Our Little House in the Big Woods Lesson Plan

I remember when I was in third grade. Somehow, I had convinced my mother - who then had to convince my penny-pinching Irish father - that I wanted needed the complete collection of Little House on the Prairie Books. I grew up in Wisconsin. Every day, after school, I ran home from the bus stop to watch Little House on the Prairie from 4pm - 5pm on channel 9. Ten miles from my home, we had our own little pioneer village. I was at one with Half Pint. My mother purchased the books for me, and boy, was I proud of them! SO proud, in fact, that the very next day I took them to school for show and tell. Unfortunately, on my way to show and on my way to tell, I fell down in a snow bank and the paperback copies of the books were destroyed. I was heartbroken, ashamed, and afraid to tell my mother. I told her, she assured me it was ok, but I didn’t ask for anymore books after that, afraid the same thing would happen again.

Now that my daughter is eight, I am forcing introducing her to Half Pint, Mary, and Baby Carrie. Reading the Little House series is apart of the curriculum that I have created for her. I think it teaches her a lot of important things, as well as teaching her about the area that her Mama comes from. This has an added appeal to her, as I she received the first season of the television show on DVD as a Christmas gift and we do have a lot of fun snuggling up with one another in my room and watching it while my husband productively spends his time playing Resident Evil or some other zombie killing game in the living room.

Our vocabulary for the first book, Little House in the Big Woods, is as follows:

basque
basswood
bladder
brindle bulldog
butcher
buttermilk
calico
cameo
catechism
churn
cowhorn
corset
crescent
curlicues
curried
deerlick
delaine
fawn
fiddle
fierce
flannel
flatiron
flounce
gaiters
griddle
gunpowder
gunstock
hasty pudding
headcheese
hearth
heifer
hickory
hoop
hull
jackknife
johnnycake
kerosene
lantern
latchstring
mink
mufflers
muskrats
muzzle
panther
pantry
petticoats
quivered
ramrod
ravine
rennet
rind
sap
savage
scalp
shock
slender
spareribs
spices
stalk
stout
sulk
thimble
thrashing
thresh
threshing machine
trough
trundle bed
venison
washtub
whetstone
whey
wisp
woodbox
yearling

We use this words as our spelling words and as practice in using reference books.

We have been making our bread from scratch, so she gets a bit of an idea of what goes into that. We also made two batches of Apple Cinn. jelly. Next week we are making cheese!

Easy White Cheese

Great for breading and frying, stir-frying with vegetables, or by itself, this mild cheese will keep refrigerated for one week.

1 gallon milk
2 T. lemon juice
3 T. white vinegar

Pour milk into a large enamel pot. Slowly bring the temperature up to 180F. This may take an hour. Stir frequently to prevent scorching, and hold the temperature at 180F for four minutes. Combine vinegar and lemon juice and add to the milk, stirring gently, until the curds separate form the whey. Line a colander with cheesecloth, and pour the contents of the pot. Tie the corners of the cheescloth together to form a bag and let it hang to drain for three hours. The cheese will be solid when its ready. Wrap and refrigerate. Yield: one pound. Variation: Herbed Easy White Cheese — Add 1� teaspoon dried chives and � teaspoon dillweed to the curds before hanging.

And we are making maps of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Of course a Little House in the Big Woods unit would not be complete without making a handkerchief doll.

And our poem for memorization is :

Pioneer Dolls

By Judie Fordham

Judie Fordham, “Pioneer Dolls,” Friend, July 1992, 27
When pioneer children were crossing the plains,
They didn’t have cars, airplanes, or trains.
They walked beside wagons loaded clear to the top
With food, bedding, and seeds for the next season’s crop.
There just wasn’t room for a toy or a doll—
The wagons were filled with all they could haul.
So Papa’s handkerchief became a new toy,
A cherished soft doll that brought lots of joy.
This cute little doll loves to play or just sleep.
She’ll brush away tears if ever you weep.
So keep her close by—she’s easy to hold—
And pretend you’re a pioneer child of old.

Our big project, though, is to make a log cabin and all of the furnishings inside. The Dollar Tree has craft sticks for $1.00 and although it is a long way from actual logs, that is going to be the walls to our cabin. We are going to gather small rocks and clay for the fireplace.

This week's art project

Multiple Blessings

There are many different things I want to blog about: the show Toddlers and Tiaras, home school panic for a first-timer, custody battles and how fun they are not, alligator safety classes that I was offered, and many others, but tonight I feel compelled to blog a bit more personal.

The past year has been a difficult one. When I say it was a difficult one, I am not exaggerating in the least. In fact, it was probably the most difficult year of my life, which says a lot considering some of the experiences I have had on this wild and crazy journey. I found out horrible things that happened to one of my children, dealt with a nasty custody battle, found out that someone in my family suffers from mental illness, continued to deal with the loss of a parent, said good bye to two of my children, and really lost who I was. Some of the difficulties were my fault, consequences of bad decisions or wrong decisions. Some of the difficulties were caused by secrets that didn't need to be kept. Some difficulties were caused by change and adjustment, while others were caused by a broken system that is beginning to leave children behind. Despite the difficulties and gut-wrenching, heartbreaking moments, we made it through - as individuals, as a family - together and have lived to tell about it.

Recently, change found itself in my life again, this time relocating not from the North to the South, but from the city to the country. Again I find myself in a situation where I don't know anyone, though I have found myself in contact with a local home school group and have been extended such sweet gestures of kindness that words to not adequately describe how appreciated they are. I find us starting our life over again, but this time, under better circumstances. I am in a much better place. Swamp Daddy is in a much better place. Cleo is in a much better place. This move, although resistant at first, has proven to be the path that we need to be on. I know that this is the path that we need to be on because when you are on the right path, things tend to fall into place.

I remember a few months ago, when I was beginning to examine my faith again, I prayed for peace. I prayed that I would be in a situation where I didn't worry about my safety all of the time. I prayed for a home that fit my family, instead of trying to fit my family into a home. I prayed for the emotional well-being of my husband and children. I prayed that we could really begin to live our life again, instead of just treading life with our necks above water - whether it was because of time restraints, safety issues, finances, or just plain fear of taking a risk. I never really gave it much thought after that night. I let go of what was weighing me down and that was that.

Looking back now, however, I find myself realizing exactly how much we have been looked out for and taken care of. With this move, comes financial freedom. We are buying our home on land contract. What we now pay for our house payment and all utilities equates what we were paying just for rent in New Orleans. No more outrageous electric bills on top of it. Or expensive cell phone bills. Or Directv bills. Or high -priced Internet bills. That is saving over $600/month. Addi tonally, I have found that things like milk, bread, and gas are a bit cheaper out here. AND my husband took advantage of an opportunity presented to him and he is now making much more money at his job than he did previously. I no longer have anxiety attacks. I have slept through the night every single night since we have been out here, something that hadn't happened in the city for nearly a year.

My anxiety - or lack thereof - has made family life much happier as well. I am no longer worried about what is going to happen. I am actually able to enjoy my family again and because I am no longer a bag of nerves, I think that they can again enjoy me. I feel like I finally have a life again. Or maybe I am finally mature enough to know what I want my life to be.

I feel really humbled tonight by the beautiful things that are happening in my life. I feel very blessed to have a husband who works so hard for our family and works equally hard at caring for me and making me happy. I am very blessed to have a daughter who thinks her mom is the coolest person ever, that loves the things I love, and teaches me about the things that I don't. I am amazed by this area in Louisiana where things are a little slower pace but the heart beat of the state is only down the road.

Seasoning Cast Iron

One of the things that I actually do like about moving is being able to take an inventory of things that you have, things that you need, and things that you just plain want. For me, being the ever-exciting person that I am, that means getting new cookware. While packing and unpacking, I noticed that my kitchen was missing a very important staple for any meat-loving carnivore - the cast iron skillet. Since I was a child up in Wisconsin, the cast iron skillet meant fresh venison, steak, or pork. It mean good food with unique flavors. It mean generations of my family sharing, as my mother's cast iron skillet was passed from my grandmother, who purchased it when she first arrived in the United States and fed my father's family with it.

Did you know, though, that when you buy a new cast iron skillet or dutch oven, you should season it? Why? Seasoning prevents the iron from interacting with food, prevents rusting, and creates a natural non-stick surface to cook on. Cast iron pots and pans will last a lifetime if properly taken care of and seasoning the skillet or dutch oven is just one way to make sure you get all the use out of it that you can.

To season cast iron, first wash and try the pan well. Place the pan over low heat to insure that all of the moisture has been released from the porous surface. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. After the dutch over or pan is completely dry, coat the pan with vegetable oil. DO NOT use butter or shortening as they are saturated fats and can create a nasty stench during storage. After the whole skillet or dutch oven - inside and out - is coated in vegetable oil, place upside down on the cookie sheet and in the oven for 1 hour. After that hour, turn off the heat and let it sit in the oven with the door closed until the oven and the skillet or dutch oven completely cool. This can take a few hours. After all is completely cooled, remove and wipe with a paper towel and your iron skillet has been seasoned!

If you begin to notice a metallic taste when cooking, it is possible that your cast iron is rusting. This happens when pans are not properly seasoned, dried, or are allowed to sit in water and soak. If you find this happening, a good washing and seasoning should clear the problem up.

Our Daily Bread

I have many memories of my childhood, waiting patiently while the house filled with the aroma of warm bread baking in the oven - taunting me. When it came out of the oven, I would watch my mother butter the top of each loaf, waiting for her to tell me it was time to have a slice - ah, just the thought of it makes me crave the carb-filled yummy goodness of my youth, because you know no matter how hard you try, you simply cannot recreate what your mother made. Just. Not. Happening.

With the prices of groceries now, and the fact that I am home all day click-clacking away and teaching Cleo, I have the time and the opportunity to make homemade bread each day. Swamp Daddy loves it. Cleo loves it and I find it oddly therapeutic - particularly kneading the dough on an especially stressful day. The added bonus is that it is so much cheaper to make bread than it is to buy bread. The average loaf of bread here in Southern Louisiana is $2.75. By buying flour, yeast, and vegetable oil in bulk, I can make a loaf of bread for approximately 53 cents. Yes, 53 cents. That's saving $2.22 per loaf and when you go through a loaf a bread every few days, the savings per month really adds up. (The savings from making bread alone pays for the Internet service each month) Plus, it is healthier without all of the preservatives and garbage put into manufactured food and homemade is ALWAYS better!

You can make more than one loaf and freeze it, take it out in the morning and it is ready to be put into the oven in the afternoon or evening. Time saver, fo sho!

Here's the recipe I use for your simple loaf of white or wheat bread:

3 cups flour (white or wheat)

1-teaspoon salt

1 package, or 2 teaspoons yeast

1-tablespoon sugar (or brown sugar, or honey)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup of lukewarm water.

1. First, mix your dry ingredients, and then add oil and water. Stir with a fork or spoon until sticky and stiff.
2. Turn your dough onto a floured counter top, and knead for a full 5 minutes.
3. Place your dough back into the bowl and cover with oil, move dough around so all sides are covered.
4. Place your dough into a warm spot, free of drafts with a cover (such as a table linen, or dishcloth) and let it set for about 2 hours.
5. After it has set, take it out and “punch” it down to release any built up air inside, knead again.
6. Place dough into very well greased loaf pans, and let it rise again for about an hour.
7. Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for roughly 30-40 minutes.

Welcome Home

We exited the car, not saying much, but feeling the significance of this moment. I looked at my husband, he at me, both of us at our daughter.

"Ready?" I asked to no one in particular, but waiting for an answer from someone.

We lined up, my husband first and then I, my daughter completing our sequence from biggest to smallest or tallest to littlest, depending on your perspective and definition of biggest. Our silence wasn't that of the somberness that is experienced in saying good bye, but of the solemn beauty that comes with the closure of one changer and the beginning words of another. It was comfortable silence - deep, heavy, comfortable silence.

The potpourri of pastel colors shaped into flowers, marred with silver streaks created by scraping, entered the lock on the door knob, my husband jiggling it to get it to perform its intended task. A few more jiggles up, down, and left and the lock pops and with a turn of the knob, the door is open in one of those Ta-DA moments that you see on television where the path to salvation is illuminated by a glimmering, silver light and angels sing.

"Our home, Papa Bear," I say, hugging him around the waist, taking this emotion in. Our. Home. He kisses my forehead and my daughter joins us for one of those family hugs that blankets during celebration and comforts during dark times. We stood in our new living room, enamored with the space and carpet and quiet. To our right was a hallway, leading to bedroom one, bathroom one, and bedroom two. we walked down the hall, appreciating the height of the ceilings, the newly laid carpet at our feet, and the central heating and air unit on the wall.

"This can be my toy room!" my daughter said as we entered the first bedroom. She must have been giving this some serious thought because she then dictated where everything would go.

"Oh! My very own bathroom and shower! It needs to be pink!" she say, bouncing up and down, a smile wide and eyes bright.

"And for company, " I interject.

"My very own bathroom for me and company," she corrects herself, then grabs my hand to lead me to the main attraction - her bedroom.

"Mom, Swamp Daddy, look!" she said with an excitement children reserve for special things like Christmas and Easter, "I have not one, but TWO windows!"

My husband and I look at each other and smile.

"And look! Look! Look at my big closet! And shelves! Look how big it is!"

"I know, baby! Look how lucky you are!"

"This is the best house ever! I love this house!" she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm glad! Mommy really loves this house, too!" I said, with tears now forming in my eyes.

We make our way back down the hallway, across the living room, and into the kitchen. We are greeted on one side by cupboards, drawers, a dishwasher, and the refrigerator and on the other side more cupboards and the stove. A little bit further down is a pantry, a dining area, an utility closet with a washer and dryer. New appliances, the lot of them. Then into the bedroom and the master bedroom with two sinks, the garden tub, the walk-in closet, the shower, and the commode.

"Do you like it, Papa Bear?" I ask, knowing the opinion held by the easily excitable feminine elements of our family.

"I don't like the wall paper, but it does have so much more room and I love being out in the sticks," he said.

"So..." I ask, waiting to get the appropriate girl response I am hoping for.

"I'm glad we have our home, Baby Bear."

I beam.

"Me, too!" my daughter add.

Our home. Our first real home.