Bugle & Nuts

Uncle George play the bugle in the Army. We talked about how the bugle would tell all of the soldiers to go forward to attack or to retreat (since they didn't have cell phones back then).

Supplies: Paper towel roll, Markers, Scissors, tape.
Print out corresponding sheets from:
http://www.lapbooklessons.com/LittleHouseintheBigWoodsLapbook.html

Our bugles.
Color the bugle page.
Cut it out and tape it on a paper towel tube.
Then we colored the Nuts page.
We talked about the different types of nuts that Mary & Laura would have found in the big woods.
We tasted many types of nuts: Walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, peanuts, and hazelnuts. Then we also tried pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. The girls wrote down their favorite one (which was unanimously cashews!)
We also tried taking off the nut shells using the Nutcracker. (you can see it is hard work...imagine how much work it was to eat basic food back then.)
We can use our bugles to make announcements around our house (to tell the family when dinner is ready or when it is time to brush teeth).


I had to add on this little embellishment to the bugles. The next day, I had some extra Styrofoam cups and plates out from a picnic. Guess what this girl creates! She cut out the bottom of the cup and tapes that on to the paper towel roll.
Then she cut a hole in the middle of the plate and tapes that on to the cup. She told me that, "This looks more like a bugle!" And I had to agree! I love how it flares out. She loves using it to talk or sing into around the house. So from the mind of a 5 year old...use this creative idea to embellish the basic bugle.

Making and Eating Fires

Mary and Laura often helped their Mother cook the meals and back then everything was cooked over a fire so we talked about how to properly build one safely. And then we also painted one to put in our lapbooks.

Supplies Needed to make an edible fire!
Napkin (Safety Circle)
Small Cup with water (Water Bucket)
Graham Cracker (the dirt to build it on)
Raisins (Fire Ring)
Shredded Coconut (Tinder)
Pretzel Sticks (Kindling)
Pretzel Logs (Fuel Logs)
Gum Drops (Fire)

Here is one of the girls finished fires. I think they turned out great!

Here they are putting the ring of rocks around the fire pit to keep the fire contained and adding the kindling to get it started.

Trying to build a teepee with small sticks so the fire has air and wont go out.

Make sure you always have a water bucket close by in case of an emergency!

Almost done just needs some big logs to keep it burning.

They had a lot of fun building them but even more fun eating them when they were finished.

Next we marble painted some flames on our logs to put in our lapbooks.

Supplies needed:

Red and Yellow paint to make orange flames

A pie tin

And some marbles

Put your paper down first drizzle in your paint and then drop the marbles in.

And roll it around

and around,

and around until it looks like this. Then take it out and let it dry and your done.

Another fun day with four cute girls.

Tambourine & Square Dance

Ma & Pa were invited to a Square Dance at Grandpa's house. We decided we would make a tambourine for the occasion.
Supplies needed:
- Paper Plate (We used dessert size plate)
- Hole Punch
- Pipe Cleaner & Wire Cutter (or needle & thread)
- Jingle Bells (4 or 5 per plate)

1. Punch 5 holes around the plate.
2. Adult use wire cutters to cut pipe cleaners into 2 inch sections.
3. Put pipe cleaner through the bell.
4. Twist pipe cleaner to the plate.

It is ready to shake and to make music!
We did a partner square dance to "Turkey in the Straw."

Soap Carving

Pa carved a beautiful wood shelf for Ma, filled with flowers and vines. Today, we carved soap.
Materials:
-Soap
-Pencil (sharpened point, but one with the tip/lead broken off)We used small cookie cutters to outline shapes. Use the pencil to carve into the soap.
This would make a nice gift for Mother.

Pocket full of pebbles

The first time Mary and Laura went into town they were able to stop by the beach to walk along the shore. Laura thought all the stones were so pretty she filled her pocket so full that it torn her dress. We made some little pockets to add to our lapbook we have been working on and then we also painted some stones to make them beautiful.

Coloring and cutting out the pocket.
Sewing it together. We found these wonderful big plastic sewing needles that are great for the girls.
Next they painted their stones all different colors.

And then they added glitter to make them simmer just like the ones Laura found shimmering in the sun by the beach.

Fiddle

Pa played his fiddle for Laura & Mary. Their favorite song was "Pop, Goes the Weasel." Today, we made an instrument.

Supplies:
- tissue box
- paper towel roll
- rubber bands (different thicknesses)
- scissors
- glue or tape

1. With the tissue box, take out the plastic and cut the tissue box into an oval. (Just trimming a little off of the sides).
2. Stretch the rubber bands around the box. We talked about how the thicker rubber bands make a different sound than the thin ones. The same is with a fiddle: the thicker strings have a lower tone than the thin strings.
3. Cut one end of the paper towel roll. Tuck it under the rubberbands to hold it in place. Use glue or tape if needed.
All done.
If you hold it up to your chin, it looks like a fiddle.
What is the difference between a fiddle and violin? Answer: The way it is played. A Fiddler plays Bluegrass or Country type music and a Violinist plays Classical music. The fiddle & violin are the same instrument.
When you hold our homemade instrument to the side, it looks like a guitar.
Our musicians! We sang "Pop, Goes the Weasel" and the girls would POP their fiddle strings.
Then we gathered around the Autoharp. We looked at the strings (thicker & longer-lower, thinner & shorter -higher). Each child took turns strumming it. We sang "Skip to my Lou" while the girls danced to the Autoharp.
Then we documented the activity for our Lap Book.
I love the lap book because even when our fiddles get over-loved and fall apart, we will still have the rubber band in our book to POP. Here is the address for putting the Lap Book together. http://lapbooklessons.com/LittleHouseintheBigWoodsLapbook.html