If
you were a girl growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, you read and loved Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House on the Prairie book series. Maybe you were lucky to have the handsome boxed
set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Then you loved the Little House on the
Prairie TV series when it came out. Long before "Pioneer Woman" and
settler survival type reality TV shows, there was Laura Ingalls Wilder and her
stories about life in the 1880s midwest. Laura Ingalls Wilder fans will be
happy to know that a new movie based on the Little House on the
Prairie books is in the works at
Paramount.
But
teachers and homeschool parents, you don't have to wait for that film. Now you
can bring earlyAmerican history into your social studies lessons
with free printable Laura Ingalls Wilder book
activities. Get free printable American history lesson plans book
activities from the seven books in the series. The series begins with
"Little House in the Big Woods" when Laura is five and was written
over a period from 1932-1943. But going in chronological order "Farmer
Boy"comes first. It's based on childhood memories of Laura's father
Charles Ingalls. Next comes "Little House on the Prairie", "On
the Banks of Plum Creek", "By the Shores of Silver Lake",
"The Long Winter", "Little Town on the Prairie" and
"These Happy Golden Years." "The First Four Years" (stories
from Laura's early married life). didn't come out till 1971 and I clearly
remember the big deal that was, and later when "West from Home" (not
part of the original series) came out in 1974.
The
publication of these books sparked renewed interest in early American history
and pioneer lore. My mother first read Little House in the Big Woods to me when
I was near Laura's age in the story. Laura Ingalls Wilder had a gift for
story-telling to match her fascinating life. I purchased the rest of the series,
one by one and read them. I later read the Little House on the Prairie books to
my own children and used them in our homeschool. The Little House books make
perfect American history activities and social studies lesson plans on the life of
American pioneers.
The
website Laura's Prairie House calls itself the Definitive Laura Ingalls Wilder
and Little House on the Prairie. The site has dozens of free printable American history and book
activities, crafts, recipes and
coloring pages. These books help social studies teachers explore the difference
between American pioneers and settlers. Pioneers were trail blazers who built
new towns and settlements. Settlers moved into these areas and settled them.
Laura Ingalls Wilder's family, both the her parents Charles and Caroline
Ingalls and her husband Almanzo Wilder were settlers and pioneers. They brought
customs and traditions with them from the New England towns they lived in and
they formed many new traditions based on the areas they settled.
There are free printable Little
House in the Big Woods lesson plans, crafts, games and book
activities. There are free printable Little
House on the Prairie book activities and free On
the Banks of Plum Creek printables. There are recipes for maple candy, johnny
cake, parched corn, cornbread, vinegar pie, horehound candy and other foods
Laura features in her books. Other sites feature more Little
House free printables You can print American
history crafts, recipes, sheet music and lyrics from songs as well as complete episode
guides and links from the Little House on the Prairie television show. Laura's
Prairie Home features comprehensive biographical data on the
Lids, bonnets and berets, oh my--Jan. 15 is National Hat Day. So
if you've got a derby, don it! You don't have a hat? Well, make one out of
paper. When I was a kid, my grandfather, who was newspaper pressroom foreman,
showed me how to fold paper hats from newspaper. Can I remember now? No. But
fortunately, there's internet for printables galore! Here are free printable
paper hats, paper hat patterns and activities for Hat Day (or any day!)
Enchanted Learning has all sorts of free printables for paper
crafts, hats, masks, games and learning activities. Print without a banner for
a $20 site donation. Access thousands of free printable lesson plans, classroom
paper crafts, charts, booklets, diagrams and activities. Check out this page
for dozens of free printable paper hat patterns for Hat Day.
SS42 has lots of free printable paper hats in several styles--baseball hats, hats with
monster heads (zombies, vampire, spider web and pumpkin). There are free
printable paper animal hats with noses and bills to go with animal costumes and
a paper bucket hat to design and color yourself for Hat Day. Here are free printable paper hat patterns like the pointy party paper hats that attaches with a rubber band.
Paper hat patterns make fun DIY birthday party paper crafts printables.
Paper Glitter has gobs of super adorable free printable party supplies, gift tags, labels for
treat bags, party invitations, envelopes, to-do lists, greeting cards, paper dolls
and yup, a free printable party hat to cut and paste. This site specializes in
Bible and holiday paper crafts printables. Click each holiday link for free
printable paper crafts including paper hats. In "Curious George Rides a Bike" George shows an easy
way to make paper hat patterns or paper boats from newspaper. Missed Hat Day--no worries--you can declare any day Hat Day with
these fun printables.
Most people know that October 31
is Halloween, or All Hallows Eve. Fewer know that there's only a Halloween
because of the days that follow. November 1 marks the Catholic holy day of
obligation, All Saints' Day and November 2 is All Souls' Day (celebrated as Dia
de los Muertos or Day of the Dead in Mexico). Halloween was a pagan blowout
that anticipated the fasting of the proceeding holy day. Use these free
printable Catholic saints coloring pages, crafts and lesson plans to learn more
about All Saint's Day and Halloween.
* Catholic Mom's All
Saint's Day activities page has printable crafts and coloring pages
specific to that holy day, plus tips for celebrating a Christian Halloween.
Visit the Catholic Kids home page for free printable liturgical lesson plans
for CCD and religious education lesson plan. Each week's gospel is discussed
and age-appropriate activities linked: free printable puzzles, word searches,
study sheets, crafts, Bible verses, games and activities.
* ABCatholic has a free printable Catholic alphabet coloring book with images of saints, Bible stories and sacraments.
* Waltzing Matilda features
handmade free printable Catholic saints coloring pages. The blog moderator has drawn images for
sacraments and liturgical use also.
* Paper Dali is another mom blog
with homemade free printable saints coloring pages. Some are free and some must be
purchased.free her Etsy shop. Scroll around for the freebies. All are very
attractive and well worth the nominal fee.
* Catholic Icing offers handmade All Saints' Day printables and crafts. Read through the blog posts and sidebar
menu for crafts, games and printables.
* EWTN
(Eternal Word Television Network) Kids offers free mass readings, prayer
activities, crafts and coloring pages for children. Users must create a free
account with user name and password.
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