The Ultimate Guide to All Things Little House
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There’s almost nothing more quintessentially American than the Little House series.
Apple pie.
Baseball.
Little House on the Prairie.
If you want a firsthand autobiographic fictional approach to the history of American westward expansion, this is it.
I recommend total immersion.
Here is your guide.
Little House Learning Resources
- The Prairie Primer– Have you ever seen this unit study curriculum from Cadron Creek? It is smashed full of everything you could think of to study while reading this favorite set of books.
- Little House Cookbook– A big volume of recipes, stories, and techniques for cooking the pioneer way with the recipes that Ma used.
- Little House Crafts Book– How about making the things Laura mentions in her book? Red mitten, a nine patch quilt, candles, and beaded necklaces.
- The Little House Guide Book– A travel guide to each of the Little House homesteads and their museums.
- The World of Little House– a fun title that tells how the books came to be along with activities related to each of the Little House books
- A Christmas Treasury– a collection of the tales of Christmas time gathered from the individual Little House books
- Little House Living– the make your own guide to frugal, simple, and self-sufficient life. There’s all sorts of activity to try your hand at pioneer living in this book
- Homesteading on the Plains– the daily life in the land of Laura Ingalls Wilder
- My Little House Sewing Book– sewing projects from the Little House series
- Inside Laura’s Little House– history points on what life was really like for homesteaders like Laura’s family
- History Pockets Moving West– History Pockets from Evan Moor are the most fun printables for the elementary and middle school set. We used these as part of our Little House studies (see picture below- a post from 2007 my second ever blog post).
Make a nine patch quilt.
Sew a rag doll named Charlotte.
Bake sourdough bread.
Try pulling taffy.
Eat hard tack.
Full immersion, remember?
Laura Ingalls Wilder Biographies
Do you know Mrs. Wilder’s story? Surely the fictional accounts of her life are not exact portrayals of her life. You might choose to learn more with other biographies.
- Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography– This is a manuscript of the original book Mrs. Wilder wrote and it is annotated to note the real life stories and information from her life and how it was changed in the final form used for the Little House books.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Country– all about the people and places in Laura’s life
- On the Way Home– the diary of travel as Laura and Almanzo traveled from South Dakota to Missouri.
- West from Home– Letters from San Francisco in 1915 when Mrs. Wilder visited her daughter Rose.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life– is a book about how her family life and the people she met, contributed to Mrs. Wilder becoming and author.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder: Young Pioneer– from the Childhood of Famous Americans series. This series is an absolute favorite for biographies for young people.
- The Books that Changed My Life– 100 remarkable people share the books that hold a special place in their heart, including Laura Ingalls Wilder
She thought to herself, “This is now.” She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago. – Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Multi- Media Resources
One of the best ways to experience the Little House books is by listening to the stories and music. Often when you read the book you don’t know the tune of the songs when you find the lyrics in the text.
Pick up an album full of Pa’s music.
Play it while you sew the previously mentioned nine patch quilt.
Listen to the stories read by Cherry Jones.
While you sew a rag doll like Charlotte.
- A Tribute to Pa Ingalls– a recording with Pa Ingalls’ Fiddle. This album contains the songs Pa would sing to his family and it’s all played on Pa’s fiddle! We brought this home as a souvenir after visiting The Wilder Homestead.
- Little House on Audible– The Little House books are now on Audible! Previously, they were available only on CD (which we have), but the convenience of an mp3 recording can’t be underestimated. You don’t need an Audible membership to purchase the Audible book.
- My Book of Little House Paper Dolls– This paper doll set complete with two scenes, all the family members, and clothing for each was a mainstay for Rebecca when she was young.
- Arkansas Traveler: Music from Little House on the Prairie– another fantastic compilation of the music from the Little House stories
- Happy Land: Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder– fiddle music from the Little House books
- Pa’s Fiddle: Charles Ingalls American Fiddler– I love to play music while the kids work. It adds to the experience.
- Pa’s Fiddle Primer– music from the Little House books
Other Little House Posts at Blog, She Wrote
Like other favorite stories in our family culture, Little House has been a foundation of experience for us all.
Road trips with Cherry Jones’ exquisite narrations of the stories.
Reminding our kids not to eat all the sugar when we go away.
Telling my boys to eat right- because mothers always fuss over the way you eat.
Remarking that I don’t have time for donuts that don’t flip themselves.
Enjoy a peak at other ways we’ve spent time with Laura’s family:
- Our Little House Days– This is one of the first posts I ever did here at Blog, She Wrote. I’m sharing mostly for posterity purposes.
- Adventures with Little House & the American Frontier– Our adventure box list of ideas for exploring westward expansion and the lives of frontier families
- The Wilder Homestead– a post about our visit to the Wilder farm and Malone, NY. It was a special day!
- Give the Gift of Story– all about how to share stories and story worlds with kids and how it’s worth the time you invest
So, take your guide.
And immerse yourselves in the world of Little House and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Happy 150th birthday, Mrs Wilder.
Thank you for the stories.
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