Farm families produced most of what they needed to survive, and everyone, including children, was expected to do their part from an early age. Chores came before school and church, with fun and games filling whatever time remained, and although children were cherished, they were rarely made the center of attention. Couples often had ten or more children, partly because high infant mortality and sweeping epidemics could leave parents childless, and partly because large families provided built-in work hands to tend more crops and acreage. Common chores included gathering eggs, feeding animals, tending the garden, fetching water and wood, and emptying chamber pots; as girls grew older, they cared for younger siblings and took larger roles in sewing and cooking, while boys assumed bigger jobs such as cutting wood, fieldwork, construction, building repair, and joining hunting trips. Children also found ways to play, including hoop rolling with a metal hoop and guide stick, and handmade possessions were valued because store-bought toys were rare treats. New clothes were uncommon, with a Sunday outfit, shoes, or a coat standing out as major holiday gifts, and garments were often made by hand and passed down until they could no longer be patched. Education depended on the nearest school, often more than a mile away, where students walked or traveled by horse to a regional schoolhouse in which grades 1-10 were taught together, older children helped younger ones, and reading, writing, and arithmetic formed the basic studies. Children brought food from home in lunch pails or bags called pokes, and during heavy work periods such as harvest, older boys were kept home until slower times. Imagination and games were central to recreation, handmade items were treasured, and boys often learned knife skills by borrowing their father's sharp knife, with carrying one of their own seen as a rite of passage toward manhood.