Colonial America Activities with the Quakers

quilt
 Make a colonial quilt.

No colonial home was without quilts. Homes were drafty. Many colonial women shared friendship quilts with friends and relatives. Each person wrote his or her name in a block and embroidered it with colored thread. The women then sewed all the quilt squares together to make a friendship quilt.

quilt

Colonial homes were often decorated with stencils. Do some stenciling of your own like the ones we made below.

stenciling pattern with fruit stenciling pattern with pears

Play some colonial games.

Hopscotch Draw hopscotch squares in the dirt with sticks and use rocks for markers.
Leapfrog One partner squats down. The other partner places his hands on the squatter's back, leaps over the squatter, and then squats down. His partner stands up and leaps over him. Play continues.
Squat Tag One player is chosen as IT. The rest of the players are runners. A runner cannot be tagged when he is squatting. After five runners have been tagged, a new IT is chosen.
Stone Poison To play have one less large stone than there are players. Arrange the stones on the playing field. Choose one player to be IT. When IT tags a player, this player becomes the new IT. A player cannot be tagged if she has one foot resting on a stone.
Hop, Skip, Jump Each player takes a turn completing three motions - hop, skip, and jump without pausing. The player who goes the longest distance is the winner.
Yo-Yo   These games were played during colonial times much the same way we play them today.
Bubble-Blowing
Tops
Pick-up sticks
See Saw
Marbles
Rocking Horses
Kite Flying
London Bridge is Falling Down
Jump Rope
Blindman's Bluff
Hoops

Learn about some colonial occupations. Here are a few to investigate:

blacksmith cooper cordwainer glassblower hatter
housewright joiner printer shipwright silversmith
storekeeper tanner wigmaker    

 

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