What Was Daily Life Like in Colonial Maryland?
In colonial Maryland, some aspects of life were quite the same as they are now: children went to school, while their mothers and fathers worked hard to put food on the table and keep the nation’s economy afloat. Some parts of daily life were remarkably different, such as the clothing Maryland citizens wore and their modes of commuting and transportation.
In the colonial era, children went to school, as they do now, to learn key skills in the core academic areas of reading, writing, arithmetic and even the sciences. Recitation and drills were common, and children were occasionally presented with quizzes and tests to ensure they were absorbing the material being taught. At recess, children went outside to play games such as Quoits and Bobbing for Apples and left school in the same way they arrived: on foot or by horseback. Women generally stayed home to tend to household chores, such as laundry, sewing clothes for family members and preparing meals. In rural areas, they helped maintain family farms too by milking cows, feeding the animals and even harvesting crops. Male farmers spent their days planting crops and toiling the fields, while others worked as hunters, fur traders and shipbuilders.
