It’s that time of year again for us… time to get the next school year planned out. We technically finished up our 2024-2025 school year before Easter but I’ve been busy with the garden and such so I am just now getting around to making our new schedule.
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.
Having a little extra wiggle room in our schedule means that we can take off more time around the holidays and I can take a week off for new grandbabies too!We also love taking the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to just reflect on the reason for the season and it gives us time to do fun things with the family too.
Last year 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.
A couple of the kiddos went with one of their big sisters and husband for the weekend so the house was surprisingly quiet… I used the time to sit down and get our new year planned out and organized. We will have an ‘official’ kindergartner this year too… sobbing quietly to myself… that means a little extra planning to include her but she already sits with us during school so it shouldn’t be too much of a transition.
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!
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!
Here are our Lesson Plans For Life Skills
This page 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.
On weeks where there are several activities listed just choose a couple that interest you the most to work on.
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.
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.
Laura interrupted Mary in the story. Was this wrong?
Discuss how important it is not to interrupt others and how it might make others feel when we interrupt them. (It can make others feel like you don’t think what they have to say is important or that you feel you are better than they are when you interrupt them.)
Come up with a way for children to let you know that they need to tell you something without interrupting. (They can gently place their hand on your hand or arm and wait until you finish.)
4. Memory Verse
Work on memorizing a verse during the week for a special prize.
He who answers before listening – that is his folly and shame. –– Proverbs 18:13
Older kids can check out this Doodle Page via Verse Doodles.
5. Fun Activities
Plan a meal where you can use cracklings. They can be put into cornbread (or hoe cakes) for flavoring. You could substitute chopped bacon if cracklings are not available.
Make butter. Click HERE for a recipe or watch the video below.
Write out the steps for making butter.
How does your butter compare to store bought butter?
See if you can get or borrow a sewing kit. Start practicing the sewing skills listed on pages 6-11 of My Little House Sewing Book.
6. Bonus Skills — Choose one or two to work on
Practice these until you finish this unit study and then we will move on to another new skill.
Memorize the books of the Bible:
Learn about archery which is a skill that has been around for thousands of years.
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and take me some venison. — Genesis 27:3
You will need a good book or DVD on archery.
You will also need a properly sized bow and arrows for practice.
Don’t forget a target and a backstop.
Learn the parts of the bow and what they do.
Learn the parts of an arrow and what they do.
Ask an adult to show you how to safely shoot your bow.
Learn the skill of baking homemade nutritious foods from scratch.
…It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God — Luke 4:4
You will need a good cook book.
Start with simple recipes.
Make sure you have all of the ingredients before you start.
Read through the entire recipe before you start.
Ask an adult to show you how to work the oven safely.
Start a recipe collection.
Week 2: Chapters 3 & 4
1. Research Pioneer food preservation.
How do the different food preservation methods keep us from getting sick?
Watch the video:
Discuss what you learned.
Name 3 methods of preserving food that we still use today.
2. Ways to help around the house like Laura
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine… for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. — Psalm 50:10
Taking Care of Your Pets
This video is about taking care of a dog but many of the responsibilities will be the same for other pets.
Practice these until you finish this unit study and then we will move on to another new skill.
Memorize the books of the Bible:
Learn about archery
Learn about baking
Week 4: Chapters 8 & 9
1. Research a Pioneer Laundry Day
Discuss what you learned.
How is this different from the way you wash clothes?
Watch this video about soap making.
Discuss what you learned.
Why did they keep the kids away?
Other:
Springtime was when the gardens are planted. Click HERE to learn more about pioneer gardens.
Here is a fun video about a pioneer dance which may be similar to the one described in Chapter 8.
2. Ways to help around the house like Laura
Sin can pile up in our hearts just like dirty clothes can pile up in our rooms. We need to make to sure to get our hearts washed and our clothes washed on a regular basis.
Use this Sequencing Worksheet to make a chart showing the laundry cycle from sorting, to washing, to drying, to folding and putting away, and clean up.
Check out this video about the benefits of hanging your clothes out on the line:
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