Little House in the Big Woods Plans, Instructions, & Resources

My favorite book series growing up was the Little House books. I decided I wanted to introduce Bo (6) to the books, even though some of the stuff was over his head. Through discussions, videos, and activities I was able to make the books understandable. I used the Prairie Primer as my starting point. I looked through and picked out the fun activities and topics I wanted to cover. I reread each book and took notes of topics and possible activity ideas for each chapter. I also scoured Pinterest and the internet for more ideas. I came up with quite a few. I picked two books to cover this summer.  I chose to do Little House in the Big Woods first because it was the easiest read and a good starting point. I made up a schedule for each week. Then I started collecting other resources.

I found videos covering some of the topics to be discussed in the interactive folder and songs from the book. On the schedule the red font indicates that I have video for that item. Here is the link to my Youtube playlist for both books (Little House in the Big Woods begins at the top and ends with Food Preservation in Early Virginia). They are in the order they appear on my schedule.

We made an interactive folder to collect the information we learned along the way. Here is the link to the pages and instructions on how to make the folder. I also collected some printable resources too. Here is a link to a Pinterest board with the items I printed. The blue font on the schedule indicates that there is a printable on the topic.

Here is my schedule for Little House in the Big Woods.

I am going to go through all of the activities, trips, and food suggestions. I will explain what we did (if we actually did it) and how to repeat the activity yourself at home.

Chapter 1
Lincoln Logs- We built Laura's homestead out of Lincoln Logs. This gave Bo an idea of what a log house might look like and was very simple to do.

Shoot BB gun- We shot at a target facing a large pile of dirt. This gave us an opportunity to talk about gun safety. It also helped Bo to realize just how difficult it would be to hunt and get enough food to feed a family.

Hot dog "Pig Tails"- We didn't get to do this activity because it rained that week. My idea here was to cut a hot dog in half and make the tip pointed like a tail. Then roast them on a fire.
Pig Bladder/Balloon Game- I didn't have a pig bladder on hand, so I decided to use a white balloon instead. All I did was blow it up and hand it to Bo. Kids love balloons and always have some kind of game to play with them. We did discuss Laura and Mary playing with the pig bladder while we hit the balloon around.

Leather Craft- I found a leather teepee at Hobby Lobby. We assembled it and talked about how leather was made. Any leather craft would do.

Pork Rinds & Jerky- This was simply a taste test. Pork rinds were similar to pork cracklings. Jerky is a way to preserve meats.


Chapter 2
Jack Frost Painting- Using a thimble, paint with white paint on blue paper. This was a hit with all 4 kiddos.

Butter- Put heavy whipping cream and a couple of marbles in a plastic jar. Put the lid on tight and let the kids shake. They will get tired so be prepared to shake it all by yourself. Eventually it will turn into butter. We spread it on some bread and sprinkled it with sugar to make one of my favorite snacks bread, butter, and sugar (creative name, I know). There's a recipe for making butter on page 166 of The Little House Cookbook.

Wash Clothes- This was a favorite with all of the kids. I bought a small washboard off of Amazon. I had some mismatched socks that we normally use for dusting and a bar of hotel soap. I set up a tub of water and showed them how to wash the clothes. I made a clothesline out of twine and gave them old fashioned clothes pins. They went to town. All the socks were washed about 5 times each.

Paper Dolls- Here is the link where I found the dolls. I printed them on heavy card stock and let the kids color them and I cut them out. I did wind up stapling them together because it made it easier for little hands.

Petland to Pet Puppies- I took the kids to this pet store to show them a bulldog. Plus, who doesn't like petting puppies? Best of all it was free.

Chapter 3
Dissect Owl Pellets- I bought an owl pellet kit on Amazon. I sat down with Bo and we pulled it apart. This was an absolute blast. It was very educational as well.

Chapter 4
Carve Soap-I didn't trust Bo with a knife, so I picked something safer. Take a bar of Ivory soap (it's soft and not too crumbly) and draw a shape on it that you would like to carve. Using a popsicle stick carve away all of the soap on the outside of your shape. Do this over a tray to collect the shavings or you will have a mess.

Pancake Men- Ma made pancake men for the girls. Make your favorite batter and pour it into the shape of a man. Body, head, arms, and legs. This was another exciting activity for the kids. Page 92 of the cookbook.

Knitting- We finger knit because it was simpler. Bo tried, but quickly lost interest because he wouldn't listen to instructions and therefore couldn't make anything. We used this site for directions.
Lung Model- This was to show how a lung works. Cut a water bottle in half and take off the lid. Tape a balloon to a straw and put it in top half of the bottle. The balloon should be in the bottle and the straw poking out of the top. Cover the rest of the mouth of the bottle with play dough. This helps hold in the straw in place. Cut off the stem of another balloon and stretch it over the large opening at the bottom. Blow into the straw and watch your lung breath.

Snow Candy- I used the recipe on page 192.
Clove Apple- We didn't have time to do this activity, but I will go ahead and explain it. Take an apple and shove cloves into it. Then set it out to smell good. It's very simple.
Carver- We went to George Washington Carver State Park. I picked this location because it has a nice walk, but more importantly there's a house that would be a similar size to the little house in the big woods.

Chapter 5
Baths- We didn't do this because once again we didn't have time, but I will share my idea. Fill up a tub with warm water. Put it in the middle of some chairs and hang up blankets around them. Jump in with a bar of soap and take a bath like Laura.
Paper Quilt- I cut out 4 squares of white paper. The kids decorated the squares and I glued them down to some construction paper to make a quilt. It was very simple, which I loved.

Butter Cookies- I used this recipe.

Chapter 6
Tin Can Lantern- Clean out a tin can. Fill it with water and let it freeze. Use a hammer and nail to poke holes in the can. Let the ice melt and the can dry. Add a tea light and you've got a lantern! Bo enjoyed this one a lot.

Rye 'n' Injun Bread- We didn't make it because it was too intensive to do with the short time that we had. The recipe is on page 86.
Milk Cow- I loved this activity. Take a latex glove and poke holes in the finger tips with a needle. Fill the glove with water and tie it up somewhere. Put a bowl below and milk away. Sissy really liked doing this one. Bo was just glad he doesn't have to do this for all the milk that he drinks.

Chapter 7
Candles- Melt some candle wax (I found it at Hobby Lobby). Put small pieces into a glass jar and place the jar in almost boiling water. Stir the wax to help it all melt. Cut a length of wick for your candle. Dip the wick into the melted wax then a jar of cold water. Repeat this until your candle is a decent size. You can touch the candles to shape them after you dip them in water. Bo and I enjoyed this one.

Wildcat- We went to Wildcat simply because we enjoy the trip. There's a walking trail, nature center, and a spring to wade in. In the woods, we talked about what it would be like to see nothing but the woods all the time.

Maple Syrup- This was once again just a taste test, but I forgot to do it.


Chapter 8
Square Dance- If we had more kids, we would have gotten up and danced, but we didn't so we just watched the video.


Chapter 9
Play barefoot- This is obvious and simple. Try walking on the grass, dirt, gravel, and sand. If children don't go barefoot often this will be a new experience.
Covered Wagon- We had a covered wagon kit, but it was way above his ability level, so we quit and moved on.
Store- I put things (candies, bracelets, toy, necklaces, etc.) in jars. Each jar had a price between 1 and 5 cents. I gave "Pa" 10 cents for his "rabbit fur." He was then allowed to go to the store and buy things. He really liked this.

Chapter 10
Picnic- I had school so we didn't get to go, but my plan was kinda fun. I was going to take the foods or something similar to what is listed in the chapter.
Collect Rocks- This was going to happen on our picnic, but we didn't get to go. I was going to let each kid collect rocks and paint them when we got home.
Schimihorn- This is a park with a river running through it. It was going to be the location for the picnic and rock collecting.
Cheese- We didn't have time because of school. The recipe is on page 172.


Chapter 11
Balance Beam- We took a 2x4 and walked on it. This was to simulate a fence rail like Charlie walked on.

Nut Taste- I just picked one of each kind of nut from a tub of mixed nuts. I let Bo try each one and told him what kind it was. He liked them all.

Chapter 12
Stump Jump- This was the game the cousins played. We didn't have stumps, so I drew circles on the patio and we jumped on them.

Chapter 13
Survival Kit- I explained what each item could be used for and asked him what he thought. It all went into the Altoids tin. Not pictured is a card with his name, address, and phone numbers for Mom, Dad, Mia (grandma), and me. Here is the explanation I gave or he offered for each item.

Pencil- mark how many days have gone by, what you last remember seeing

Pencil sharpener- sharpen the pencil, put a small stick in there to make little pieces to start a fire

3 sizes of safety pins- fishing hook, tore your pants

Paper clips- wire, fishing hooks

Band Aid- booboos

Compass- hopefully help you get back

Candle- light, start a fire

String- tie stuff up, fishing

Balloons- hold water, send up a note, inflate and tie to string and safety pin, it acts like a bobber

Magnifying glass- remove splinter, look at bugs, make a fire

Here's what we did!
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5

That is all for this book. This post is also available to download here. I hope you got some good ideas. Please leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow us on social media.

Little House in the Big Woods Week 5

We finished Little House in the Big Woods this week! 

Monday they did bags and boxes. They just traded boxes this week. 

After we went swimming we read the chapter about Pa helping Uncle Henry with the oats and the cousins playing stump jump. I started drawing circles on the ground and Bo yells, "We're playing stump jump!" He's beginning to figure out that I am in fact crazy.

Tuesday we once again did bags and boxes before I went to school.

After I got home we went swimming and read our chapter. We talked about Charlie walking on the fence rail. We weren't about to do that so we did a balance beam closer to the ground instead.

In our chapter it talked about the kinds of nuts the girls gathered. Bo and I did a nut tasting. He had cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, and pecans. He liked them all, which surprised me.

Wednesday we did bags, boxes, and went outside for a bit before school.

Once Amelia laid down Bo and I made a survival kit for him. I explained what each item could be used for and asked him what he thought. It all went into the Altoids tin. Not pictured is a card with his name, address, and phone numbers for Mom, Dad, Mia (grandma), and me. Here is the explanation I gave or he offered for each item.

Pencil- mark how many days have gone by, what you last remember seeing

Pencil sharpener- sharpen the pencil, put a small stick in there to make little pieces to start a fire

3 sizes of safety pins- fishing hook, tore your pants

Paper clips- wire, fishing hooks

Bandaid- booboos

Compass- hopefully help you get back

Candle- light, start a fire

String- tie stuff up, fishing

Balloons- hold water, send up a note, inflate and tie to string and safety pin so it acts like a bobber

Magnifying glass- remove splinter, look at bugs, make a fire

His page this week isn't complete because we didn't get through all the chapters I thought we would. It has something for the first day of Farmer Boy, which we will start next week.

Little House in the Big Woods Week 4

This week I started school. I now only have the kids 3 days a week and a 2 hour chunk of those days are spent in class. Field trips will be fewer until school lets out.

This week Bo had an Egyptian box. The base is sand and the characters are from the Egypt Toob.

Amelia's was a pond box. The base is water and water beads. The animals came from the River Toob and the lilly pads are cut from green craft foam. They will switch boxes next week.

Tuesday we did boxes and bags. We talked about square dancing and tracking animals, but didn't do anything with that.

Wednesday they once again did boxes, but we went swimming instead of doing bags.

I set up a "store."  "Pa" had skinned a rabbit and earned ten cents from the fur.  ;)  He had to decide what to buy and figure out how much money he owed the "shop keeper." I was very impressed with his abilities here.

Thursday we did bags and boxes. Somebody put sunscreen on the kids, but forgot to do herself and was a bit crispy and didn't want to go swimming.

After Amelia went to sleep we watched a video on honey making. Bo filled out his notebook page and I gave him this page I found on bees to add in there too.

This was the completed page for this week. Up top is a drone bee and some honey. Down below is the difference in deer tracks and human tracks and a buck.

We also made popsicles, but they weren't solid when I left so they ate them with Mom later. Somebody really enjoyed hers.

Little House in the Big Woods Week 3

Though only 3 days, we had another mighty fine week!

Tuesday we went to Wildcat. Right off we found a turtle!

They did bags and boxes when they got home.

We made a paper quilt together. We colored the squares and glued them onto brown paper.

Wednesday we "milked a cow." It was decided that we are glad we don't have to do this to get milk every morning. To make this simply poke holes in the finger tips of latex gloves with a needle. Fill it with water and tie it to the back of a chair. Sissy really liked it.

Then they did bags, while I...

MADE COOKIES! They were simple butter cookies like Ma might have made. I found the recipe on Pinterest. They were delicious.

Bo worked on his page in his folder.

Then we went outside and made a punched tin lantern. To make this freeze water in an empty tin can. Then using a hammer and a nail punch holes in the tin. The ice keeps it from denting. Let the ice melt and you have a little lantern.

Side note: The ice is fun to hit with a hammer once it melts enough you can get it out of the can.

Thursday we did bags and boxes.

Bo and I dipped candles, while Amelia napped. To make this, melt candle wax in a jar. I used a mason jar in a pot of boiling water. Cut a length of wick and dip it in the wax. Let it drip for a minute and then dip it not another mason jar of cold water. Repeat until the candle is a good width. It is cool enough that you can touch it once it has been dipped in the water. This allows you to form it into shapes. I found the supplies at Hobby Lobby.

Little House in the Big Woods Week 2

Week 2 is said and done! Everybody was out of town on Monday, so we only had 3 days this week.

Tuesday we went to George Washington Carver Park. We thought we could beat the rain. We were wrong, but it was still fun. We saw (I almost grabbed) a snake. After getting soaked on the trail, we went through the museum. It included animals, plants, and examples of furniture from that time. We got to go to a one room school set up in there too. It's very interactive and perfect for kids. Nobody was ready to leave, but when 2 buses of students arrived we left. We saw how big a little cabin would be and also a house about the same size as what the house in the Big Woods was. We talked about out houses, sleeping arrangements, the kitchen, and the living room. Bo's glad that his house isn't that small.

Bo's box this week was birds. The base is grass from the Dollar Tree. The nest we made a few summers back and the birds are from the Bird Toob.

Amelia's was a dog box. The base is dog food. The dogs are from a Dog Toob. Both boxes were very simple and they will trade next week!

Of course we did boxes and bags Tuesday after we got back home and dry.

While Amelia slept, Bo and I read chapter 3. This has the story of Pa and the owl. We watched a video on owls and then dissected an owl pellet. It was very exciting! You can find them on Amazon pretty cheap. Bo found a skull and lots of other bones.

Wednesday we started chapter 4, where Ma makes pancake men. I had never made pancakes, but they turned out just fine according to the kids.

It finally got sunny, so we played outside for a long time. Then it was boxes and bags again.

While the littles napped, Bo and I carved soap like Pa whittled Ma's shelf. We used Ivory soap because it's soft and not terribly crumbly. Using craft sticks we drew a shape and carved it out. I attempted a heart and Bo made a claw. This went very well. He loved it!

We also talked about our lungs. To show him how they worked I made a lung model. All the kids got a kick out of it. To make it cut a water bottle in half as you only need the top. Make it long enough a balloon can fit inside. Cut the stem off of a ballon and stretch it around the large hole on the bottom (my white ballon). Next tape another balloon (red) to a straw (blue) so that no air can escape and you can blow up the balloon. Stick the ballon down into the bottle. Cover up the opening around the straw with some play dough (yellow). Now blow into your straw. It was an excellent model, I thought.

This was Bo's page this week. We stapled in a baggie with everything we found in the owl pellet. We also watched a video on rabies (in the story of Uncle Peter's dog keeping the aunt from getting water from the spring it mentioned the dog going mad). Bo filled in what he learned about rabies from the video. It makes animals drool. You get it from getting bit. Humans can get it too.

Thursday it was finally nice outside. The children had been stuck inside together for too long and were arguing all morning. I decided that we were going to the park. We spent 3 hours there and had a wonderful picnic. They played in some water on the rocks and then again on a splash pad. They played hard all day and crashed when we got home. Everybody got some space away from each other and were in much better moods too!

While the kids slept, Bo and I tried finger knitting (Ma knit mittens in chapter 4). Bo wasn't a fan because it took too long, which I figured. We also made snow candy like Laura and Mary did. Since it's May in Missouri we had to use an ice shaver to make some snow. Then we brought 1/4 cup of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of dark molasses to 245 degrees. Then using a measuring cup we dribbled it on our "snow". Then came the taste test. We both agreed that it was TERRIBLE!