For the past few weeks, we have been reading and studying Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Over the weeks we have completed many fun activities, so I created a huge Farmer Boy Resource list for you to enjoy.
Unit Studies
- Farmer Boy Literature Study – Simple Living. Creative Learning
- Farmer Boy Lapbook – Marine Corps Nomad
- Farmer Boy Unit – Homeschool Share
- Farmer Boy Lapbook – Homeschool Share
Baking Activities
- Make Fried Apples ‘n’ Onions
- Make Egg Nog
- Make Almanzo’s Mum’s Doughnuts
- Make popcorn from kernels
- Make some simple headcheese
- Make some easy apple vinegar
Craft
- Dye clothing like Almanzo’s mother
- Make your own soap – melt and pour soap is the easiest
- Make a snake door draft to help keep out the winter cold.
Science
- Create an Ice Insulation Experiment
- Create Almanzo’s Popcorn and Milk Experiment
- Research and study the two groups of trees; deciduous or broad lead trees and evergreen trees. Find out which group the trees mentioned in the book belong too.
- Learn about seeds, when to sow them, how they grow and how to store them. These fruit and vegetable notebooking pages may be useful.
- Research snow and where it comes from. How is it made? What is so special about snowflakes? Study this snowflake life cycle.
- Research woollen clothing and how it is made. How is it dyed and treated?
- Horses were mentioned a lot in this book. Research horse breeds and find out about when and how they became domesticated.
- In Almanzo’s time, milk was drunk in its raw form. Research Louis Pasteur and pasteurisation.
- Almanzo took care of his leather moccasins. Research leather and how it is made and which skins of animals can be used.
- Research popcorn. There are numerous types of corn, but only one that pops, which one is it?
- The tin-peddler brought lots of tins for the Wilder family. Research tin and why it was used to create utensils and cookware.
- Research the preservation of food.
- Grow a milk-fed pumpkin
Language Arts
- Pick words in the book that are new to you and create your own Farmer Boy Dictionary
- Write an ‘old-fashioned’ journal of a day or week in the life of a pioneer
- Research the author, Laura Ingalls
History
- Study the history of refrigeration.
- Research the history of maple tapping and how maple syrup is made.
- Study the Declaration of Independence
- Study the history of Independence Day
- Study the history of the song, Yankee Doodle
- Research the history of butchering.
- Research the history of banks
Geography
- Find North America on a map and then New York. Find where you live on the map.
- Research New York, find it on a map and learn all about it