Daily Life on a Mission

Now that you have learned about the history of some missions, it's now time to learn what life was like living on a mission! Some may say that Mission life is very close to the life of a farmer. Do you agree? Take a look at the links below and take notes to come to your conclusion.

Mission Life - MissionsCalifornia.com
Mission Life 2 - CaliforniaMissionStudies.com
Mission Life 3 - Kidport

Now that you have learned about daily mission life, it's your turn to put yourself in the role of someone living on a mission back in the 1700-1800's! Write a short story about your day on the mission and some of the activities you did. Give your character a name (or use your own!) and detail his or her day from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed at night. Turn your story in through the comments section below. Enjoy your time on the mission! 

La Purisima Mission

La Purisima Mission was the founded on December 8th, 1787 and was the eleventh of the California Missions. The mission not very far away as it is located in Lompoc, California. While the mission has been in its current location for many years, it was not always there. The original La Purisima Mission was built in South Lompoc and destroyed by an earthquake in 1812. The current La Purisima mission sits a few miles to the north west of the original mission site. 

To further your understanding of the history of La Purisima, I have embedded a video made by a fellow fourth grader for you to enjoy. Pay particular attention to the history leading up to the creation of La Purisima and the functions of each room. Once you have finished watching the video, comment below with three interesting facts about La Purisima.

Santa Barbara Mission

The Santa Barbara Mission was founded on December 4th, 1786 and was the tenth mission founded overall. This mission is an excellent starting point for our class to learn about the California Missions as it is just a short five to fifteen minute drive away. I encourage you to be explorers during our journey through the history of the California Missions. Seek out interesting facts and stories about these missions on your own and share it with our class. Take a look at the following links and comment with three interesting things you did not know about the Santa Barbara Mission until now! Feel free to also comment on your classmates posts as well. Happy exploring!

Santa Barbara Mission History
Santa Barbara Mission Key Facts
Mission Tour

What Are Missions?

Mission San Diego de Alcalá.

Living in Santa Barbara, California, you've undoubtedly heard tons about our local mission. Have you ever stopped to wonder what it was? Why was it built? What purpose does it serve? Thankfully, our next unit on the California Missions will answer all of your questions.

A brief overview of what we will cover will follow:
-The Origin of our Missions System
-The History behind individual Missions.
- Daily Life on the mission.

Below is an excerpt from KidPort.com about the origins of missions. After reading the except, use the comments section below to write three things you would like to learn about our missions!

Why were missions built in the first place?

The Franciscans came to California to convert native tribes to Christianity and prepare them for life in a Spanish society. The natives were taught religion and the Spanish language. They were also taught skills such as brick making and construction, how to raise cattle and horses, and weaving.

The natives would live in the missions until their education was complete. They would then establish homes outside of the missions. Once the native in one region were educated and converted to Christianity, the missionaries would move on to new locations. The old missions would be left as parish churches. In the new location, the missionaries would begin the conversion process once again with a new group of natives.

The missions prospered. By 1804, the occupation of the sea-coast line from San Francisco to San Diego was complete. There were nineteen missions within a day's journey of each other. Construction started on a second row of missions more inland. The missions created a considerable wealth and economy with agriculture and large numbers of livestock.

While many people benefited from the missions, many more wanted that prosperity for themselves. Traders, settlers and explorers saw the wealth and began to exploit the missions. There was constant pressure for the mission economy to be taken over by the Californians. In 1813, regulations from Mexico and California were issued to disbanded the missions. They were to be turned over to civilian authorities. This process of "secularization" became the end of the missions.