Words to know
log house
A house built from logs stacked on top of each other, with the gaps filled with mud, moss or clay.
shanty
A small, rough first shelter that settlers built quickly while they cleared land.
root cellar
A cool room dug into the ground to keep vegetables like potatoes, carrots and turnips fresh all winter.
homespun
Cloth that a family spun and wove at home, from wool or flax.
bee
A work party where neighbours came to help each other with a big job, like raising a barn or making a quilt.
division of labour
How work is shared out: who does which jobs in a family or community.
snow snake
A First Nations winter game. Players slide a long, smooth wooden stick along a track in the snow to see whose goes farthest.
A day without a store
Think about your breakfast this morning. Where did the food come from? Probably a store.
In 1800 most families grew, caught, gathered or made almost everything they needed: food, clothes, candles, soap, even their houses! That took a lot of work, and everyone in the family helped, including children.
Life in First Nations communities
First Nations communities around 1800 were different from each other, and they were also changing, as settlers moved in.
At the Grand River (Haudenosaunee): many families farmed, with fields of corn, beans and squash, and some also raised cattle, pigs and wheat. Many lived in log houses. Communities kept their traditions: the Clan Mothers and chiefs led the people, ceremonies were held through the year to give thanks (for example, when the corn ripened), and people played lacrosse.
In Anishinaabe communities (like the Mississauga and Ojibwe): many families still followed the seasons: the sugar bush in spring, fishing in summer, wild rice and harvest in fall, and hunting in winter. Women made birchbark containers, sewed clothing and moccasins and decorated them with porcupine quillwork and beadwork. Men hunted, fished and built canoes. Everyone shared food, especially in hard times.
Worked exampleLet's compare two children's days
Here are two made-up children living in Upper Canada in 1810.
Thomas lives on a settler farm near York. In the morning he carries water from the creek and feeds the chickens. In winter he walks to the log schoolhouse and writes on a slate. In spring he helps his father pull stumps.
Kateri lives in a Mohawk community on the Grand River. In the morning she helps her grandmother in the cornfield. In the evening, her grandmother tells stories, and Kateri listens carefully so she can remember them. On a snowy day, she plays snow snake with her cousins.
How were their days alike? How were they different?
- Alike: both children did chores to help their families (water and chickens; the cornfield).
- Alike: both learned and both played.
- Different (learning): Thomas learned at a schoolhouse with a slate. Kateri learned from her grandmother's stories and by working beside her.
- Different (work): Thomas helped clear land for farming. Kateri helped grow the Three Sisters in a field cared for by the women of her community.
Both children worked, learned and played. They learned in different ways: Thomas at school, Kateri from her grandmother and Elders. Both ways of learning were important.
Hands-on activityMake butter like it's 1800
You need: a clean plastic jar with a tight lid (not glass), whipping cream (35%), a pinch of salt, and a grown-up.
- Fill the jar about halfway with cold whipping cream. Close the lid tightly.
- Take turns shaking the jar. Keep going! First it will slosh, then it will get thick like whipped cream, then suddenly you will feel a lump bumping around. That's butter! (It can take 10 to 20 minutes.)
- Pour off the liquid (buttermilk). Rinse the butter in cold water, add a pinch of salt and taste it on bread.
Talk about it: Settler children often churned butter with a wooden churn. How long did it take you? How do you think your arms would feel if you did this every week?
Grown-up note: check for dairy allergies first.