Every little girl goes through the "Laura" phase right? Well, in the Mac house we just don't seem to grow out of it. I am still quite guilty of being a lover of all things prairie in nature or origin, and still secretly hope for a simpler life, like Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary and baby Carrie. *sigh*
The Bug is no exception to the Laura Ingalls Wilder factor in this home. She has read, read and re-read (with parents and independently) most of the Little House books and she's not even 9 years old yet. Our summer schooling session is a great time to continue to feed that need for learning more about her favorite Little House author and make some more "prairie" fun.
The Bug has enjoyed a unit study on Laura Ingalls Wilder's life, times and we are examining her contribution to American Literature. We are planning to continue to enjoy throughout the summer. Here are a few fun prairie activities that we enjoyed together during this week of summer schooling:
- Little House on the Prairie Lapbook - We have basically hodgepodge-ed all the fun free printables that we liked the best and pulled them together in a little Lapbook. We are reviewing each chapter and lapbooking along with the book. She wanted this in her Notebook, so I did a little construction, that I learned from Jolathe from Homeschool Creations. As seen in the above picture, with a little duct tape it was perfect.
Here are some of the FREE printables we are using to construct our Lapbook:
Little House Lapbook on Homeschool Share (this is the one we used the most), Little House Lapbook on Squidoo, Little House on the Prairie Story Sack, Little House in the Big Woods Unit Study,Little House in the Big Woods Lapbook, Little House on the Prairie Crafts (we will be doing some of these in the coming weeks).
{Here is the Timeline that the Bug started, on the back of my front door :), documenting what she has learned about the life of her favorite author}
- The Laura Ingalls Wilder Timeline - We have used resources from the internet and a lovely little tourist guide that I picked up at a used books sale eons ago, to research and produce a timeline of her life. The Bug takes an important event from the resources we have collected and creates a Timeline Card. She illustrates the event (like Pa & Ma's marriage, Baby Carrie's birth, Moving from the Big Woods, etc.) and writes the relevant historical information. It is amazing as it comes together realizing that in just three generations of the Wilder family (from Pa and Ma to Rose), our country has gone from covered wagons to the moon. Wow! Food for thought, and speaking of food. . .
- Cooking from the Little House on the Prairie Cookbook - We will be using this lovely cookbook through out summer schooling to bring that pioneer spirit to life! She had her heart set on strawberry jam, although the strawberries in the garden aren't ready for harvesting. However, being just $0.97 per pound at H-E-B, I felt it was worth the investment, after all, it is purely for academic purposes. ; )
Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try!
Ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1/2 - 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
{VERY IMPORTANT STEP: Stop to eat a bite of strawberry!}
Directions: Clean and dress strawberries, cutting off tops and then cutting in half. Mash very ripest berries or use food processor until strawberries in left in very small pieces. Be sure you do not get your mixture too soupy. Mix your berries with the sugar and leave to sit is saucepan for 20 minutes before cooking. Mix again and then remove 1 Tablespoon of strawberry puree and place in a small bowl. Use a fork to mix cornstarch into berry puree, mixing until there are no lumps. Add this cornstarch mixture into the saucepan. Bring berries to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and continue to boil for almost 15 minutes or until jam is thick. Let jam cool for several minutes, until cool enough to handle. Spoon jam into a container, cover and refrigerate. When mixture is completely cooled you may add lemon juice. (Recipe adapted from the Little House on the Prairie Cookbook: Published by Scholastic, Inc.)
We have some more prairie fun and summer schooling coming your way soon!
Are you having fun summer schooling yet? - or - Are you too cool for school?
Comment below and join in the discussion.
The Joyful Socks Mom
Visit these resources for more great homeschool fun:
- MOM ONLY! Boot Camp - Best little Homeschool Conference. Having a Generational Heart in your homeschool. Join Smockity Frocks and Joyful Socks Mom for a day of fellowship and fun for home educating moms!
- SHAPE Academy - SHAPE offers excellence in home education: affordable, original and fun!
This post is part of the upcoming the continued Summer Schooling series. Be sure to tune in to our blog via email so you won't miss any family summer schooling fun!
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That notebook is just beautiful, and I especially love the timeline! Thanks so much for sharing on the Little House Link-up!
ReplyDeleteI never grew out of Little House stuff either. Love that my kids love it all as much as I did and still do :) We are trying lots of recipes out of the cookbook, too. It has been a lot fun!
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