Little House on the Prairie

For the past two months we've done a Little House on the Prairie unit with our good friends. We listened to a couple of the books on audio and then met together weekly to do some different projects.

They made 9 patch quilts by hand. This was a big project for my girls as they don't have much experience sewing, nor do we have a sewing machine. Not only did they sew the 9 patches together and sew on the batting, they also hand-quilted designs. 

Sydney's...

she designed the flame and dragons and the quilted the letters JAN 

in the center row (for her nickname)

Kayleigh's

One week we made butter and cornbread

Another week we made ladles out of gourds

And we also made homemade candles

The girls thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm grateful for a friend who made it all happen!

We ended the unit study with a short play that my friend put together, complete with costumes. I took several photos and wrote out the script below in case you are interested.

Indians in the House

Narrator: We shall present a scene from Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The characters are:

Laura Ingalls, read by Kayleigh Foley

her well-behaved sister, Mary, ready by Sydney Foley

their Ma, a quiet but courageous woman, read by Angelina Utt

 and their Pa, a fair, honest man, read by Abby Utt

I, Rick Utt, am the narrator

Since the Ingalls family moved west, Laura has hoped to see Indians. Even though their log cabin stands close to an old Indian trail, Laura has been disappointed, until one day her father goes hunting, leaving the dog, Jack, to guard his home and family.

Pa: "no, Jack. You must stay here and guard the place while I go shoot some meat for our dinner." (to Laura and Mary) "Don't let him loose girls."

Narrator: Laura and Mary feel sorry for Jack and play near him all morning. Suddenly, as Jack stands and growls, Laura sees two strange men walking toward the house.

Laura: "Mary, look!"

Mary: "Indians!"

Laura: "Jack's here. Jack won't let them hurt us. We'll be safe if we stay close to Jack."

Mary: "They're in the house. They are in the house with Ma and Carrie."

Laura: "Oh, what are they doing to Ma?"

Mary: "Oh, I don't know!"

Laura: "I'm going to let Jack loose. Jack will kill them."

Mary: "Pa said not to."

Laura: "he didn't know Indians would come."

Mary: "He said not to let Jack loose."

Laura: "I'm going in to help Ma!"

Narrator: The girls tear themselves away from Jack's protection and force themselves to enter the cabin. Standing before the hearth are the two Indian men demanding with stony-faced gestures that Ma cook a meal for them. Laura watches from behind a wooden plank until satisfied at last, the men stalk out.

Ma: (sigh)

Mary: "Do you feel sick, Ma?"

Ma: "No, I'm just thankful they're gone."

Laura: "They smelled awful."

Ma: "That was the skunk skins they wore."

Laura: "When we saw them go into the house, we left Jack and came inside because we were afraid the Indians would hurt you and baby Carrie."

Ma: "You were brave little girls. Now we must get dinner. Pa will be here soon and we must have dinner ready for him. Mary, bring me some wood. Laura, you may set the table."

Narrator: Laura had just finished setting the table when Pa arrives home.

Laura: "Pa! Oh Pa! Indians!"

Pa: "Indians? So you've seen Indians at last, have you, Laura? I noticed they have a camp in a little valley west of here. Did Indians come to the house, Caroline?"

Ma: "Yes, Charles, two of them. I'm sorry but they took all your tobacco and they ate a lot of cornbread. They pointed to the cornmeal and made signs for me to cook some. I was afraid not to. Oh Charles! I was afraid!"

Pa: "You did the right thing. We don't want to make enemies of any Indians. Whew! What a smell."

Ma: "They wore fresh skunk skins. And that was ALL they word."

Pa: "Must have been thick while they were here."

Ma: "It was, Charles. We were short of cornmeal, too."

Pa: "Oh well. We have enough to hold out a while yet. And our meat is running all over the country. Don't worry, Caroline."

Ma: "But they took all your tobacco."

Pa: "Nevermind. I'll get along without tobacco till I can make that trip to Independence. The main thing is to be on good terms with the Indians. We don't want to wake up some night with a band of the screeching...

Ma: (shakes her head at him)

Pa: "Come on Mary and Laura! We'll skin that rabbit and dress the prairie hens while that cornbread bakes. Hurry! I'm hungry as a wolf!"

Narrator: The girls sat on the woodpile in the wind and sunshine and watched Pa work with his hunting knife.

Pa: I'll salt this skin and peg it out on the house wall to dry. It will make a warm fur cap for some little girl to wear next winter."

Laura: "If we had turned Jack loose, he would have eaten those Indians right up."

Pa: "Did you girls even think of turning Jack loose?"

Laura: "Yes, Pa."

Pa: "After I told you not to?"

Mary: "Yes, Pa." (very near tears)

Pa: (sigh) "After this, girls, you always remember to do as you're told. Don't you even think of disobeying me. Do you hear?"

Laura and Mary: "Yes, Pa."

Pa: "Do you know what would have happened if you had turned Jack loose?"

Laura and Mary: "No, Pa."

Pa: "He would have bitten those Indians. Then there would have been trouble. Bad trouble. Do you understand?"

Laura: "Would they have killed Jack?"

Pa: "Yes. And that's not all. You girls remember this: you do as you're told, no matter what happens."

Mary: "Yes, Pa."

Laura: "Yes, Pa."

Pa: "Do as you're told and no harm will come to you."

Narrator:  It is not easy for Laura to be obedient. Sometimes she feels jealous of Mary, who seems to truly enjoy being good. But on the wide, flat prairie each is the other's only playmate. The months of building a new home and preparing for the future give the girls, as well as their parents, busy days filled with work, play and many exciting challenges.