Young Boys
-feeding livestock -gathering firewood Older Boys and Men -making furniture -building fences -cutting down trees for lumber and clearing fields -removing stones from fields -ploughing -planting -sheep shearing -fishing (at night for larger catches like muskellunge and eel) -hunting (all seasons) -harvesting crops -threshing -digging water well -barn-raising and house building -slaughtering livestock Young Girls -feeding chickens -washing dishes -setting the table -gathering greens (summer) Older Girls and Women -salting meat -making candles -drying apples -preparing and cooking food -childcare -gathering eggs -carding and spinning wool "From Wool to Yarn" -planting -milking -making butter and cheese -making ticks and mattresses for beds -making blankets, quilts, and warm woollen clothes Chores were divided amongst siblings, so It was good to have lots of brothers and sisters. New babies were a burden at first, but eventually meant more free time and less to do.
|
Children
Being a child in pre-industrial society was hard work and could be challenging. Check out the typical chore list below. School was not a huge priority for these kids. Since they usually stayed at home, mom and dad taught them almost everything they needed to know. If their area had a school, it would usually only meet in the winter time. A teacher would come to their area, then spend one to three week(s) at each family with children's home. They would feed the teacher and give them a room in the home. They would take care of the teacher's laundry and provide him with materials. When he had spent time with every family, the term was done and the community would pay him. He would either work as an extra hand on one of the farms or go back home to complete some other sort of seasonal work. School typically taught reading, writing and arithmetic. All students, from the youngest to the oldest, were taught in one school room. Corporal punishment was often used. Kids might be paddled or hit with switches for bad behavior or bad grades. Teachers had to be single and had very strict rules about dress and behavior. 7. Why would children often welcome younger siblings? 8. How would the length of a term be determined? 9. Are any of the rules for teachers (either 1872 or 1915) still in use? Which are the most outdated, in your opion? Why? 10. How might moving to cities for factories change a child's role? |