Time Travel Tuesday - Destination Little House On The Prairie

Today was a day near and dear to my heart. Words cannot express how much I loved Little House on the Prairie as a kid. I read all the books and life as I knew it stopped every Monday at 8 pm when a new episode would come on TV. Avery started reading the books this year and has fallen in love with the series. We all just started watching the show on Amazon Prime and I am happy to report they both love it! There are nine seasons so I guess we have something to do during this lock down.

At first I wasn't sure what to set up. I couldn't find much online, then it hit me, I could set up The Olsen's Mercantile! I set up a little store with sewing supplies, vintage looking toys, fruits, a milk bucket, and I even found an Olsen's Mercantile sign online. The girls were delighted to see it when they came downstairs in the morning.

Grandma made these adorable dresses for the girls for an event at school. The dresses made perfect Mary and Laura Ingalls costumes. Elise is not acting in this picture, she was having a tough morning and needed comfort monkey to keep her going.

I had the bold plan not use anything modern for the day, that lasted about ten minutes. I realized with distance learning it was going to be impossible. Honestly, roughing it didn't sound like a delightful way to spend our day anyways. We did move school to the playhouse or as Avery called it "Little House in the Big Back Yard." We worked off our "slates", chalkboards. We also played with Lincoln Logs and worked on our sewing looms. Any type of quilting, sewing, bread making or juicing activity works for the theme. In retrospect I should have packed their lunch in an actual pail like Mary and Laura! I also forgot to get around to making butter. You just need heavy whipping cream, place in a container and let them take turns shaking for several minutes.

I was able to find a few great handouts on line. I always love when we can tie in some education into our themes. There are a ton of handouts and lesson plans but most were geared to much older kids. I ended up having Avery complete a book report handout and Lisey read a book on Kinder book pioneers. Links to several handouts can be purchased below. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:little%20house%20on%20the%20prairie

Later that evening, Avery read us a chapter from Little House in the Big Woods. We ended the night by watching two episodes of Little House on the Prairie. It is certainly perspective setting to watch people build their own home, grow their own food, and make their own clothes. Complaining that I couldn't get an Amazon delivery window seemed pretty silly.

Avery was being a bit harsh with her sister when they were getting ready for bed, I jokingly told her she sounded like Nellie Olsen. BIG mistake, she was inconsolable and devastated. It had been a good day before that moment.