Category: Pollywogs Place Homeschool

Little House In The Big Woods Adventure: Week by Week Music, Arts, and Crafts Lessons

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

Here are our Lesson Plans For Music, Arts & Crafts

On weeks where there are several activities listed just choose a couple that interest you the most to work on.

Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or subject simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.

Week 1: Chapters 1 & 2

Crafts:

Laura and Mary were excited to play with the hog’s bladder balloon. You can play with a balloon or blow up a paper bag and tie it off to represent a hog’s bladder balloon.

Art:**

 

  1. Draw a Brindle Bulldog (make sure to add the Brindle coloring.) Google images of Brindle Bulldogs
  2. Draw a picture of Jack Frost by Laura’s description.
  3. Pioneer life coloring page or this one
  4. Yankee Doodle Coloring Page

Music:

 

Week 2: Chapters 3 & 4

Crafts:**

  1. Owl Crafts
  2. Snowy Owl Pinecone Craft
  3. More Owl Crafts
  4. A few more Owl Crafts because they are just so cute!
  5. Paper Gun Craft — Ask for permission first!

 

Art:

 

Music:

 

 

Week 3: Chapters 5, 6, & 7

Crafts:

Art: 

  1. Draw a portrait of your grandma or grandpa
  2. Maple Tree Coloring Page
  3. Do some Leaf Rubbings

Music:

  1. Pop Goes The Weasel p.72 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook
  2. Click here for a brief history of the song.

 

Week 4: Chapters 8 & 9

ALEX Toys Craft My Chunky and Funky Scarf

Crafts:

  1. Knitting

Art: 

Music:

Buffalo Gals p. 58 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook

Week 5: Chapters 10 & 11

Crafts:**

  1. Pom Pom Bee p. 40 Pioneer Crafts for Kids
  2. Bee Crafts and more bee crafts

Art:

  1. Bee Coloring Page
  2. Wasp Coloring Page

Music:

Week 6: Chapters 12 & 13

Crafts:

  1. Straw Hat
    • Talk about how they used everything when making the hats.

2. My kids insisted on making baskets

Art:

  1. Sumac Coloring Page
  2. Or try to draw it yourself
  3. Corn Coloring Page
  4. Pumpkin Coloring Page
  5. Deer Coloring Page

Music:

  • Auld Lang Syne
  • Click HERE  or HERE for a brief history.

The Original by Stephen Foster (May be offensive to some)

  • This article HERE has more information but may not be appropriate for everyone.

Week 7: Finishing Up

Crafts:**

  1. Choose a previous craft that you haven’t done yet.
  2. Make a Spoon Doll p. 14 Pioneer Crafts for Kids
  3. Make a Pioneer Doll p. 32 Pioneer Crafts for Kids
  4. Make a Log Cabin Photo Frame p. 36 Pioneer Crafts for Kids
  5. Make a Pioneer Life Diorama p. 51 Pioneer Crafts for Kids
  6. Use My Book of Little House Paper Dolls: The Big Woods Collection to reenact and retell the story to someone.
  7. Build a Pretzel Log Cabin
  8. Make a log cabin with Lincoln Logs.

Art:

  1. Choose a previous project that you haven’t done yet.
  2. Draw a picture of your earliest memory and write a story about it.**
  3. Free Choice

Music:

  1. Am I A Soldier of the Cross? p. 138 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook

2. The Star Spangled Banner p. 80 Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook

 

**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR  PORTFOLIO!  TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!

Little House In The Big Woods Adventure: Week by Week PE, Health, and Safety Lessons

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

Here are our Lesson Plans For PE, Health & Safety

On weeks where there are several activities listed just choose a couple that interest you the most to work on.

Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or subject simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.

Week 1: Chapters 1 & 2

1. Stranger Danger

  • Practice what to do/say in different scenarios like:
    • Saying ‘Not my Mommy/Not my Daddy‘ if a stranger tries to grab you.
    • Kick, Fight, Bite, Make Noise if a stranger tries to grab you.
    • Have a secret family password for emergencies when you may need a ‘stranger’ to pick up your kids.
  • Discuss different ways a stranger may try to trick your child:
    • try to lure you into a vehicle saying that your  parent is sick and they were sent to pick you up
    • they may say they have something to show you and ask you to come with them
    • try to find out if you are home alone
    • may ask to come inside your home to use the phone
    • may ask for help to find a lost pet
  • Discuss ways to stay safe:
    • NEVER wander off without telling an adult where you are going
    • NEVER talk to strangers
    • NEVER accept items from a stranger
    • NEVER go with a stranger
    • NEVER tell a stranger you are home alone (or post about it on social media)
    • NEVER open a door to a stranger
    • DO find a safe place and tell someone what is happening
    • DO walk away from a stranger
    • DO call your parents or 911 if you do not feel safe

Be Smart Stay Safe: A Video Teaching Kids to Be Safe DVD Plus 3 Music CDs

Be Smart Stay Safe: A Video Teaching Kids to Be Safe DVD Plus 3 Music CDs

2. Games/Outdoor Play

Week 2: Chapters 3 & 4

1. Gun Safety

  • Discuss the importance of gun safety.
  • Make a list of gun safety rules.**
  • This would be a good time to have someone you know show your kids how to properly handle a firearm.
  • Discuss what you learned.

2. What is Rabies?

  • Watch the Old Yeller rabies scene (may not be good for younger kids).
  • Discuss the importance of not playing with wild animals or animals you don’t know.

Old Yeller 2-Movie Collection (Old Yeller/Savage Sam)

Old Yeller 2-Movie Collection Old Yeller/Savage Sam

3. Whole Foods vs Processed Foods

  • Discuss the differences of whole foods and processed foods.
  • Make a list of whole/processed foods in your kitchen.

Fun song for younger kids:

4. How to Read Nutrition Labels

5. Games/Outdoor Play

Week 3: Chapters 5, 6, & 7

1. What Happens When You Don’t Bathe?

  • Discuss what happens when you don’t shower.
  • Discuss how it could impact your relationships.

How to Take a Shower- a pilot video in a relationship series

  • Write out the steps to taking a shower **

2. Happy, Healthy Kids: Fresh Air

  • Discuss how Laura must have felt when she couldn’t go outside.
  • Discuss the benefits of fresh air.
  • Go outside and do something fun for 30 minutes!

3. Games/Outdoor Play

Week 4: Chapters 8 & 9

1. Benefits of Square Dancing

  • Sign Up For Square Dance Lessons. Check wheresthedance.com for a location near you.
  • Or check out these lessons here.

2. Benefits of Natural Light

  1. Laura describes how the sun felt on the trip to town, how does the sun feel where you are today?
  2. Discuss the benefits of sunlight.

Cool Outdoor Activities: Great Things to Do in the Great Outdoors

3. Games/Outdoor Play

Bonus: Check out Jigging

  • Watch this video:
  • Give it a try:

Week 5: Chapters 10 & 11

1. Honey vs. Sugar

  • Discuss the differences between honey and sugar.
  • Have a taste comparison and make a graph of who prefers which.

2. Nutritional Value of Cheese

  1. Discuss the nutritional information of cheese.
  2. Taste several types of cheeses, compare nutritional information.

3. What is Cholesterol?

  1. Discuss what cholesterol is and how it affects your body.
  2. Name 5 foods high in cholesterol and 5 foods low in cholesterol.

4. Wasp Stings

  1. Discuss the body’s reaction to a sting.

How To Treat Bee & Wasp Stings

  1. Discuss how stings were treated in the book.
  2. Write out a step by step sting treatment plan.**

5. How to treat a Fever with Herbs

You can also watch this video about using natural medicines:

  • Discuss how fevers are treated today compared to how they were treated in Laura’s time.
  • Look up pictures of the herbs you learned about. Bonus points if you can draw them in your notebook.**

 Herbs Coloring Book

Kid’s Herb Book, A: For Children of All Ages

6. Games/Outdoor Play

  • Play ‘Steal the Cheese’. Divide into two groups and each group needs an equal amount of cheese (sticks, bean bags, balls, etc). Line up the ‘cheese’ on each side behind the players. The goal is to run and steal the other team’s cheese without getting caught. The first team to steal all the cheese or catch all of the other team’s players is the winner.
  • Square Dance Lesson

Week 6: Chapters 12 & 13

1. Food Pyramid

**Check out this site for more ideas.

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • **Complete one or two activities below:
    • Use construction paper to make a ‘My Plate’ or ‘Food Pyramid’ guide. Cut out pictures of foods from magazines to make a collage.
    • Plan a healthy meal and grocery list using the ‘My Plate’ model.
    • Go shopping and help make healthy food choices.
    • Pretend to be Popcorn and jump up and down to music.

2. Importance of Protein

  • Name 3 nutrients we get from meat and where else we can find them.
  • Discuss the importance of protein in our diets and what happens when you don’t get enough protein in your diet.

3. Calories In 6 Of The Most Popular Fast-Food Kids Meals

  • Discuss what would happen if you only ate fast food.

4. Games/Outdoor Play

Week 7: Finishing Up

  1. Practice making healthy food choices
  2. Research Cabin Fever and ways to prevent/cure it.
  3. Make a Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Bonus: Research Tobacco.

(mentioned in Chapter 9)

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • List 3 different side effects of tobacco use.

Games/Outdoor Play

  • Play any of the games listed above or choose your favorite game to play.
  • Continue your Square Dance lessons.

**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR  PORTFOLIO!  TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!

Little House In The Big Woods Adventure: Week by Week Science Lessons

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

Here are our Lesson Plans For Science

On weeks where there are several activities listed just choose a couple that interest you the most to work on.

Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.

Week 1: Chapters 1 & 2

1. Read about bears or watch a video about bears.

 

For the Little Ones:

 

2. Read about panthers or watch a video about panthers.

 

 

3. Research Microbes and Bacteria.

 

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • How do they affect us?

4. What is Density?

 

Bonus Lesson: Why did the fire burn different colors? (Parental supervision needed for some activities!)

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • Ask your parents if you can have a campfire and use these Cosmic Magical Flame packets to watch the flames change colors.

Week 2: Chapters 3 & 4

1. Read about owls or watch a video about owls.

2. What is Rust?

  • Discuss what you learned.

3. Study the respiratory system.

Watch a video and older kids can do some independent research.

Week 3: Chapters 5, 6, & 7

1. Study the Digestion system.

2. Research Maple Trees

  • Describe how to identify a Maple Tree.

3. Research about collecting maple syrup.

  • Discuss what you have learned.
  • Write out the process for making Maple Syrup. Use this Sequencing Worksheet.
  • Bonus: Draw a picture to go with your project.

Week 4: Chapters 8 & 9

  1. Research and Study animal tracks.

2.  Study the skin.

3. Study the sun.

Week 5: Chapters 10 & 11

1. Study the moon.

2. Research Yellow Jackets vs. Bees.

 

  • Discuss what you learned. Why are Bees so important?
  • Make a Venn Diagram to show the similarities and differences of these two species.
  • Example:

Image result for venn diagram example

 

Week 6: Chapters 12 & 13

1.Research Deer.

  • Watch a video and older kids can do some independent research.

2.Research Thresher and Discuss what horsepower means today.

  • Watch a video and older kids can do some independent research.

 

  • Discuss what you learned.
  • What does a thresher do?
  • How has the meaning of horsepower changed?
  • We used some gears to show how a thresher worked.

3. Research germs.

Week 7: Finishing Up

1. Pick out a previous topic to research more and write a report about it.

2. Check out some other forest animals. Which ones have you seen before?

3. Check out these other videos for more information for you Gold Rush Speech.

  • How is Gold Mined?
  • How is Gold processed?
  • How is Gold used?

 

Fun Projects:

  • My kids also enjoyed reading:

 Bears on the Brain (Science Solves It!)

**BE SURE TO SAVE A FEW SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR YOUR  PORTFOLIO!  TAKE PICTURES OF BIG PROJECTS!

 

 

 

Kirby’s Kids Grade by Grade Homeschool Reading List

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog30 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

Here is a list of books that we will be reading with our homeschool. I will update the list as we go through this journey. Many of these books can be found at your local library for FREE but I have provided Amazon links where you can find most of them ‘used’ for cheap. We also keep an Amazon list of books that we would like to purchase and sometimes they are gifted to us for Christmas and/or birthdays.

You should keep a record of the books read. You can do this in a notebook or using this printable HERE. (My kids like the plain ones so they can doodle around the margins but I may try to come up with a ‘prettier’ one later.)

I have also been using a lot of these books with some of the Novel-Ties Study Guides and other unit study guides that I have found online. I try to find as many FREE guides as I can but that isn’t always possible.

Remember that even though I have included Amazon links to these titles you may be able to purchase them used or at a different site for a better price. You may also have access to these books on your Kindle or other reading devices. Be sure to check back in as we will update this as we add more books to our own favorites here!

You may also like to check out these links for book reports:

Pre-K/Kindergarten

These will need to be read-alouds

First Grade:

Some of these may need to be read-alouds

Second Grade:

Third Grade:

Fourth Grade:

Fifth Grade:

Sixth Grade:

Seventh Grade:

Eighth Grade:

Ninth Grade:

Tenth Grade:

Eleventh Grade:

Twelfth Grade:

Updated May 31, 2022

printable-reading-listDownload

Loop Scheduling Made Simple With An Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog10 Comments

**Although I try to provide as many FREE resources as possible this post may contain affiliate links alt no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission, if a purchase is made through these links, which helps to support our blog and our family. Thank you!

Instructions for the Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule at the end of the post.

Many of us have started back to school and some of us started and then quit…errr… well, maybe I’m the only one that did that but I am happy to say that we are well on our way to getting back on track. The big project I have been working on is finished (YAYYYYY!!!!) and I am hoping it will be ready to post this weekend so keep an eye out for it.

In preparation of our new school year I pulled out our old Loop Schedule so I could change it out for this year. What a better time to show you how I do it?

Click HERE to see our most recent LOOP SCHEDULE CHANGES.

Last year one of the sanity savers I used was this Loop Schedule. You may have heard of Loop Scheduling and I thought it was something new but actually it was something I had already been doing and you probably have too!

I always start the year out with all kinds of fun activities, games, and ideas for us to work on. Before our Loop Schedule I was always trying to make sure we got the ‘meaty’ subjects like Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science finished before we moved on to anything else. If we didn’t get those areas completed we would just not do the other areas.

(These links will update soon and take you to our first Kirby’s Kids Academic Adventure!)

I always felt like we weren’t getting everything done that I wanted to get done. Our days got so BORING! We would be doing the same things over and over and never had time for the fun activities that I had planned for us to do. There’s only so much time in the day so what is an overwhelmed Momma to do? Continue reading “Loop Scheduling Made Simple With An Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule” →