It’s that time of year again for us… time to get the next school year planned out. We finished up our 2023-2024 school year before Easter and I’ve been busy gathering supplies and making schedules as I coordinate with everyone for vacations, holidays, and special trips that we have planned.
It is always SO TEMPTING to take a few months off to just focus on this house but I know from past experience that this doesn’t go well and that it takes FOREVER to get a couple of the kids back into the school routine. You can read more about last year’s curriculum and routines HERE.
We switched to more of a Charlotte Mason-style approach and it was GREAT for the most part. We still have a couple of kids who just hate anything to do with math so that’s been a little challenging but we’re making progress. We’ve also really enjoyed using some of the FREE courses with Under the Home Homeschool.
**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!
Mornings:
We Start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a picture of the prayers that we say and a video of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Not the prettiest example but that’s what we’ve been using for the past few years.
Don’t have a flag? Grab one HEREand print it out to put up somewhere… you could even let the kids make a flag to proudly display. Amazon also has some little ones like this one HERE and HERE.
After this we have our calendar time also where we go over such things as the Days of the Week, the months, and some basic math.
This one came from Lakeshore Learning.
We also like to use this song during our ‘Morning Time’ to help the kids learn the 50 States.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic 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 7: Chapters 19, 20 & 21 (Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus, A Scream in the Night, Indian Jamboree )
What would happen if someone did the steps out of order or forgot a step?
2. Ways to help around the house like Laura
Dusting is a necessary chore as dust can build up quickly around the house. I always loved it when my Mom-mom let me help dust. I was always so very careful with all of the knick knacks she had because I didn’t want to break anything.
Below we will also learn about wiping up smudges which can be done at the same time as dusting.
Smudges happen a lot in our home. It seems like no sooner do we clean them up then I see even more here and there. We go through the house about once a week, after we dust, and wipe down the furniture, light switches, and door knobs. This helps to keep everything looking nice and clean.
When they heard the scream at night Pa thought it may have been a neighbor needing help. He soon realized it was a panther and came back home quickly.
Wild animals can be dangerous. Do you know what to do to stay safe if you encounter a wild animal?
Discuss what you have learned.
What kinds of wild animals could you encounter where you live?
How will you keep yourself safe?
2. Games/Outdoor Play
Laura and Mary played games with each other and Baby Carrie. Try any of the games listed below or choose your favorite game to play. These would be really good games for when you are stuck inside the house.
**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!
Mornings:
We Start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a picture of the prayers that we say and a video of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Not the prettiest example but that’s what we’ve been using for the past few years.
Don’t have a flag? Grab one HEREand print it out to put up somewhere… you could even let the kids make a flag to proudly display. Amazon also has some little ones like this one HERE and HERE.
After this we have our calendar time also where we go over such things as the Days of the Week, the months, and some basic math.
This one came from Lakeshore Learning.
We also like to use this song during our ‘Morning Time’ to help the kids learn the 50 States.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic 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 6: Chapters 16, 17& 18 (Fire in the Chimney, Pa Goes To Town, The Tall Indian)
In this section the family is talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pa went out hunting and found some turkeys. He knew where they would be when the holidays came up so he was thinking ahead and preparing for the holidays in advance.
These events could also benefit from a yearly routine. In our home we keep a Holiday & Party Binder. This helps us prepare for holiday events and party events that we may have coming up.
Every time we host a party we jot down notes and follow the routine we have written down. There are notes telling us how far in advance we need to order things to make sure we get the items we need. This helps to keep everything going smoothly and easily. It also helps us to enjoy the party when the day comes and to spend time with our family and friends while making great memories.
Does your family have a routine for handling holidays?
Make a list of things that you normally do for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Jot down some things that you would like to do but never have time for.
Work with a parent to decide when and what you need to work on to get prepared for the big day.
Think about things that may need done around the house before the holiday as well like:
Sometimes you may not have a mop or the floor may just need a good cleaning that can only be done by hand scrubbing. This would be using what we might hear as ‘elbow grease’.
How to hand scrub a floor:
Sweep the floor well before hand scrubbing.
Move anything that can be moved to make the job easier.
Gather your supplies:
bucket
hot water
cleaner
scrub sponge or scrub brush
gloves, optional
old towels
Measure the cleaner into the bucket.
Add hot water until half full.
Start in one corner and begin scrubbing in a circular motion, working your way around the room going towards the door.
Rinse out your scrubber as needed.
You may want to use an old towel to wipe up extra water.
Check the floor for any missed spots.
Empty the bucket.
Rinse the bucket and scrubbers.
Put away your supplies.
When the floor is dry you can put back any items you moved before you started.
3. Character
We will be focusing on OBEDIENCE this unit. If you don’t have the book we used you can go HERE and download a lesson plan guide to use in your home.
Memorize: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. – Colossians 3:20
We will be studying obedience during this unit. What is obedience?
Watch this video to learn about Philippians 2:5-11.
What do you think this scripture means?
If Jesus humbled himself we should too. verse 7
Verse 8 says he humbled himself and became obedient. It is humbling to be obedient but Jesus wants us to be humble.
Do you know what the opposite of humble is? Pride
How was Jesus rewarded for his obedience? He was exalted and honored.
Ask God to help you be obedient and humble like Jesus was.
Ma and Laura acted quickly when there was a fire. Would you know what to do if there was a fire in your home?
Watch this fire safety video:
Discuss what you learned.
Come up with a fire safety plan and practice it.
2. Burn Treatment
After the fire was out Ma checked Laura for burns but she wasn’t hurt. This was a good thing.
We have learned about fire safety but sometimes we might find that we have accidentally gotten burned. Let’s learn about how to treat a burn:
Discuss what you have learned.
3. Games/Outdoor Play
Pa told them about the geese and turkeys he saw while out hunting and brought back some ducks for dinner. Have you ever watched the birds flying south for winter? If not, maybe you can keep an eye out for them in the Fall.
**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!
NOTE: My kiddos were 5, 6, 9, 11, and 15 at the time we created study unit. Some ideas may need to be changed/adjusted for older kids.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic 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.
Introduction:
We have been using the Little House on the Prairie Books for our homeschool this year and my kids are loving it. I have scoured the internet for resources to make our learning experience as fun and exciting as possible. This series of posts is a compilation of different resources we have found and used in our home. Please note that some of these may have been FREE at the time I found them and prices and/or availability may have changed. Feel free to leave your own links in the comments section below.
I also want to take a moment to thank all of these wonderful people who put together so many wonderful resources for all of us to use with our children. I know that many hours, blood, sweat, and tears went into these projects but your work is greatly appreciated!
We will be completing this Lap Book project as we read through this book.
Reading:
We will be reading the noted selection for the week as well as discussing what we have read. I may come up with other questions as well. Kids are curious and I know we will have many questions which may lead to some research in other areas.
We will also be working on reading through a few books, see Kirby’s Kids Grade by Grade Homeschool Reading List , for each different grade level. The older kids will have some independent reading while the younger ones will have a mixture of read alouds, read alongs, and independent reading.
You should keep a record of the books read. You can do this in a notebook or using this printable HERE.
Handwriting:
I did not list handwriting in the weekly work tasks as my kids are using the Spencerian Penmanship for handwriting and will practice this every day.
My kids are loving these new pencil grips we got recently!
Vocabulary:
We will be doing various activities for this area. We will be looking up definitions, matching words, putting the words in alphabetical order, and a variety of other activities.
Writing:
There will be a variety of creative writing ideas as well. I have tried to vary them and offer choices to help encourage writing. We will also be doing various writing assignments in some of other areas as well.
These are just some of the other activities that I am incorporating into the lessons with my kiddos as we are all at different learning levels. I put these in here to keep me organized so I don’t ‘forget’ something.
I will add links to worksheets I find or make as we go through the unit. For a general guideline of skills your child should know by grade level click HERE.
I have pulled a lot of the material from the book for the worksheets listed down below.
Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:
We use Ray’s Arithmetic Books for Lessons (Newer versions available here.) but you can also find free lessons online or simply buy a workbook from your local dollar store.
Note about Ray’s Arithmetic Books: These can be a little confusing at first but the Parent/Teacher guide is so useful! I have found that the books are in order as follows:
1st/2nd grades: Ray’s New Primary Arithmetic
3rd/4th grades: Ray’s New Intellectual Math
5th/6th grades: Ray’s Practical Arithmetic
7th/8th grades: Ray’s Higher Arithmetic
I have used a lot of the examples from the book to create the worksheets you will find listed below. **ANSWER KEY password: momsrock (highlight blank area)
You can also find FREE Lessons with these links:
You can find FREE math lessons at Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool and we have used this for a few years and will probably go back to it at some point.
Many of the ideas have been pulled from the following resources:
Which Way Usa Magazines by Highlights (This link is for the whole subscription set but I have provided links on each week for puzzle books that go with the lesson.)
We will also be studying different lessons from Mystery Science which is a site that the kids LOVE! We have found a lot of FREE lessons on this site. (You do need a membership to access all of the site.)
YouTube can be a great resource for educational videos.
We did use the Food & Nutrition Theme Box from Lakeshore Learning for a lot of our food/nutrition lessons. It has some great lesson ideas to incorporate into other areas as well.
We often have some ‘Free Play’ outside whenever the weather allows as well.
Life Skills:
This area contains our lesson plans for a few different areas that I have included with our ‘Life Skills’. You will find lessons on cooking, cleaning, and organization as well as bible memory work and character training. All of these will go together to help raise our children into the responsible and caring citizens of tomorrow.
You can find a FREE printable log for keeping track of memory work here:
Remember: These are the lessons and activities that we used while doing this study but you can do anything your heart desires to make this a great adventure for you and your kids!
**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!
These are divided into weekly work as we like to use Loop Scheduling in our home. We simply work on a little bit and then move on to the next subject area. We have four days of ‘school’ and then the fifth day is used to finish up projects that we have been working, for independent study, or fun activities and field trips. Have fun on your Little House on the Prairie Academic Adventures!
Here are our Lesson Plans For Language Arts
Mornings:
We Start every morning off with our prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. Below is a picture of the prayers that we say and a video of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Not the prettiest example but that’s what we’ve been using for the past few years.
Don’t have a flag? Grab one HEREand print it out to put up somewhere… you could even let the kids make a flag to proudly display. Amazon also has some little ones like this one HERE and HERE.
After this we have our calendar time also where we go over such things as the Days of the Week, the months, and some basic math.
This one came from Lakeshore Learning.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic 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
Print out this Lap Book project so that you can start filling in pages as you go!
Reading:
Read Chapters 1 & 2
You can read it or let the kids help to read it aloud.
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