Little House in the Big Woods

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder was from the first books we read. The girls really enjoyed it, Alhamdulillah.

Here's a product description from Amazon:

Laura Ingalls's story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. 

Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. And every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa's fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep. 

And so begins Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America's frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story.

In our book club meetings, we discussed what life was like as a pioneer. We talked about the family morals, values and strong work ethic displayed by the characters in the book. 


Here is a list of activities we did with our girls. Try them yourself, or perhaps use them to inspire you for other creative ideas you might have.

• We had the girls make a nature briefcase using manila file folders, twigs and yarn. They were cute! We told them to keep all the book club activity sheets in their new briefcases.
• One of the mothers made simple corn husk dolls for the girls. 
• They attempted to churn their own butter and very soon learned how challenging it was! 
• They made log houses with popsicle sticks. 
• Another mother made maple candy with her daughter

For each book we read and cover, we try to give our girls a club activity pack. These packs will usually contain worksheets printed from various websites and occasionally worksheets that we've put together ourselves. Since we read this book a while ago, I tried going through the links I used to put the activity packs together. Unfortunately, a few of them aren't working anymore. Hopefully, you can use the ones that are still working. I hope they will be of some benefit. Enjoy!


Here's a really nice activity I found on another mothers blog: Practical Pages. Click on the image of the house to check out her post on this activity!

3D Model of Little House in the Big Woods

Word Scramble worksheet

Making butter activity

A series of  pioneer worksheets


Build a pioneer village with these paper models

Little House in the Big Woods Comprehension  worksheets

In addition to the all of these activities, we visited Black Creek Pioneer Village. 

From their website: 

Black Creek is a working village, typical of those established in south central Ontario between the 1790s and the 1860s. At Black Creek you are invited to escape the modern world, and experience Ontario’s rich rural heritage.

The girls really enjoyed their experience. They got to step back into time and really see how pioneers lived their lives. 


Sun Life Financial have sponsored a Museum and Arts Pass (MAP) program. The program offers families passes to a list of art and cultural attractions within Toronto. Each pass admits 2 adults and up to 4 children and are issued by the Toronto Public Library. Black Creek Pioneer Village is on the list of participating venues, so if you're interested in visiting the village and you want to get a hold of a MAP pass, check out your local library. (Toronto only) Click here for more details.