Hands On History - Children's Work

A child's life on the Midwestern frontier was vastly different from that of the students that take part in our programs today. In presenting this difference we try to make each visiting student feel as if they were a part of a frontier family. They are introduced to the loneliness, isolation and quiet of a world immersed in a sea of trees, separated from friends and family, not only by miles but by months.

Using the actual tools of frontier living the students are given a small taste of the work of children at a frontier homestead. The real issue is why settlers were willing to undertake these risks and hardships. The students are introduced to the entity of the frontier family, its unity in the face of difficulty and its role in survival.