Recreation
by: Fallon A.
The recreation in New Hampshire. They would go to parks but, they necessarily did not have swing sets or playground equipment. The parks are called the common. Common was short for "common area," a large area in the center of a village or town. People would gather there for meeting or after meetings. The commons usually had a meeting house. The new Englanders also let their cattle graze there. It was a large area after all. Towns and villages in the middle and southern colonies had common areas as well. The children played, tutors instructed students. Families would meet here and gather to discuss the news of the day. The games the kids played were tag, marbles, hopscotch, Checkers, Rounders, hide-and-seek and other games that we play today. Kids did not really have toys, so they often made their own or played outside games that did not require toys. Kids also made their own kites.
Colonial people would go to the theater. The theaters were very popular. The most preformed ballad opera's compilations of familiar folk tunes with new words strung together by spoken dialogue to tell a comic story. Some of the famous players were "The beggar's Opera", compiled in 1728 in London as a recreation to elite Italian opera that was popular among the wealthy. This was preformed in colonies as early as 1750. The colonists would also dance to pass time. Dancing was accompanied by a single violin.
Works Cited
http://www.ellwood.goleta.k12.ca.us/colonialmain.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/
http://www.colonialmusic.org/Rescource/DHessay.htm
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/uhistory/13coloniesspark.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/sport.htm
http://www.ellwood.goleta.k12.ca.us/colonialmain.html
