April Prairie Primer: "Farmer Boy"

 I think Farmer Boy just might be my Prairie Primer favorite simply because of all the wonderful foods we got to try this month. We had some great activities both times we met. The first meeting started out with the kids singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the fiddle. I've always loved that Civil War song. We sang "Amazing Grace" during our second meeting of the month.

Hailey worked on her recitation of 1 Cor 13:1-8. She had it down by the second co-op meeting. Such a great verse to have hidden in your heart.

Josiah, doing the same. Oh wow, his shirt is tucked it! Maybe THAT is why I took this picture, LOL.

Each family did a great job on their presentations. Josiah did his on different types of woods and what each was used for. He explained the differences in hard woods and soft woods. It was very interesting. I gave him the reins on this one and let him do the whole thing by himself. He did a great job and has done his own presentations with minimal help from me since then.

We did a tongue/taste activity. Each child was blind-folded and guessed what they were tasting. The kids really enjoyed this.

As they day wore on, Josiah's hat kept changing. He looks like a 1960s cowboy in this photo. The kids were drawing different stages of the American Flag. I love how even the littlest ones are able to be involved.

Such a poser ;o)

Oh the joy of getting your hands into squishy doughnut dough!

I'm showing the kids how to twist the doughnuts. Making doughnuts in a hoop skirt is not for the faint of heart!

 These are so good! Click here for Almanzo's mother's doughnut recipe. We've been making them for breakfast every couple of weeks, only we use whole wheat pastry flour.

Aw the food! I think this was everybody's favorite Little House potluck yet. Christine is cutting the Rye 'n Injun Bread.

I thought this would be really weird, but after trying it, I can see why Fried Onions and Apples over Bacon was Almanzo's favorite dish.  None of the kids liked it, but the adults loved it.

 Clockwise: Fried Apples and Onions with Bacon, Doughnuts, Ham, Sausage Cakes with Gravy made from Drippin's, and Rye 'n Injun Bread. Are you hungry yet?

Two weeks later, we met again. This is the day Josiah decided NOT to tuck in his shirt, LOL. We had done some candle making as a family earlier in the year. Click here for that post. Again, I let him do the whole thing and I was surprised at how much he remembered. I was very proud of him and HAPPY to not have to do so much work in preparation for PP co-op day.

My friend, Christine, and her boys, talked about different types of wool and brought a beautifully handwoven  wool cloth for the kids to admire.

Hailey and Josiah rocked it on the scripture memorization this time. Going to have to work on not leaning on the podium while talking ;o)

I was in charge of homemade ice cream in a bag. This was really fun and not too hard. Each child was able to make their own small bag which we stored in the freezer to eat after lunch.

 I used masking tape to secure the ziplock bag so we didn't have any ice cream explosions. The brown batter you see is the for Buckwheat Pancakes. Not a favorite with the kids, but the adults liked them.

Each child got to decorate a pot and plant a pumpkin to try growing just like Almanzo.

 The key is to get as much air out of the bag as possible.

The kids worked on identifying the seeds to a plant in the picture. They really enjoyed guessing.

Josiah made everyone homemade eggnog. I confess we did not do it the way the cookbook said too. We cheated and used a blender with my sister's tried and true eggnog recipe. Click here for that. My sis's recipe is also low fat. Josiah HAD to use a dipper just like Almanzo.

Hungry children! As always, ladies first!

Another delicious meal. Clockwise: roast pork, eggnog, apple turnovers, bacon, buckwheat pancakes with maple syrup and succotash. I thought it was all wonderful. All these foods were in "Farmer Boy".  Oh and don't forget the ice cream (not pictured)!

AT the end, after eating our delicious homemade ice cream in a bag, Miss Cora gave the kids the answers to the seed activity. I was surprised at how well they did. 

Well, that is it for Farmer Boy. We are coming into the last leg of our journey as we begin The First Four Years, the last book in the Little House series. I'm beginning to feel nostalgic already and we aren't even done! Thanks for coming along on this journey with us.

God Bless,

Jackie