Life for pioneer children was very different than that of children today. There were no video games, no television, no computers. There were no toy stores or fast food joints. They did not have playgrounds or movie theaters. The day of a pioneer child consisted mostly of doing chores and maybe going to school. Not all pioneer children went to school. Sometimes there was not a school nearby. Some
. children were not allowed to go to school because they were needed at home to help with farming and other chores. If a child did go to school, his experience was much different than that of today's child. Children of all ages usually learned together in a single-room schoolhouse. Only the basics were taught: reading, writing and arithmetic. The school generally did not provide books for the children. They had to bring their own books; often the only book they had was a Bible. Children who were lucky enough to go to school usually did not get to go for very many years, just enough to learn the basics, then they had to stay home and help with the work. A letter written by a second-grader in 1901, talking about her school and what she thinks school might be like in a hundred years can be found here: http://www.dltk-kids.com/pioneer/school_in_the_1800.htm Modern children still do chores like taking out the trash, keeping their rooms clean, or setting the table for dinner. Pioneer children had to help feed the farm animals, work in the field tending to the crops, chop firewood, help with cooking and cleaning, mend clothes, repair fences and many other household chores. After all of this, they could not relax in a nice, warm bubble bath. Baths were usually only taken once a week, and the bath water was used by the whole family, starting with the oldest member. The youngest child took the coldest bath in dirty bath water. Pioneer children did find some time to play, however. They had toys, such as corn husk dolls, wooden pull-toys and jump ropes. They played tag and hide-and-seek like modern children do. They went fishing and swimming, sang songs and attended spelling bees. They played with hoops and sticks or played hide the thimble. Pioneer children had a harder life than children today, but they still made time for fun. More Reference Links: http://www.mrsmacdonald.net/pioneers.htm http://iagenweb.org/history/soi/soi28.htm
