Learning about the American Revolution has been fascinating but recently, Sonshine has asked, "what was life like before the war?"  So I figured we find out!  I went to the Local Library and found If You Lived In Colonial Times by Ann Mcgovern. Colonial times are generally considered to be from 1492 to 1763.

The Colonists moved to America for an assortment of reasons, mostly to avoid the rule of the monarchy. Because they were establishing a new way of life, they had to set some ground rules or what they called "The Rights of Colonists," by Samuel Adams.  Kidsdiscover.com has a bunch of free lesson plans on various topics, we will be using the one on Colonial America.  What kind of job would you have in Colonial America?  Here is an activity that matches the jobs and their functions. The National Park Service offers a printable activity book with lesson plans and activities.  123Homeschool4me.com  has some really fun (and funny) activities and has a free download link to 45 pages of activities (click on the picture) that are great for younger kids.  For big kids try notebooking, notebookingpages.com, has a free resource center, all you have to do is create a login for free notebooking pages and templates.   PBS has a great show called "Colonial House" and an interactive website with lots of activities, you may be able to get the video at your local library for free. (Please note that there is profanity which is beeped out, a brief moment of nudity (side boob and a little booty), animals give birth and a guy comes out as gay to the church.  Most of this happens in episode 3, so if you don't think your kids can handle it, you might want to skip this series. In all honesty these people would have never made it in the colonies and would have all been burned at the stake. However, this does give some insight on what things would have been like.
Find out what Colonial life was like for kids on this video.Making food is always a great way to learn about different time periods.  Colonial Williamsburg has a long list of interesting recipes to try.  My Mommy Makes It blog has a quick how to on making pinner caps and pockets for girls!  KidsActivities.net has tons of ideas for crafts, recipes and lesson plans.

-Have Fun Learning!

UPDATE:  This unit is taking longer than I have expected, because the kids are really enjoying learning about this time period.  They seem to be fascinated with every aspect of colonial life!  I will continue to update this post to reflect what we have been doing. We have also been reading a book I found
My America: Our Strange New Land: Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary, Book One, it is a fictitious diary of a young girl and her life in the new Jamestown settlement.


Worksheets:
Everyday Things
Early American Coloring sheets

Crafts:
Weave paper baskets
Peasant dress with apron- Adorable, great for dress up or for everyday wear. Would also work for Little House on the Prairie fans. Or sew in modern fabric prints for a quick project.
Make a rag doll