Writing on Slates

When I first started this Blog, I said I would be writing about some of the history pertaining to each of the Girls....and I've been so busy trying to get doll outfits put together for my Etsy Shop, I haven't been able to do that....but I have been collecting information, and I am always on the look-out for information.  Today I'm going to turn the pages of time back to the 1850's.  That is Kirsten's time frame.  Teachers in a pioneer school house...would have loved to have had lots of paper for the children to practice their penmanship, but paper was very expensive, and hard to come by.  Penmanship was very important....so it was found that slate which is a soft rock, that peels easily into thin layers, could be used to write on.  Pieces of slate were cut into rectangles, and put into a wooden frame.  Students either carved their initials into the frame or decorated them with ink, so that they could tell  who they belonged to.  Slates were usually carried to school in a bag, and taken very good care of because they broke easily.  Students used slate pencils to write on their slates.  These were made of moist slate powder, similar to chalk, and pressed into sticks. The students used sponges or rags to erase their slates!

This accessory set can be found on my Etsy Shop www.etsy.com/shop/prairiewindgirls

If you get this set, you could carve Kirsten's initials into the wooden frame, or decorate it with inks.....Slates are alot like chalk boards of today, but even those are going away as most schools use white boards now.  What are some other things made of slate?  What would you decorate your slate with if you were a Pioneer student?