Colonial Farms

FARMS

Verna Fisher

FARMS

Verna Fisher

Nomad Press A division of Nomad Communications 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyright © 2011 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use. The trademark “Nomad Press” and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc. This book was manufactured by Regal Printing Limited in China June 2011, Job #1105033 #1105033 ISBN: 978-1-936313-58-7 Illustrations by Andrew Christensen Educational Consultant, Marla Conn Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to Independent Publishers Group 814 N. Franklin St. Chicago, IL 60610 www.ipgbook.com Nomad Press 2456 Christian St. White River Junction, VT 05001 www.nomadpress.net

Contents Map & Timeline ~ iii Chapter 1 ~ page 1 Down on the Farm chapter 2 ~ page 7 A Day on a Colonial Farm chapter 3 ~ page 13 Homes on the Farm chapter 4 ~ page 17 Farm Animals and Products chapter 5 ~ page 21 Native American Farms

Glossary ~ Further Investigations ~ Index

Colonial America

Middle Colonies New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.

Southern Colonies Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

iii

N W

E S

New England Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

1607 1. Virginia 2. Massachusetts 3. New York

In the 1600s, people began leaving Europe to settle in America. Some were explorers searching for gold, while others came looking for freedom. Jamestown in Virginia and Plymouth in Massachusetts were two of the earliest settlements where these people came to start a new life.

4. New Hampshire 5. Maryland 6. Connecticut 7. Rhode Island 8. Delaware 9. North Carolina 10. South Carolina 11. New Jersey 12. Pennsylvania 13. Georgia

1733 iv

Down on the Farm

In colonial times, most people lived in rural areas on farms. Farming was hard work. Farmers grew food for their families and to trade with their neighbors. They also raised animals, called livestock.

1

rural: in the country. livestock: farm animals

raised for food and other products, or to do work.

colonist: a person who

came to settle America.

crop: a plant

grown for food.

The colonists did not have tractors or other machines. They had to plant crops by hand or with the help of livestock.

The New England colonists grew corn and apples. They grew pumpkins for pies, puddings, and breads. Those living near rivers and oceans caught and traded fish. Sheep farmers traded wool, thread, and fabric.

2

Colonial America:

the name given to America when talking about the years 1607–1776.

plantation: a large farm in a hot climate.

slave: a person owned

by another person and forced to work without pay.

The Middle Colonies were called the breadbasket of Colonial America. The colonists grew lots of grain for bread there.

3

In the Southern Colonies, tobacco, cotton, and rice were important crops. Plantations in the south were much larger than farms in the north. People brought from Africa worked as slaves in the plantation fields.

The colonists brought seeds for apple trees from England during the mid-1600s.

4

tend: to take care

of something.

cabin: a small wooden house.

Slaves had many jobs on colonial plantations. They were expected to work long days in all types of weather. They tended tobacco, rice, and other crops. Slaves cleared land and built fences.

5

On smaller farms, slaves might work in the fields with the farmer. Here they were often treated better.

Large plantations had hundreds of slaves. This meant that slaves did not know their owners well and were often treated poorly. The slaves lived in small, crowded cabins. Sometimes they had little to eat.

6

A Day on a Colonial Farm

The day began early on the farm. Everyone worked from dawn to dusk. After feeding the chickens and milking the cows, children took the animals to graze in the pasture.

7

dawn: first light

graze: to eat

in the morning.

grass in fields.

dusk: just before

pasture: grassy land

dark in the evening.

where animals graze.

spring: water that

flows out of the ground.

Children used buckets to fetch water at the spring. All of the water used by a family had to be carried in buckets.

Then the children cleaned the animal pens. Boys helped the men. They hunted, planted crops, and fished. They weeded and fixed fences and roofs.

8

herb: a plant used

plow: to clear fields by

to season food and for medicine.

breaking up the soil.

oxen: cattle trained

food so it can be stored without spoiling. Drying, salting, and freezing are ways to preserve food.

to do work, such as pull heavy loads.

preserve: to treat

The colonists grew herbs and smaller vegetables in backyard gardens. Fields were for larger crops of corn, wheat, peas, and beans, as well as for grazing animals. Farmers used oxen to plow their fields.

9

Did You Know? The fat from pigs was used to make soap. The fat from sheep was used to make candles.

Girls helped the women. They cooked meals. They preserved food for the winter. Spinning wool into yarn, weaving yarn into cloth, and sewing cloth into clothes were all jobs for women and girls. Other jobs included making candles and soap.

10

village: a small rural community where people live close to each other. Smaller than a town.

Although colonial children helped on the farm, they also knew how to have fun. They rolled hoops and flew handmade kites. Kids played games like leapfrog, marbles, hopscotch, hide-and-seek, and tag.

Did You Know?

11

Toys were home made. For example, dolls were made from apples, rags, and corn husks.

Sunday was the one day of the week for rest. It was a chance for families to go to church in the village and visit friends and neighbors.

12

Homes on the Farm

The first homes in Jamestown, Virginia, were simple, one-room buildings. They were made of posts and beams carved from logs. Roofs were made of thatch and floors were dirt. Sticks, straw, and clay filled spaces to keep out wind, rain, and animals.

13

post: a strong piece

thatch: dried straw

of wood stood straight up for support.

used to make a roof.

beam: a strong piece

away from a house. It has a seat with a hole in it built over a pit.

of wood laid across posts for support.

privy: a small building

In colonial times, people used an outdoor privy to go to the bathroom, even in winter. Today, we have bathrooms with flush toilets in our homes.

14

Log cabins were popular in the Middle Colonies. They could be built quickly without nails. Metal for nails was expensive and hard to get. Walls were made by stacking logs. Notches in the ends of the logs held them together.

15

You can still see many plantation homes in the South today.

Plantation homes built in the Southern Colonies were large and open because the weather was hot. They had large front porches with columns. Porches sometimes surrounded a house to give shade during hot days.

16

Farm Animals and Products

The settlers came to the New World on ships crowded with farm animals. The first ships brought small animals such as chickens, goats, and pigs. Cows, sheep, horses, and oxen came later.

17

New World: what settlers from Europe

called America because it was new to them.

The colonists worried that they might not find these animals in the New World. They needed the animals for eggs, meat, and milk. The larger animals also helped the farmers do work in the fields.

18

leather: a material made from the skin of an animal.

quill: a large feather

dipped in ink, to use as a pen.

butter churn:

a long handle with paddles in a wooden container. It was used to turn cream into butter.

buttermilk: the

liquid left after churning butter out of cream.

The colonists used animal products in their daily life. Milk was preserved by turning it into butter and cheese. Sheep’s wool was turned into thread and woven into cloth. Animal skins were used too. The colonists made leather clothing, bags, buckets, and shoes. Feathers stuffed pillows and mattresses, and were used to make quills.

19

Did You Know? Butter was made from the cream that rose to the top of milk. The cream was mixed for a long time in a butter churn. All of the mixing formed lumps of butter that separated from the buttermilk.

20

Native American Farms

There were many groups or tribes of Native Americans. They lived all over America for thousands of years before the colonists arrived. The Native Americans were skilled farmers. They taught the colonists how to grow and cook with corn.

21

tribe: a large group of people with common ancestors and customs. Today, Native Americans use the word nation instead.

moccasin: a Native American shoe.

After eating corn, Native Americans used the husks to make moccasins, sleeping mats, dolls, and baskets. They burned the cobs for fuel.

Native Americans were able to grow a lot of food on a small amount of land. They planted corn, beans, and squash together. This combination was called the Three Sisters. Beans grew up the corn stalks. The squash grew below. Its big leaves kept in moisture and kept out weeds.

22

hemp: a plant with

strong fibers used to make baskets and rope.

sinew: a strong, thin

band in an animal’s body. It connects bone to muscle and was used as cord or thread.

Native Americans made baskets to carry food from the field or riverbank to the village. The baskets were made with hemp and sinew. Weaving the materials tightly made the baskets very strong. Many Native American nations still make these baskets today.

23

Colonists built fences to keep their animals on the farm. Native Americans believed that all creatures were equal. They let animals roam freely in the woods near their villages.

24

Glossary beam: a strong piece of wood laid across posts for support. butter churn: a long handle with paddles in a wooden container. It was used to turn cream into butter. buttermilk: the liquid left after churning butter out of cream. cabin: a small wooden house. Colonial America: the name given to America when talking about the years 1607–1776. colonist: a person who came to settle America. crop: a plant grown for food. dawn: first light in the morning. dusk: just before dark in the evening. graze: to eat grass in fields. hemp: a plant with strong fibers used to make baskets and rope. herb: a plant used to season food and for medicine. leather: a material made from the skin of an animal. livestock: farm animals raised for food and other products, or to do work. moccasin: a Native American shoe. New World: what settlers from Europe called America because it was new to them. oxen: cattle trained to do work, such as pull heavy loads.

25

pasture: grassy land where animals graze. plantation: a large farm in a hot climate. plow: to clear fields by breaking up the soil. post: a strong piece of wood stood straight up for support. preserve: to treat food so it can be stored without spoiling. Drying, salting, and freezing are ways to preserve food. privy: a small building away from a house. It has a seat with a hole in it built over a pit. quill: a large feather dipped in ink, to use as a pen. rural: in the country. sinew: a strong, thin band in an animal’s body. It connects bone to muscle and was used as cord or thread. slave: a person owned by another person and forced to work without pay. spring: water that flows out of the ground. tend: to take care of something. thatch: dried straw used to make a roof. tribe: a large group of people with common ancestors and customs. Today, Native Americans use the word nation instead. village: a small rural community where people live close to each other. Smaller than a town.

Further Investigations Books Bordessa, Kris. Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself. White River Junction, VT: Nomad Press, 2006. Fisher, Verna. Explore Colonial America! 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments. White River Junction, VT: Nomad Press, 2009.

Museums and Websites Colonial Williamsburg www.history.org Williamsburg, Virginia National Museum of the American Indian www.nmai.si.edu Washington, D.C. and New York, New York Plimoth Plantation www.plimoth.org Plymouth, Massachusetts

America’s Library www.americaslibrary.gov Jamestown Settlement www.historyisfun.org Native American History www.bigorrin.org Native Languages of the Americas www.native-languages.org Social Studies for Kids www.socialstudiesforkids.com The Mayflower www.mayflowerhistory.com Virtual Jamestown www.virtualjamestown.org

26

Index A animals/animal products, 2, 7–8, 9, 10, 17–18, 19–20, 24 apples, 2, 4, 11

L leather, 19 livestock, 2, 7, 9, 10, 17–18, 24 log cabins, 15

B baskets, 22, 23 bathrooms, 14 beans, 9, 22 butter, 19, 20

M map of colonies, iii Middle Colonies, iii, 3, 15 milk, 7, 18, 19, 20

C candles, 10 cheese, 19 chickens, 7, 17 children, 7–8, 10, 11 church, 12 cloth/clothes, 2, 10, 19, 22 corn, 2, 9, 11, 21–22 cows, 7, 17 crops, 2–4, 5, 9, 11, 21–22 D daily routine, 7–12 F fences, 5, 8, 24 fish/fishing, 2, 8 food, 1–2, 10, 18–20, 22. See also crops G games and toys, 11, 22 gardens, 8, 9 goats, 17 H homes, 13–16 horses, 17 hunting, 8

27

N Native Americans, 21–24 New England Colonies, iv, 2 O oxen, 9, 17 P pigs, 10, 17 plantations, 4–6, 16 S settlement of colonies, iii–iv sheep, 2, 10, 17, 19 shoes, 19, 22 slaves, 4–6 soap, 10 Southern Colonies, iii, 4–6, 16 squash and pumpkins, 2, 22 Sundays, 12 T toys and games, 11, 22 W water, 8 wool, 2, 10, 19

Children’s Education Resource

Compare Life Today to Life in Colonial Times What kinds of food was grown on colonial farms? Did the colonists have farm animals? Why did farm life vary from one area of the country to another? How did colonial farms compare to farms of the Native Americans? Find out the answers to these questions and more.

Guided Reading Level: N Interest Level: 1–3 $6.95 USA | $7.95 CAN

ISBN: 978-1-936313-58-7

Did You Know? Colonial America is the name given to America when talking about the years 1607–1776.

Printed in China.