One of the most fun ways to learn about pioneers is to try to do things the way they would have had to. When I was a kid, I used to ask my parents if we could try to go an entire day without using electricity or running water. They were occasionally obliging enough to let us go electricity-free for a day, but I don’t think we ever went without running water. It was always exciting, though, to get ready for bed by candlelight. 
Here are a few ideas for helping your kids learn more about pioneer life. Feel free to pick a couple of activities, but certainly don’t feel like you need to do them all:
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Make butter. You can read my tutorial here, but it definitely isn’t the “pioneer way.” (Hint: you use an electric mixer. ) If you want to try an electricity-free approach, check out this tutorial here, which uses a mason jar.
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Make bread from scratch. Again, you can use my recipe, which utilizes a bread machine, or you can just knead the bread by hand.
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Make a salt clay map of the original Oregon Trail. Talk about how people got to Oregon, the hardships they faced, and why people would choose to make such an arduous journey.
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Make soap from scratch. (This recipe is geared for kids, so it has far fewer steps than other recipes, and does NOT incorporate lye as an ingredient!)
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Learn about how to build a fire without matches. (There are a variety of methods to be found on Google or YouTube.) After you’ve built your fire, attempt to cook a meal on the fire (it’s not as easy as you think!). My husband thinks I’m a big old nerd, but I REALLY want one of these babies:
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Investigate what would go into making your own clothing. Depending on your child’s interest level and abilities, they may want to attempt sewing a garment or quilt, knitting a hat, or crocheting a scarf.
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Click here to learn more about the Pony Express.
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Read through some of the tutorials on the Pioneer Living site. They’ve got some really off-the-beaten-track how-to’s on things like washing clothes on a washboard, milking cows, and pioneer recipes. It’s pretty interesting, and crazy to think what life would have been like when you had to make everything this way!
What are your favorite ways to learn about pioneers?
Jul
7
It’s time for the monthly book list for the Summer Read-Aloud Book Club. This month our theme is Pioneers. Don’t forget to cast your vote for the date of our monthly outing by leaving a comment here.
There are about a million books about pioneers, so I’m just going to toss out a few. Please feel free to pick as many as you think your family will enjoy, and throw out some of your own recommendations too!!
The Little House Series :: Laura Ingalls Wilder (Of course! If you’ve never read these aloud with your children, I definitely recommend them!)
Caddie Woodlawn :: Carol Ryrie Brink (this was one of my FAVORITES as a child!!)
American Girl’s Kirsten Series :: Janet Shaw
I KNOW there are more pioneer books out there – for kids AND adults. What are your suggestions??
Jul
7
I can’t believe we’re getting ready to start the third month of our Summer Read-Aloud Book Club! I have been enjoying this quite a bit, and I hope you have as well.
So far, we’ve read all about Boats and explored the world of Bugs and Insects. And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for……. the announcement for July’s theme!
During the month of July, we will be reading all about pioneers. I am so excited! As a child I most frequently pretended to be a pioneer. My sister and I had dresses and bonnets to dress up as the part. We had a great playhouse that looked like a real log cabin. And the best part was that we had a real covered wagon to play on!
There are so many good books on this topic, that I know it’s going to be difficult to make the list of book recommendations this month. Please jump in with your suggestions!
Finally, I’m giving you an early look at our out-and-about activity for Pioneer Month. We will be going to Centennial Village in Greeley this month! If you’ve never been to Centennial Village, you’re in for a treat. This mini town contains historic buildings from around the state, which have been restored to give you a glimpse into daily life of times gone by. While not everything in Centennial Village is from the pioneer era, I thought this would be a great activity for making history come alive.
To learn more about Centennial Village (including pricing and hours) please visit their website here.
So, now I’d like to get your input: which of the following dates would be best for your family to attend Centennial Village? (Each of these would take place sometime in the afternoon) Please reply to this post with one of the following dates:
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Friday, July 13
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Saturday, July 14
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Sunday, July 15
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Saturday, July 21
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Sunday July 22
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Friday, July 27
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Saturday, July 28
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Sunday, July 29
Jun
6
It’s the last week of Bug Month in our Summer Read-Aloud Book Club. What activities did you participate in? What did you and your kids learn? (I personally learned a lot about honeybees that I never knew!) What were your favorite books? (Ours was/is Charlotte’s Web. We’re still making our way through it, even though we’re at the end of the month.)
This week, I’m going to give you a handful of fun games and activities that you can enjoy to cap off our Bug Theme. I’ll be honest – with our recent flu bug and the ridiculously hot weather I haven’t been extremely motivated to blog. So, this post will be a bit shorter than normal. The good news is – it’s the perfect opportunity for YOU to share YOUR ideas for fun bug activities!
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Watch a bug-themed movie. Here are some suggestions:
What are YOUR ideas for having fun with bugs??
Jun
6
Just a quick reminder: we are heading to the Denver Butterfly Pavilion this Saturday, June 23rd. Let’s plan to meet in front of the main doors at 10:30 a.m. Then we can walk around and look at all the exhibits. Afterwards, if you want to bring a picnic lunch, I am pretty sure there are picnic tables outside that we can use.
Will you be coming? I hope so!
Jun
6
The Bug Theme is a popular one right now! Yesterday I shared with you an article with great tips for encouraging your budding entomologist.
Today, I’d like to share a link of lots of but-themed fun activities. Three Dinosaurs is offering a free printable bug pack when you click here. The description reads:
Bug Pack contains over 70 pages:
3 Part Cards, Beginning Sounds, Matching Cards, Read Write the Room, Which One Is Different, What Comes Next, Pre Writing Practice, Pattern Cards, 10 Piece Puzzles, 4 Piece Puzzles, Clip and Count Cards, Size Sorting, Color the Pattern, Addition, Sorting, Bug Paths and more.
Jump on over and get yours today! For more great bug-related activities from our Summer Read-Aloud Book Club, click here!
- http://3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/free-bug-pack/
Jun
6
Well this is perfect timing! As we cross the halfway point of our Bug Month for the Summer Read-Aloud Book Club, I discovered a perfect article for helping us cultivate an interest our kids may have in learning more about insects.
The article is called Wild About Insects! The Care and Keeping of Junior Entomologists. The article is written by a professional entomologist, beekeeper, and writer named NJ Renie. He offers perfectly simple ideas for encouraging your child to go beyond yelling, “Look! A butterfly!” to developing a love for identifying, observing and preserving the insects they discover.
Renie gives practical tips on getting started, gear you need (it’s a surprisingly simple and inexpensive list!) as well as unnecessary things to avoid. He offers additional advice for helping your budding entomologist delve as deep into the world of bugs as he or she wants to go.
I highly recommend this article for all parents. Kids love bugs, right? Let’s help them learn as they play and discover!
Jun
6
Welcome back to another week of June’s Bug Month here at The HomeStyle’s Summer Read-Aloud Book Club. Are you enjoying all the insect-themed books this month?? So far, Will’s favorite has been the Fly Guy series. Ryah and Naomi seem to prefer any book that has a butterfly theme.
This week we are going to do some activities focused on learning more about bugs and insects. Please don’t feel as though you should tackle every idea on this list. These are simply meant to give you a variety of activities to choose from. I’d recommend picking 2-3 that seem to suit your children’s interests and abilities. Here are a few ideas to get you going:
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As I mentioned at the end of May, having a family Ant Farm or Butterfly Garden can be an amazing way to learn how insects really live and work. We also had the kids fill out little journals, drawing and writing what they saw happening in the miniature habitat each day. It was truly amazing!
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Learn about how to identify different bugs and insects by learning their unique characteristics (such as number of legs and body segments). The San Diego Zoo has a good page with information on all different kinds of insects. You can learn more here.
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Check to see if your local museum has any insect-related exhibits that you can visit.
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Go on a nature walk and see how many bugs you can find. Bring along your camera or a sketch pad to record all the creatures you encounter. If you don’t know what a particular type of beetle is, try to research its name when you get home.
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Learn some interesting bug facts like these here or these over here.
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Visit a beekeeper and learn about bee life. Taste some honey and appreciate how much work the bees did to make it for you!
And if you live in Colorado, I’d love to invite you to join us for another Book Club outing. This time we will be going to the Denver Butterfly Pavilion on Saturday, June 23. If you’ve never visited the Butterfly Pavilion before, you are in for a huge treat! There is so much more than just butterflies: there is a spider room (where kids who hold Rosie the Tarantula get a special sticker proclaiming their bravery), a room with sea stars, sea cucumbers, and horseshoe crabs, outdoor gardens for exploring and more!
I’d like to plan to meet in front of the Pavilion at about 10:30. Regular admission is $8.50 for adults and $5.50 for kids ages 2-12. (Kids under 2 are free.) However, if we have at least 10 people coming we can register for a group discount of $2 per person. If you plan on coming, please leave a comment saying so here. If it looks like we will have more than 10 people I will register for the group discount.
I hope to see you there!
Jun
6
Welcome back to the second month of our Summer Read-Aloud Book Club! I’m excited you’re joining me as we read and explore with our kids. As I mentioned last week, the theme for June is Bugs.
Now, I’ll start with a disclaimer: I generally do not like bugs. Especially those in the arachnid family. (I used to pay my little sister a dollar to kill spiders for me. Yes, that’s a dollar per spider. She was pretty rich.) But there is something about bugs that is absolutely fascinating to my children. Do your kids spend time gazing at ants or rolling Roly-Polys around? Do they get excited when they find an earthworm and have a million questions about bees? Yeah, mine too. So, I am choosing to swallow my fears and dislike of these creepy crawlies to try and experience the insect world through the eyes of my children.
This week I have some book ideas to get you started reading with your kids. Remember, next week we’ll have activity ideas for learning more about all kinds of bugs. The following week will be full of fun games, crafts, and movies about bugs. then, in the last week of June we’ll have another fun outing day at the Denver Butterfly Pavilion! I hope you’ll join me.
Ok, on to the books. Please, please, please chime in with other insect-themed books you and your family have enjoyed!
Charlotte’s Web :: E.B. White (This is first on our list! Naomi and I read it a couple of years ago, but now we are excited to share it with the younger two!)
Drizzle :: Kathleen van Cleve (While not specifically about bugs, the main character of this book can talk to bugs. This is another book for tween kids.)
What are your bug-themed book recommendations??
Jun
6
I hope you enjoyed Boat Month in May with our Summer Read-Aloud Book Club as much as I did! In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s now a drop-down tab at the top of this page with links to all the Summer Read-Aloud Book Club activities and book recommendations. That way, you can use this resource whenever you need something to read with your kids!
I wanted to give you a heads-up for our upcoming theme in June in case you want to do a little prep work. We are going to have a Bug theme for June. (Woot!) The reason I mention this is that one activity idea I had was to make or buy an ant farm or butterfly garden to watch these creatures grow and develop. We did a butterfly garden with Naomi a few years ago, and it was fascinating to watch the caterpillars make their cocoons and then emerge as beautiful butterflies.
However, it did take a couple of weeks for this process to happen. For that reason, I thought it might be good if you knew in advance that we are going to be reading all about bugs this month. If you want, you could order an insect kit now and watch the process unfold throughout the month as we read. We are planning to order this ant farm from Insect Lore:
When we did the butterfly garden with Naomi, we used Insect Lore’s Butterfly Garden and were very pleased with the product and the larvae they sent us.
Does anyone else have any suggestions for live bug activities that we might want to explore this month?
May
5
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