Prairie Parties

It's been at least a decade since we did them -- but that school year is one of the most solidified in my memory -- such sweet, sweet memories of learning and FUN.

You choose one book in the "Little House on the Prairie" series per month and have everyone in your group read it.  My house could accommodate 20 kids, so ~6 families. 

Sept - Little House in the Big Woods
Oct - Little House on the Prairie
Nov - Farmer Boy
Dec - On the Banks of Plumb Creek
Jan - By the Shores of Silver Lake
Feb - The Long Winter
Mar - Little Town on the Prairie
Apr - These Happy Golden Years
May - The First Four Years

Prairie Primer is the book I used to jump start our Prairie Parties.  For my family the book wasn't academically challenging enough to use as a stand-alone curriculum.  But it really gave me ideas on how to pull activities from the series. The book is available at our library - ACPL.  Each family selected any topic from the book of that month to do an activity with everyone.    Everyone brought a dish to share for lunch after the party was over. 

Examples of activities that moms chose:

Butter making with a ball jar and whole milk (shaking)

Using a washboard and tub to wash an item of clothing

Taste testing real maple syrup vs. imitation

A presentation on hibernation of bears

Making a pumpkin pie from scratch

Quilting

Candlemaking

A lesson on Native Americans

A lesson on bee “dancing” and taste testing different types of honey (clover, etc.)

Bonnet making (kids cut it out and moms sewed it together at home)

A lesson on square dancing