There were not many schools in the colonies. Most of the time it was only the well to do who would send their children to school. There was one teacher in one room for all the children. Boys were responsible for the fire in the stove that kept everyone warm in winter. Children learned to read and write and solve simple arithmetic problems. They didn't have many supplies or books. Paper was very hard to get in the colonies. You might write with a lump of coal or a goose quill dipped in ink that you made yourself. There were only a few books to use. There was the Bible and a primer and students learned their alphabet and numbers from a hornbook. Only boys would go on to high school and college.

Hornbooks were used by colonial children for school. Hornbooks had the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer written on them. It also might have some of the children's lessons. Children wore the hornbook around their neck or on their belt, hanging it from a cord. The hornbooks were made out of a piece of wood shaped like a paddle and a piece of animal horn covered the paper that had the alphabet written on it. Hornbooks were not really books. We don't use them today. Instead we use textbooks.

Home Page    Who are we?    Resources
Madame Brett Homestead    Mount Gulian Historic Site
Van Wyck Homestead
Life in Colonial America
Introduction     The New York Colony    The Village
Farming     Transportation     Tools     Trades
Crafts     Holidays    Games    School    Clothing