Daily Life
Shirley Horn, a Residential School Survivor from Shingwauk (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and St. Johns (Chapleau, Ontario) Residential Schools, remembers feeling “lonely and abandoned at times.” Shirley’s reflection of what daily life at Residential School was like is listed below and is featured in the video on this page.
A typical day consisted of waking up by a shrill bell, making beds, tidying bedrooms, and then completing chores before breakfast. The chores for the girls were to set the tables, and make breakfast. The boys would have tended to the livestock on the property before breakfast.
At 7 am breakfast was served which was porridge. The girls were expected to help with dishes after breakfast.
At 8 am, morning prayer occurred.
At 9 am, school started and they were only expected to do half days, three days a week. They studied subjects such as religion, literature, English, geography, arithmetic and music.
At noon, lunch was served which was pasta or rice with tomato sauce. They got small portions. The girls made date squares and simple cakes. They were also served bread with molasses and corn syrup, lard, then margarine.
At 1 pm they would start their chores. The girls would do laundry, wash and iron clothing, clean the building, scrub the floors, and sew. The boys would have been doing the heavy labour jobs such as farming, carpentry and boot making.
At 4 pm they would be able to play with their friends and the girls would take long walks.
At 4:30 the girls would prepare the dining room.
At 5 pm it was supper time.
At 5:30 the girls would have to help in the kitchen, wipe tables and sweep the floors.
At 6 pm there was recreation time. In the winter, the girls would have meetings such as girl guides and brownies once a week. This is a time that was a positive experience for Shirley.
At 8 pm the Junior students (ages 4-9) would have gone to bed.
At 9 pm the Intermediate and senior students (ages 10-18) would go to bed.
On Sundays they went to church twice and also attended Sunday School.