Educational Adventures in Arizona

Monday, November 12, 2007

LIFE & TIMES OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER ~ November 10, 2007

This field trip combined lots of fun with learning about history, and it was a gorgeous day – neither too chilly nor too warm, but just right! About 20 kids (ages 4-12) and 14 parents showed up with the Desert Hills CHristian Homeschoolers group. Sharon Cullers, a homeschool mom, was our tour guide. She was assisted by her daughter and daughter-in-law.
First we went to visit the Bank and Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff locked up our lunches in the jail for safekeeping.

Then we got to sit inside the old church and take a group picture on the front steps, and after that we peeked into the teacherage.
Next door, we had “class” in the one-room schoolhouse.

The kids got to sit at the old school desks, while Mrs. Cullers taught us about the life and times of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the Little House on the Prairie book series.

At recess the kids played old-fashioned games – they rolled hoops around, played tug of war, and jumped rope. My son Jon exclaimed, “Wow, who knew that these old games could be so much fun!”

We got to watch a gun fight and pose for a picture with the gunfighters after the show.

After that, we ate a picnic lunch on the village green and learned how to do the Virginia Reel.

Then we went to the blacksmith shop, where the blacksmith showed us how they used to make tools, horseshoes, and nails.
We looked at the Exhibit Hall, and from there we walked over to a large log cabin from the1880's. This is where we made butter, candles, and rope.
Even though we were at Pioneer Village the whole day long (8:30 am to 4:30 pm), the time sure went fast! One girl said “This was the best day of my life!”

Here is an article that I wrote several years ago about Laura Ingalls Wilder: www.knowledgehouse.info/njfklaura.html . It has a recipe for making homemade butter, similar to what we made at the place. Yum! This was the third time that our family has done this field trip and we always enjoy it!

Did You Know…? Whenever school attendance was impossible because of distance or weather, Laura was taught by her mother at home. Later, Laura homeschooled her own daughter Rose.

“I believe it would be much better for everyone if children were given their start in education at home. No one understands a child as well as his mother, and children are so different that they need individual training and study. A teacher with a room full of pupils cannot do this. At home, too, they are in their mother’s care. She can keep them from learning immoral things from other children.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

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