Colonial Society Project
by: Keely Burns and Lillie Bennett
Clothing
Women wore long gowns made from silk, taffeta, coarse linen, and wool. Underneath their skirts, they wore panniers to support their wide skirts for dress occasions. Women wore tight corsets.
Upper class men ordered custom made suits made from superfine woolen broadcloth or silks. Lower class men and women such as blacksmiths or milk maids wore basic skirts, dresses, trousers, etc.
Kids clothing reflected what their parents wore based on their class.
Food
The American colonists didn't have a super market available to them so they had to grow and raise everything themselves. On the Atlantic coast, people caught fish and whales. They sold their catch at fish markets down by the docks. Farmers grew crops such as, wheat, barley, corn, tobacco, and rice which were sold in town to traders who shipped the goods to other colonies. Many American colonists took care of their own food needs. Some farmers would have crops growing near the ocean with livestock grazing near by so that they could gather food easier. The farms of the 13 colonies took up more land available than farms do today.
entertainment
The american colonists had parks in their communities but they didn't have playgrounds. The colonists called their parks Commons which is short for "common area". it was a large area in the center of their town where people gathered before and after meetings. some New Englanders let their cattle graze in the commons. in the middle and southern colonies, children played, tutors taught, and families discussed the news of the day. Some of the games kids played were: tag, marbles, hopscotch, hide and seek , and other familiar games. Some kids even made their own kites. Some children came up with riddles for fun. One of the most popular games that the colonial kids played was the ball-and-cup game.
Colonial riddles
What can be seen falling down, but never crying?
What kind of room is not in a house?
What has 3 feet but cant walk?