Colonial LifeChildren & Medicine

By Mr. Casey

AGENDAVocabulary

A Child’s Life

Education

Clothes

Fun

Chores and Manners

Colonial Life

Colonial Medicine

hornbook(noun)

● A horn book consisted of a piece of parchment usually pasted onto a small wooden board with a handle, and covered with a thin plate of transparent horn from where the name of 'horn book' was derived.

● The horn book was durable and inexpensive. The horn book displayed the alphabet in both small letters and capital letters. The Lord's Prayer in English was also included on the horn-book together with the mark of the cross.

primer(noun)

the first educational textbook of the colonies. It had the alphabet, spelling lessons, Bible passages, and lessons for being moral and obeying your parents

mortar and pestle(noun)

a pestle is a club shaped, handheld tool used to crush or grind things inside of a bowl called a mortar

EDUCATIONWhat is a child’s education like in the modern world?

Is it the same everywhere?

Colonial EducationColonial Education of the Upper Classes

Wealthy families had private tutors that would come to their home to teach. These children would often pursue higher education at a university in Europe.

Colonial Education of the Middle ClassesMiddle class kids, the sons of merchants, ministers, doctors and lawyers, attended dame schools, elementary schools and grammar schools. They would sometimes attend college.

Colonial Education of the Lower Classes & Indentured ServantsLower class children would receive very little education. They would often participate in the family business- sometimes they could get an apprenticeship

SlavesSlaves had no education and in the Southern colonies slaves were forbidden by law to learn how to read and write

Colonial EducationMost working class children would go to school until age 7-10. Then, they worked on the family farm or became an apprentice, learning a trade and working for free.

One room schoolhouse or Dame school

Children of all ages learned together

Hornbook, Slate, and Primer were classroom tools

Punishment could be handed out by teachers-What kind of punishments are handed out today?

Colonial Education

A Day in the Life-Colonial Children

What is a typical day like for you? What are some things you do?

Do you think colonial kids did anything similar?

Colonial Day-ChildrenChildren were expected to attend school (sometimes it was all day, six days a week) and then complete whatever chores were set aside for them. They had very little free time.

GIRLS: homemaker skills like knitting, cleaning, cooking, weaving, sewing (sampler)

BOYS: their father’s trade (farming, blacksmith, etc.) as well as taking care of the animals

Colonial Day-Games & ToysChildren would often be left alone for long periods of time while their parents were away working. They would do their chores, play, or hunt.

GAMES & TOYS

Blind Man’s Buff

Stilts

Rolling Hoops

COLONIAL MANNERSWhat are some examples of manners you are

supposed to have around adults and teachers?

Do you think you have more rules than a colonial kid?

Colonial Day-Children (manners)Children were expected to have a certain set of manners and respect elders.

Children were to be seen and not heard.

For Example: They had to have strong legs...

They would often be served last at a meal, eat quickly and not speak. They often didn’t have a chair and would not eat at the table.

Colonial Day-Children (manners)George Washington created a list of manners called the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation”

http://colonialwilliamsburg.org/Almanack/life/manners/rules2.cfm?s=1

CLASSES OF SOCIETYDoes the United States have a class system?

Are there still official or unofficial class systems in parts of the world?

Have we learned about other societies that had class systems?

Colonial Social Classes1.Gentry-wealthy landowners, merchants, and financiers

2.Middling-tradesmen and professionals (lawyers, doctors)

3.Farmers-owners of a small family farm

4.Free Blacks-free black men and women with a wide range of jobs, but not the same rights as white citizens

5.House Slaves-these slaves worked in the house under the watchful eye of a master (they had to be available at all hours of the day)

6.Field Slaves-slaves working in the fields; sun up to sun down, six days a week

COLONIAL MEDICINEWhat do your parents do when you get sick? Do

you take medicine or get treatment?

What are some medical advancements we have today that were not available during colonial times?

Colonial MedicineDoctors were hard to come by in Colonial America and they were

expensive.

Most treatments and remedies were natural or home remedies given by the woman of the house.

Most medicines were made from animals, plants, and minerals.

Apothecary

Provided medical treatmentPrescribed medicineTrained apprenticesPerformed surgery

Colonial MedicineCommon Treatments in Colonial MedicineBloodletting: This was to relieve inflammation: redness, swelling, pain, and heat.

Chalk: Heartburn

Calamine: Skin irritation

Cinchona bark: Fevers

Rosemary and Vinegar: Headaches

Colonial Life-Death Rates Disease, malnutrition, and accidents took the lives of

many colonists.

On average, women had seven to ten children.

❏1 in 10 children would die before their first birthday (more than a 50% death rate for slaves)

❏4 in 10 children died before age

Most marriages only lasted around 12 years and combined families were very common. The average age of death of a man in the colonies was about 48