Schools of Yesteryear

At 9:00 in the morning, the day begins for children of the 1800's as they walk to their one room school. Children ages eight through eighteen years of age enter the building as they are greeted by their teacher. All of the students will be learning their lessons in one room at the same time. The schoolhouses grades one through eight and all grade level subjects are taught by one teacher. The schoolhouse is often very cold, because there is only a potbelly stove to warm it. Long windows on two sides of the room provide the only light in the room. There is no cafeteria for a warm meal and no bathroom facilities in the building. Even with these minimum facilities, these children have fun as they learn through spelling bees and ciphering contests. This book includes sections on games that were played during recess, recipes of food eaten for lunch, directions on how to make items used in school at this time, and samples of lessons that were learned.