Back in the Colonial days in Maryland, the children didn't have lots of toys to play with like we do now. But they still liked to play just like we do in 1996. The only trouble was that they had to make their own toys or their parents had to make their toys for them.
In Colonial days they didn't have computers or Nintendos or Segas. But they played games anyhow. They played games like hide and seek. That was one of the favorite games of kids in the Colonial times. They played it pretty much like we play hide and seek in 1996. It's still fun to play.
They didn't have electronic games in those days and they didn't have remote control toys. They could play jump rope though. And they could play marbles. Sometimes they even took an old hoop and tried to roll it with a stick. That might be fun to try to do.
Another thing they did for fun was bobbing for apples. They filled a big tub with water and put apples in it. The apples floated. Then you had to put your face down in there and try to get an apple. It's fun but you might get really wet!
Sometimes the games were part of their work. When it was time for the harvest, they had things like corn shucking contests to get all the work done. Grown ups and kids helped. The women and girls had things like quilting bees to make quilts. They liked to do it.
The girls in Colonial Maryland didn't have Barbie dolls to play with. They only had dolls that they could make. They made some dolls out of corn husks and they made some dolls out of rags. Boys made things out of wood. They could use a knife to carve toys and stuff out of the wood.
I guess you wouldn't want to live in the Colonial days in Maryland because they didn't have televisions and videos and telephones and movies. But they still knew how to have some fun!
Written by Tia Roberson, Vaughn Wolfe, Tyron Tucker, Joshua Fisher, John Franklin, Amos Moore, Florence Johnson, David Jones, Roger Cougle, Kimberly Handy and Penny Taylor.
Linda Elder
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Patricia A. Weeg
author: Kids@work: Math in the Cyberzone The Global Classroom January 20, 1999 |