Free printable Laura Ingalls Wilder pioneer activities, early American history lessons

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 

Free printable paper hats, paper hat patterns, Hat Day paper crafts printables

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.

Free printable Catholic saints coloring pages for All Saints' Day

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. 

* JClub has free printable Bible and Catholic saints coloring pages. 

* 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. 

Free printable Frankenweenie activities, Nightmare Before Christmas coloring pages for Frankenstein Friday, Halloween

 The last Friday in October is Frankenstein Friday, so here are free printable Frankenstein monster crafts to celebrate! Why is there a Frankenstein Friday? Good question--nobody really knows the nuts and bolts of it. Maybe its just another way to extend the Halloween holiday? Or maybe its one more chance to dress up in silly costumes and not be shamed. Or maybe it helps vent a temper of Frankenstein proportions by scaring the liver out of little kids? At any rate, here are printable crafts for frankly freaky Frankenstein Friday fun!

Start by making your free printable Frankenstein monster mask. Choose one of the assorted Frankenstein masks: print, color green (or purple if you're feeling different) and get your inner monster on! Feeling female-frankie? Why not be Bride of Frankenstein? Print a mask of that scary chick at the same place. Or maybe you're not up for that much fright. For a safer option, print a picture of Frankenberry from the cereal box and make that into a mask. Next bolt over to DLTK forfree printable Frankenstein monster crafts. There are coloring pages, 3D craft projects, games, puzzles, books and greeting cards for Halloween. Why not confuse and amuse your friends by sending them a Frankenstein Friday greeting card? You might start a howling fun holiday tradition.

And musn't forget Frankenweenie and his faithful pup Sparky on Frankenstein Friday. Here are free printable Frankenweenie coloring pages. Print and make a bunch of Frankeweenie crafts from Disney. And now for a good-old-blowout of free printable Frankenstein monster coloring pages. Coloring Book Fun as some weird and quirky ones. Print Activities has got 25 Frankenstein monster coloring pages to print. There are cartoon ones and a few with Boris Karloff in his iconic Frankenstein monster role. Last but not least, is everyone's favorite Frankenstein monster, Herman Munster. Here are printable Munsters coloring pages from an old coloring book based on the TV show. Oh, and Anglophiles, don't miss the new movie "Victor Frankenstein" it's a feast of favorite British actors!

Holiday parenting: Jobs for children to help with Thanksgiving preparations | Examiner.com

 Parenting isn't easy at any time but especially of the holiday season. Are your children more of a hindrance than a help at Thanksgiving? Do they tend to get a little greedy and entitled around the holidays? Here are 25 jobs for children to help in Thanksgiving preparations. Good parenting means putting kids to work helping at Thanksgiving, not just letting them sit around, watch TV and get waited on. Perks are that children learn unselfishness, community spirit and satisfaction of a job well done. And the whole family gets memory making and bonding time. Good parenting also means making each child feel important. Each task has a job title (kids love job titles--it makes them feel like valued contributors not just idle spectators.) Kids can double up on jobs as some are done at different times.

Holiday parenting: jobs for children under 3.

Artist in Residence: Print off placemats and give her the job of working at her desk (coloring in her highchair). This helper must color the Thanksgiving or holiday placemats, one for each guest. 

Official Thanksgiving taste tester. This is a very important job as he must make sure the food is edible. Teach kids that in days of old, the taste tester checked for poison in foods. Your child won't have to do that (oh darn, say the adventure loving kiddies!).

Pie Crust Maker. Give him his own little blob of dough and a pot pie tin to make his pie. He can cut the fruit and create his own. recipe. 

Chief Dishwasher: Give your little helper an old apron, some dish soap, water and some of the less breakable dishes (not grandma's gravy boat). Soon she'll have your dishes (and probably the floor) clean and sparkling. 

Greeter: this child welcomes guests, takes coats and belongings and ferries food offerings to kitchen. He also seats people (let him make place cards for each guest). Pet supervisor; pets get nervous at holiday time. Little ones can pet and reassure them and help them feel safe. 

Potato peel picker upper collects scraps from floor and the pet feeder gives scraps to pet rodents or squirrels and birds outside.

Holiday parenting: jobs for children 3-6 years old to help in Thanksgiving holiday preparation. 

The Miller uses the applesauce mill to make the applesauce. 

The Dairyman shakes the whipping cream to make butter. 

The Official Potato Peeler preps the potatoes, white and sweet, for cooking. 

The Baker make the bread, canned biscuits or croissants. 

Pumpkin Pie Mixer measures the ingredients and blends for pumpkin pie. 

The Apple Slicer pares the apples for pie. Use a plastic knife or teach paring knife safety. 

The Package Opener/ box crusher gathers up recycling, collapses boxes, folds bags, cleans cans and removes labels.

Chair washer wipes down chairs before company comes. This is a great job for younger children (whose eyes are actually young enough to see the dirt!). 

The Table Setter counts out forks, knives, spoons, plates, cups and napkins for all guests (this is a great math lesson on sets, division and multiplication. 

Potato masher: give this job to your mini wrecking ball (every family has one). She can pound away at the potatoes and they will only get smoother and creamier.

Holiday parenting: jobs for children under 10.

Poet Laureate: This child can write a poem of thanksgiving and welcome for guests, family blessing, prayers, etc. 

The Pie Maker assembles to prepped food and makes the pies. 

The Onion and Celery Chopper preps onions and celery for stuffing. She might also be the Bread Cuber who cuts bread into cubes and supervises drying for stuffing. This person can also be the Stuffing Mixer who mixes stuffing with hands and puts into turkey.

The Scribe helps the younger kids make a "Giving Thanks" chain. Each family member shares one thing they are thankful for on each link. The chain should be as long as there are days from Thanksgiving until Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Each day, remove a link and read. The chain gets shorter as your holiday arrives.

The Beverage Server takes drink requests from guests and serves them their drinks (with a napkin). She makes sure there are coasters on the tables. She might also be the Spill monitor who helps to keep up with all the food, beverage and cooking spills. Use your creativity to come up with more holiday jobs for children.

Check out my blog parentinghotline.blogspot.com for tons more ideas. 

Detroit had its quietest Devil's Night ever, fewer fires thanks to Angels' Night

Some communities dread the Halloween weekend, thanks the dangerous traditions of Devil's Night. During the Devil's Night weekend, including Halloween, revelers light bonfires and endanger other residents. But this year, Detroit marked a milestone for safety. WXYZ reported on Nov. 1, that the City of Detroit had its quietest Devil's Night ever and recorded far fewer fires thanks to Angels' Night. Detroit set a three-day record low for bonfires city-wide. What is Angels' Night? It's what happens when a vibrant, proactive city works together for the common good. Detroit residents were tired of living fear of wildfires on Halloween, so they organized Angels' Night brigades. And this new tradition paid off: the city recorded only 52 fires over three nights in 2015. That's 97 fires less than in 2014 and a whopping 758 fires less than the worst Devil's Night in 1984.Detroit had its quietest Devil's Night ever, fewer fires thanks to Angels' Night | Examiner.com

Free printable Halloween activities, crafts, coloring pages, worksheets, games

Halloween is creeping up and children of all ages, even the young at heart are getting ready for the fun. In many schools, activities are planned around Halloween. Educators know that when children enjoy something and have fun with a lesson, they learn better. Here are free printable Halloween activities for school classrooms, homeschool or scout troop. Use with old folks in nursing homes or anyone who needs some Halloween printables.

Count down the days to Trick or Treat with dozens of free printable Halloween activities, coloring pages and crafts from Making Friends.com. Print free craft projects for all sorts themes. Making Friends has a really holiday activities, coloring pages, cut and paste, paper dolls, Trick or treat wrappers, worksheets, Halloween puzzles and mazes. Print word searches, crossword puzzles and word games, perfect for Halloween language arts lessons. Print Halloween card games, flash cards, dioramas, masks and pumpkin carving patterns and stencils.

Here free printable Halloween lesson plans, worksheets, games, coloring pages, activities and puzzles. Use for Trick or Treat themed math, reading, writing, literature, science, language, social studies and crafts. All Free Printables has free Halloween crafts, greeting cards, party invitations, decorations, cut-outs, coloring pages, masks, party invitations, name tags, treat bags, pumpkin cut-outs, book marks, picture frames and lots more. Puzzlemaker lets you create templates for printable Halloween worksheets, puzzles, mazes, jigsaws, dot to dot, Soduku, crosswords and activities galore.

Print Activities is another mega site for all your school and family activity printing needs. Look for units, printable worksheets and lessons focused around Halloween and trick-or-treat. Disney Family offers a plethora of free printable Halloween Disney activities, crafts and coloring pages. Coolest Holiday Parties has free printable Halloween party supplies. You'll find cards, invitations, treat and punch bowl printables, banners, place cards, name tags, wall hangings for a ghoulish party.

Cecil the Lion killer Halloween costume: Walter Palmer costume 2015's tackiest?

Insensitive Halloween costumes get more popular every year. They almost outrank scary and sexy costumes--two of the best-selling categories. From a simple dress-up, Halloween has morphed into an adult event to make statements, press an agenda and mock others. This year the tackiest Halloween costume has several competitors. First is the "Call Me Caitlyn" costume of Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner). Then there's a Cecil the Lion killer Halloween costume. Will a Walter Palmer costume--with blood-spattered dentist uniform and stuffed lion head--win 2015's tackiest? It's a close call.Cecil the Lion killer Halloween costume: Walter Palmer costume 2015's tackiest? | Examiner.com

 

Burger King Halloween Whopper causes green poop: Black buns dye feces green!

From the "really ewww" news desk, the new Burger King Halloween Whopper causes green poop. CNN reported on Oct. 6 that BK's creepy black buns make feces green according to some folks who've tried it. That's some treat, Burger King. It's more like a scary trick. Folks took to Twitter to announce their surprise at discovering they had green bowel movements after eating Burger King's Halloween Whopper using the hashtag #greenpoop. Have it your way? Not so much.   Burger King Halloween Whopper causes green poop: Black buns dye feces green! 

Free printable world history coloring pages, vintage clipart, literature lessons

 September is National Literacy Month. Reading is about more than just decoding text: it's about engaging with books. A good way to do that is hands-on literature-based activities. Here are free printable world history coloring pages from Karen's Whimsy. Explore world literature, cultures, people, time periods, civilizations, works of art, literary and historical figures and events.

Use these to create world history lesson plans, holiday greeting cards and literature lessons. Karen's Whimsy has free printable history colouring pages from just about any art history time period: ancient, Gothic, classical, medieval, renaissance, American history, Victorian, art deco, Edwardian. Explore the art of different religions: Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Japanese, pagan, Islam, tribal, Shinto and more.

Have a fancy for fantasy? Print clipart, images and coloring pages of dragons, angels, nymphs, dryads, mythological beats, literary figures, hero and animals. Perhaps you're interested in a specific niche of history: animals, flowers, plants, music, clothing, soldiers, architecture, weapons, military, travel, homes, holidays, food. You can print coloring pages of them. There is an entire section of free printable historical technology coloring pages and and cut and paste science crafts, perfect for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lesson plans. Teachers print these crafts for extra credit or homework reinforcement.

Print coloring pages from ancient Greece, Rome, medieval illuminations, knights in armor, dragons. Images are created frrom real works of art,sculpture, buildings, churches etc. Students expand vocabulary with old term like: flying buttress, seraphim, Romanesque, crenelations, Phoenician, greaves, to name a few. Kids will absorb history and expand their vocabulary just by coloring and discussing images.