Barter Day!

What is Barter Day? Barter Day is an opportunity for students to practice skills that were important in early colonial life when money was in short supply. Instead of paying for things, they usually traded. For example, if I were a carpenter and you were a farmer, I would say “I would fix your house if you give me some jalapeno peppers!”

We talked to Mr. Keohane to learn more about Barter Day. Barter Day, in our school, started 10-15 years ago, and it is still going! Food items are unfortunately not allowed, including condiments unless permitted by your teacher. Services are allowed, however your teacher has to approve it and any services related to homework is not usually allowed. Some people buy things while other people made homemade items. Our Teacher and 3 students wearing their newly traded homemade hats.It’s recommended to spend less than $20. Some of the weirdest and coolest things people have brought in are homemade candles, wood work, arts & crafts, and slime. In our classroom people brought in the best things ever. Some of the things people brought in homemade hats, spinners, hot sauce.

We think Barter Day is a great way for kids to learn about the economy in the 17th and 18th centuries in Colonial America. It was interesting to negotiate a trade,and arrive what both parties agreed to what’s a fair trade. We all had fun trading for items from our classmates.

Reported by Walker and Noah

5 thoughts on “Barter Day!

  1. Excellent post! I thought it was well-written and informative. I really enjoyed your thoughts on the process, you personalized the writing in an effective way, thanks!

  2. What a cool blog post! Thank you so much for sharing. I learned a lot about Barter Day – and the picture sure brought a smile to my face. I wonder who would offer to fix a house for Jalepeno peppers…. I think I can guess! You guys are awesome!
    Walker’s Mom

  3. We really like how you explained what Barter Day is and why fifth grade has Barter Day. If you were going to do this report again it would be helpful to see more of the items that were traded. Thanks for sharing this post on Barter Day and we’re looking forward to experiencing it next year!
    Signed all the fourth grade reporters

  4. Great post about Barter Day, Walker and Noah!

    I agree that Barter Day is a great way to learn about different economies. I wonder if you did it again what you would bring?

    Dr. Reinemann
    ps. Who made the hats??

  5. Thank You every one for leaving nice comments on our blog, This took us a really long time. Soooo… Thank You.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *