ink. He
was lashed across the knuckles for being clumsy. You open your Bible
and begin copying a passage. Tomorrow Mr. Brown, your teacher, wants
you to recite the words.
6
Not too bad now, but
during winter this room gets cold!
Each student had to bring a piece of wood to
school each day for the building’s stove. Anyone
who forgot was punished and made to sit in
the coldest part of the room. Brrr!
Hornbooks were made of wood and shaped like paddles. Lesson
sheets were attached to one side. They included the alphabet,
vowel-consonant combinations, and prayers. A hornbook often
had a hole drilled through the handle. It could then be tied to
a child’s belt or strung around his or her neck. 7
Little Time Games
for
School lets out at noon, and you are supposed to hurry home to
eat. But your friend George asks you to play a game of bowling.
“Just one toss,” you say. George hands you the ball. You aim
for the wooden pins and roll it hard. The ball wobbles down the
dusty path and knocks all but one pin down. “Maybe just
one more,” you say, setting up the pins again.
8
Children in Colonial America enjoyed all
sorts of activities. Marbles, board games,
and cricket were popular. So was quoits.
In that game, children tried tossing
a ring onto a stake. 9