Laura Ingalls Wilder was born February 7, 1867. Through her writings, children today are able to witness the settling of the American frontier as her family travels from Wisconsin to Minnesota and finally to the Dakota Territory. Several years ago, I read the Little House series to my 3 oldest children. During that time, we had a Laura Ingalls Day on February 7. They have talked about that day ever since.
This year, I have begun the series all over again with my youngest four. We thought it would be a good idea to have another Laura Ingalls Day and they have enjoyed it immensely, as have I.
We had stacked pancakes for breakfast, just as described in Farmer Boy. They were delicious, but incredibly filling!
After cleaning up, we did school the one-room schoolhouse way. I listened to spelling lessons aloud, quizzed them on grammar skills, they each did "figures" on a slate or pad of paper and we had a good old fashioned Spelling Bee!
As I read to them their history (a chapter from the book, "Little House on the Prairie" of course!), the children worked on clove oranges. These are wonderful gifts that are quite easy to make.
First, you tape around the center of the orange - where the ribbon will eventually be placed.
Then, using a nail, holes are punched on either side of both pieces of tape.
Next, place whole cloves in the holes just created.
Once the cloves are placed, make more holes with the nail and fill with a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Then, place in a cool, dark place for a week until dried and put a ribbon around it for hanging. It will last for years!
We made egg-nog for lunch according to the directions found in the Little House Cookbook. While Seth & I enjoyed it, the others voted they like my recipe better!
Of course, a Laura Ingalls Day would not be complete without picking up some Little House on the Prairie DVDs. While the children watched a couple of episodes, they shook cream in quart jars and made butter. The buttermilk is being used in tonight's biscuits which, of course, will be topped by that delicious butter!
What have you been doing to break up the monotony of school?
3 comments:
looks like a fun day! I bet Laura & family didn't have such snazzy mugs to drink out of, though :)
I almost wish I was 10 again! We had so many "Laura Days"... :)
Jen - I can't tell you how much we use those mugs! They are the best!
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