Prairie Life Week Six

Reading:

This week read chapter six and seven in Little House in the Big Woods.

Copywork, Dictation or Recitation:

Copy the quote above for copywork this week. Find it in Prairie Life.

Chores:

Washing clothes was a task that took all day. Washing was done by hand or rubbed on a board. Rubbing the clothes together helped to get stains out. This was long, hot work usually for Ma until the girls got old enough to help. Do you wash clothes at your home? How long does it take? Do you use an electric dryer or hang the clothes to dry? Use the activity sheet in Prairie Life to compare washing clothes in pioneering days to washing clothes today.

Activity:

This week begin building your very own miniature little house. Choose your own materials such as sticks, twigs or craft sticks. Be creative! Add scenery around the house or furniture inside the house. Take photos and share them with us.

Maple Tapping:

Collecting sap in the winter was a full-time job for many days. Pa helped Grandpa tap the trees and haul in the sap. The process of boiling down to maple syrup was an all-day process. The syrup was used as a sweetener for most of the year when table sugar was scarce.

Every year during sugaring time there was a party at Laura’s grandparent’s house. All the family gathered for food, dancing, and maple syrup.

Tapping a maple tree with a plug and spout, then collecting the sap in buckets is how Pa did it. Watch this six-minute video on simple maple tapping.     TAPPING A MAPLE TREE

The entire process of tapping maple trees on a farm can be viewed in this lengthy but informative video. MAPLE FARM DOCUMENTARY

MAPLE CANDY

Maple candy is a sweet treat that you can make at home with maple syrup. Grayson and I made some that turned out well. We would love to see your candy! Remember that it can take a while for the candy to come to temperature. It is a patient process. Learn how to make your own in this video called MAKING MAPLE CANDY.

Visit a commercial candy factory in Vermont and see how they make maple candy on a grand scale. VERMONT MAPLE CANDY

Field Trip

Check with your county extension office and see when your county or state fair is coming to town. Most fairs offer a field trip day and do tours of all the buildings with animals and handmade items that are up for judging. The rides are generally not open during a field trip but most fairs offer a program just for the field trip attendees. This is a great opportunity to see what other children are entering in the fair, the different categories, and age groups. If there is still time to register, pick one category to enter and choose one of the items you have made during the book club. In general, you do not have to be associated with a 4H club to enter the fair. You can sign up as an individual. You can do it!!