We found a lot of interesting information about life in Nora's time. We'd love to share it all with you, along with many of the hands-on experiences we had as we were learning. You can use this information for a unit study on pioneers, lesson plans, a lapbook, project board, or just for fun! Check back with us regularly for updates:)
Twelve Golden Rules for Children in 1880
1. Shut every door after you without slamming it.
2. Never shout in the house.
3. Never call to persons upstairs or in the next room; if you wish to speak to them, go to them.
4. Always be kind and polite to servants if you would have them the same to you.
5. When told to do or not to do a thing by either parent, never object and obey cheerfully.
6. You may tell of your faults and misdoings, but not of those of your brothers and sisters.
7. Carefully clean your shoes before entering the house.
8. Be prompt at every meal hour, especially so in the morning, and thus cultivate the habit of rising early.
9. Never sit down at the table or in the parlor with soiled hands or disheveled hair
10. Never interrupt any conversation, but wait patiently your turn to speak.
11. Never reserve your good manner for company, but be equally polite at home and abroad.
12. Let your first, last and best friend be your mother.
Above is an excerpt from the Canton Girl Scouts Bicentennial Historical Activity Book
http://www.canton.org/history/golden.htm
2. Never shout in the house.
3. Never call to persons upstairs or in the next room; if you wish to speak to them, go to them.
4. Always be kind and polite to servants if you would have them the same to you.
5. When told to do or not to do a thing by either parent, never object and obey cheerfully.
6. You may tell of your faults and misdoings, but not of those of your brothers and sisters.
7. Carefully clean your shoes before entering the house.
8. Be prompt at every meal hour, especially so in the morning, and thus cultivate the habit of rising early.
9. Never sit down at the table or in the parlor with soiled hands or disheveled hair
10. Never interrupt any conversation, but wait patiently your turn to speak.
11. Never reserve your good manner for company, but be equally polite at home and abroad.
12. Let your first, last and best friend be your mother.
Above is an excerpt from the Canton Girl Scouts Bicentennial Historical Activity Book
http://www.canton.org/history/golden.htm
One Room Schools
For information on school in Nora’s day, we found this link to be helpful:
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom/index.html
(Check out the Then and Now section on the right for a peek at how things have changed in the classroom.)
We looked at countless photos of one room schools and even had a chance to visit a couple of schools from Nora’s time. We also read several narratives about a typical day in a one room school of long ago. Here's one we thought we'd share:
http://www.pioneersholesschool.org/pages/narrative.html
Here's a great book on one room schools too:) A One Room School (Historic Communities) , by Bobbie Kalman
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom/index.html
(Check out the Then and Now section on the right for a peek at how things have changed in the classroom.)
We looked at countless photos of one room schools and even had a chance to visit a couple of schools from Nora’s time. We also read several narratives about a typical day in a one room school of long ago. Here's one we thought we'd share:
http://www.pioneersholesschool.org/pages/narrative.html
Here's a great book on one room schools too:) A One Room School (Historic Communities) , by Bobbie Kalman
We recently found another great link to a curriculum guide for pioneer school. This guide provides many details on teachers, subjects, and expectations for behavior in an 1880's one room school and also highlights information about frontier food, dress, and games as well.
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/docments/pioneer_school_curriculum.pdf
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/docments/pioneer_school_curriculum.pdf
Spelling
Spelling was one of Nora's favorite subjects, and she was determined to win the Mountain Springs spelling bee. Here are samples of books she may have studied from with some practice words to follow. We used many of the words we found from the spellers below to have our own family spelling bee here at home. It was fun, especially when we played a game of kids versus adults and... the kids won!!!
The Standard Speller (1861)- This electronic edition was not available in 1861:)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/sargent/sargent.html
The American Spelling Book- Noah Webster (1824) - electronic edition
http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/websters-spelling-book-1824.pdf
Sample spelling words from Nora’s day:
amplification
confederation
qualification
congratulation
edification
association
organization
multiplication
cooperation
continuation
glorification
precious
efficient
perdition
special
especial
pernicious
vicious
petition
fruition
proficient
addition
judicial
physician
ambition
position
auspicious
magician
propitious
The Standard Speller (1861)- This electronic edition was not available in 1861:)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/sargent/sargent.html
The American Spelling Book- Noah Webster (1824) - electronic edition
http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/websters-spelling-book-1824.pdf
Sample spelling words from Nora’s day:
amplification
confederation
qualification
congratulation
edification
association
organization
multiplication
cooperation
continuation
glorification
precious
efficient
perdition
special
especial
pernicious
vicious
petition
fruition
proficient
addition
judicial
physician
ambition
position
auspicious
magician
propitious
Succotash
In all honesty, we didn't even know what succotash was until we began reading about frontier families. It appears that this dish of beans and corn with a touch of butter, cream, salt and pepper was a staple part of many families' diets back in the 1800's. Here's a yummy and more modern version of succotash, like the one we tried at home:
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen corn, thawed
- 1 (16 ounce) can beans, rinsed and drained- we use black beans:)
- 1 small red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup cream
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Crushed red pepper to taste
In a large skillet, cook the corn, beans, red pepper and onion in butter over medium heat. Add chili powder and salt/pepper; sprinkle crushed red pepper on to taste. Stir well and cook for 8-10 minutes, adding the cream with about 3-4 minutes of cook time left.
We also tried adding one or two diced sweet potatoes to the above recipe:) We were skeptical at first, but the potatoes added a nice flavor!
Pioneer Home Life and Chores
Life in a log cabin was fascinating to us, and we learned a lot about the different types of daily chores that must be performed by every member of a frontier family throughout the year.
We found this to be a helpful link in understanding the different roles of family members from Nora’s time:
http://www.projects.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/pioneer/pioneer_home.htm
We found this to be a helpful link in understanding the different roles of family members from Nora’s time:
http://www.projects.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/pioneer/pioneer_home.htm
Homemade Butter
This activity was fun…and a workout for the arms too:)
1. Pour cream into a jar, filling it only 1/3 of the way. Any size jar will do- just depends on how much butter you would like. The important thing is not to fill the jar too full. Also, many of the instructions we read recommended room temperature cream, though the cream we used was cold.
2. Drop a clean marble into your jar (optional).
3. Shake the jar until butter begins to form. This part takes a while and depends on the amount of cream and the size of your jar (anywhere from ten to twenty minutes). If you use a marble as an agitator, that cuts your time significantly.
3. As the butter begins to form, drain some of the liquid (the buttermilk) into a bowl and continue shaking until your reach the desired consistency. The final product will be a soft butter.
4. Rinse the butter under running water, and then drain the water out.
Oops…we skipped this step when we made our butter, but it turned out okay anyway:)
5. If you like salted butter, then now is the time to add it (careful, it won’t take much).
6. It’s ready to eat. Yum!
This activity was fun…and a workout for the arms too:)
1. Pour cream into a jar, filling it only 1/3 of the way. Any size jar will do- just depends on how much butter you would like. The important thing is not to fill the jar too full. Also, many of the instructions we read recommended room temperature cream, though the cream we used was cold.
2. Drop a clean marble into your jar (optional).
3. Shake the jar until butter begins to form. This part takes a while and depends on the amount of cream and the size of your jar (anywhere from ten to twenty minutes). If you use a marble as an agitator, that cuts your time significantly.
3. As the butter begins to form, drain some of the liquid (the buttermilk) into a bowl and continue shaking until your reach the desired consistency. The final product will be a soft butter.
4. Rinse the butter under running water, and then drain the water out.
Oops…we skipped this step when we made our butter, but it turned out okay anyway:)
5. If you like salted butter, then now is the time to add it (careful, it won’t take much).
6. It’s ready to eat. Yum!
M. and my nephew playing dress up at a living history museum:)
Clothing
So, what did pioneers and frontier families wear? It varied depending on where, when, and how the person lived. Wealthy families may have had some store bought items and more clothing in general, but it appears that most frontier families wore primarily handmade clothing and had only a couple changes of clothes per person.
Making and caring for a family's clothing was a lot more difficult in pioneer times:
http://www.museumsofwv.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36
This link also gives a little information about clothing for children in the 1880's-
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/docments/pioneer_school_curriculum.pdf
Making and caring for a family's clothing was a lot more difficult in pioneer times:
http://www.museumsofwv.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36
This link also gives a little information about clothing for children in the 1880's-
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/docments/pioneer_school_curriculum.pdf
Colorado Weather
We live in a diverse area, one in which we can enjoy the beauty of the Ozark Mountains and forests in one direction while experiencing the wide open plains in the other. It's one of my favorite things about the place we call home. The diversity of Colorado is even more amazing and is the setting of Just Plain Nora. Colorado is an interior continental state at mid-latitude and also boasts the highest average elevation in the United States. Colorado's terrain varies from the Great Plains of the east to the peaks of the Rockies (and everything in between) which means that Colorado enjoys a highly diverse climate and variable weather patterns.
I chose eastern Colorado for Nora's home because it seemed a little like where we live. I also chose to include a tornado or cyclone in the story since we live on one side of Tornado Alley and Nora lives on the other. We found this link to be very helpful in understanding the climate of Colorado:
http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu/climateofcolorado.php
How does it compare to where you live?
We found many similarities between our weather patterns at home and those of eastern Colorado: plenty of sunshine, lots of wind, and a large daily and seasonal range in temperature.
Two major differences we found were the level of humidity (it's a lot more humid here) and the amount of precipitation (it's drier in eastern Colorado than where we live).
I chose eastern Colorado for Nora's home because it seemed a little like where we live. I also chose to include a tornado or cyclone in the story since we live on one side of Tornado Alley and Nora lives on the other. We found this link to be very helpful in understanding the climate of Colorado:
http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu/climateofcolorado.php
How does it compare to where you live?
We found many similarities between our weather patterns at home and those of eastern Colorado: plenty of sunshine, lots of wind, and a large daily and seasonal range in temperature.
Two major differences we found were the level of humidity (it's a lot more humid here) and the amount of precipitation (it's drier in eastern Colorado than where we live).
Making a Diary/Journaling
A.'s paper bag journal
Paper was a luxury on the frontier in 1880, and Nora treasured the diary she made from leftover bits of paper. My girls love journaling and have several different journals that they use for different purposes. We try to each work in our own journals at least two or three times a week. Most of the time, we journal about our thoughts and feelings that day, but sometimes we include artwork, quotes, and Bible verses too. If you'd like to get started journaling but aren't sure what to write, here are some journal prompts that might help you get used to putting your thoughts onto paper: http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/journal-prompts.html
Both Abby and Molly enjoyed making journals from recycled paper bags. I took pictures of each step in case you want to make paper bag journals of your own:)
Both Abby and Molly enjoyed making journals from recycled paper bags. I took pictures of each step in case you want to make paper bag journals of your own:)
Apples
You can find a lot of information about apples here- from recipes to history:
http://plantsci.missouri.edu/apple/welcome.htm
We thought it was pretty cool that as early as 1869, Missouri apples were transported to Wyoming by railroad and then on to miners in Colorado. By 1900, Missouri was the center of the apple trade and shipped apples all over the country!
We were also amazed at the large number of antique and heirloom apple varieties available! Check this out:
http://www.bighorsecreekfarm.com/descriptions1.htm
We found a new favorite for making juice and cider- the Arkansas Black Apple:) Yum!!
Our favorite recipes include apple pie, apple crisp, and apple cake. Here's our easy apple pie with homemade crust:
Buttery Pie Crust
3 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 1/2 c unsalted sweet cream butter
1 egg, beaten
5 TBSP cold water
1 TBSP white vinegar
Combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the beaten egg, the vinegar, and the cold water. Mix together until combined. The dough may be divided into halves or thirds (depending on the size of your pie pan and how thick you like your crust:) After dividing, roll the dough flat on a floured service with a rolling pin.
Easy Apple Pie
5 c. sliced apples
1c. sugar
3 TBSP. flour
1 t. cinnamon (or more...we like extra cinnamon in ours:)
real butter
Line the bottom of the pie pan with crust before filling with thinly sliced apples. Sprinkle apples with sugar, then flour and cinnamon. Liberally dot with pats of butter:) Cover with a top crust, pinching edges together and cutting a few vent slits in the top crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
http://plantsci.missouri.edu/apple/welcome.htm
We thought it was pretty cool that as early as 1869, Missouri apples were transported to Wyoming by railroad and then on to miners in Colorado. By 1900, Missouri was the center of the apple trade and shipped apples all over the country!
We were also amazed at the large number of antique and heirloom apple varieties available! Check this out:
http://www.bighorsecreekfarm.com/descriptions1.htm
We found a new favorite for making juice and cider- the Arkansas Black Apple:) Yum!!
Our favorite recipes include apple pie, apple crisp, and apple cake. Here's our easy apple pie with homemade crust:
Buttery Pie Crust
3 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 1/2 c unsalted sweet cream butter
1 egg, beaten
5 TBSP cold water
1 TBSP white vinegar
Combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the beaten egg, the vinegar, and the cold water. Mix together until combined. The dough may be divided into halves or thirds (depending on the size of your pie pan and how thick you like your crust:) After dividing, roll the dough flat on a floured service with a rolling pin.
Easy Apple Pie
5 c. sliced apples
1c. sugar
3 TBSP. flour
1 t. cinnamon (or more...we like extra cinnamon in ours:)
real butter
Line the bottom of the pie pan with crust before filling with thinly sliced apples. Sprinkle apples with sugar, then flour and cinnamon. Liberally dot with pats of butter:) Cover with a top crust, pinching edges together and cutting a few vent slits in the top crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
M. loves apple pie!
Turnovers
We found a good recipe for turnovers here...
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-turnovers/
Now, I know that Nora didn't have the internet or Allrecipes to go by, but these old fashioned turnovers are pretty good! We did make a few changes though. We substituted another variety of apples for the Granny Smiths the recipe calls for. We also used our crust recipe above, rather than the puff pastry (but I bet the puff pastry would have been good:) We didn't put the glaze over the top either.
They taste just as yummy with a little sugar sprinkled on top!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-turnovers/
Now, I know that Nora didn't have the internet or Allrecipes to go by, but these old fashioned turnovers are pretty good! We did make a few changes though. We substituted another variety of apples for the Granny Smiths the recipe calls for. We also used our crust recipe above, rather than the puff pastry (but I bet the puff pastry would have been good:) We didn't put the glaze over the top either.
They taste just as yummy with a little sugar sprinkled on top!
Mining in Colorado
Prospectors arrived as early as the mid-1850's in search of gold after a strike near the Denver area and many Colorado towns were born at that time. Colorado officially became a state in 1876. The discovery of silver in Leadville and Aspen meant the arrival of settlers and money to the new state. Farmers began to arrive to farm the Plains, railroads were built, and tourism became an industry when mineral springs were discovered in the state. Colorado Springs was one of the first major spas with a record 25,000 guests in 1878. A few years later, Denver was booming with as many as 200,000 visitors a year. A depression during the early 1890s brought an end to Colorado's early mining prosperity, though later discoveries lead to active gold mining still continues today. Tourism also made its comeback by the 1920's and continues to be an important industry today.
Communication in 1880
Without television, computers, the internet, or cell phones, news didn't travel too fast in Nora's time. For a frontier family like the Smiths, communicating with family back home in Boston would have been limited to handwritten letters or telegrams (for more urgent news). While reading Just Plain Nora, we took the time to write a few letters and send some cards to family and friends. With the help of a few books on lettering, we worked on improving our penmanship and experimenting with different lettering techniques.
We also found this Communications Historical Timeline to be pretty fascinating:
http://library.thinkquest.org/26451/contents/timeline/time8-3.htm
It details discoveries and inventions in the area of communication from 1800-1899.
We also found this Communications Historical Timeline to be pretty fascinating:
http://library.thinkquest.org/26451/contents/timeline/time8-3.htm
It details discoveries and inventions in the area of communication from 1800-1899.
We learned about the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (nicknamed the Frisco) which was an important railroad in our part of the United States, particularly Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
Travel in 1880
Traveling west in the 1800's was far from easy. Most early pioneer families settled on the western frontier only after completing arduous journeys in covered wagons. Most westward bound settlers followed trails that originated from either Independence, Missouri, Saint Joseph, Missouri or Council Bluffs, Iowa. As many as half a million settlers may have crossed the western trails in wagon trains prior to the construction of a transcontinental railroad in 1869. The introduction of the railroad into Colorado brought more settlers to the area, as well as offered an efficient means of moving people, supplies, and precious metals in and out of the mining operations in the hills.
Needlework Samplers
Check out this link for a brief history of samplers:
http://needleworksamplers.com/Simply_Samplers/sampler_history.shtml
This link was a wonderful resource on samplers and the lessons taught to girls Nora's age through the sewing of a sampler:
http://www.mpm.edu/collections/artifacts/history/schoolgirl-samplers/
http://needleworksamplers.com/Simply_Samplers/sampler_history.shtml
This link was a wonderful resource on samplers and the lessons taught to girls Nora's age through the sewing of a sampler:
http://www.mpm.edu/collections/artifacts/history/schoolgirl-samplers/
Leisure Activities in 1880
Frontier families were busy! There wasn't a lot of time for leisure and entertainment in 1880. For fun, families visited with one another, attended special events or gatherings (picnics, church activities, bees), and enjoyed quiet evenings at home. At home, families like the Smiths may have played instruments like a fiddle, listened to music, read, knitted or sewed, relaxed by the fire, and played games. We found descriptions of some of the popular games from Nora's time here:
http://www.historicthedalles.org/pioneer_games.htm
http://www.historicthedalles.org/pioneer_games.htm
Horses are definitely M.'s favorite animal!!
Horses
My girls have long been horse lovers. Last year, we read the book Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. Then we had a chance to visit Chincoteague and Assateague Island to see the wild ponies up close! On our trip, the girls made horse lapbooks. Here's what they put inside:
Horse Facts
Color Chart (photos and description of various horse color patterns and facial markings)
Horse vocabulary cards with photos (horse, pony, foal, corral, bridle, saddle horn, etc.)
Information on How to Measure a Horse in Hands
Misty of Chincoteague vocabulary
Misty of Chincoteague summary
Map of Chincoteague and Assateague Island, VA
Legend of the wild ponies on Assateague Island; facts about the wild ponies today including habitat, diet, behavior, and distinctive features of the breed
Facts about Virginia
Photos of wild ponies from our trip to the island; experience story (each wrote a summary of her personal experience)
Photo from horseback riding experience; experience story
History of the Pony Express (summarized in own words); map of pony express route
Other areas of the U.S. where wild ponies are found
This year, the girls are continuing to learn about horses as they complete this Amanda Bennett unit study:
http://www.unitstudy.com/Horses_Study.html
Horse Facts
Color Chart (photos and description of various horse color patterns and facial markings)
Horse vocabulary cards with photos (horse, pony, foal, corral, bridle, saddle horn, etc.)
Information on How to Measure a Horse in Hands
Misty of Chincoteague vocabulary
Misty of Chincoteague summary
Map of Chincoteague and Assateague Island, VA
Legend of the wild ponies on Assateague Island; facts about the wild ponies today including habitat, diet, behavior, and distinctive features of the breed
Facts about Virginia
Photos of wild ponies from our trip to the island; experience story (each wrote a summary of her personal experience)
Photo from horseback riding experience; experience story
History of the Pony Express (summarized in own words); map of pony express route
Other areas of the U.S. where wild ponies are found
This year, the girls are continuing to learn about horses as they complete this Amanda Bennett unit study:
http://www.unitstudy.com/Horses_Study.html
The General Store
The general store was more than just a store in Nora's time. It was usually the center of most of a town's daily activity. We looked at a few old pictures of stores from the 1880's, and we even got to visit a restored store building from that era in a nearby town. I can just imagine what it was like back then- a bustling place where one could get almost anything from candy to farm goods to fabric to the mail (some stores doubled as the post office). Here's a brief history of stores in Nora's time:
http://www.themerchantgeneralstore.com/history
http://www.themerchantgeneralstore.com/history
Schools for Young Ladies
Schools for young ladies were few and far between in 1880. Young women from wealthy families might be sent to a finishing school to learn Christian principles and the skills necessary to prepare them for managing a home and appearing in society. We found the history of education for young ladies to be pretty interesting! A young lady just slightly older than Nettie would be sent away to a boarding school or finishing school (if her family could afford it) to learn subjects like Elocution, Record keeping (math), Church History/Religion, Geography, History, Hygiene, Rhetoric, and Drawing in addition to other things deemed necessary for a woman of stature to know at that time.
Tornadoes!!
As I mentioned before, we live on the edge of "Tornado Alley", so we are no strangers to this type of weather. We found this to be a great resource about tornadoes and how they are formed, as well as issues related to tornado safety:
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html
And learning about tornadoes sparked our interest in other types of weather:)
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html
And learning about tornadoes sparked our interest in other types of weather:)
