Customer Reviews

The Prairie Primer: Literature Based Unit Studies Utilizing the "Little House" Series

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Laura Ingall Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series is amongst the most often recommended read-alouds in homeschooling circles. In fact, the complete nine-book series provided our family's earliest chapter book read-aloud experiences. Since that time we've re-read favourite books from the series - particularly Farmer Boy - but we've never sought to mine the historical treasures to be found in these beloved fictional autobiographies.

The next time we read through the Little House series we'll have Margie Gray's excellent unit study The Prairie Primer in hand. Gray provides an in-depth study of the series that can be completed in one or two years alongside the novels and other recommended supplementary resources. Incorporating history, language arts, science, domestic arts, Bible, character development and fine art, this guide for students in grades three through six can easily be adjusted to involve older and younger students for an educational experience the entire family can enjoy.

Clearly organized for easy use, Gray makes the lesson planning process simple for busy mothers. If you've tried planning your own unit studies from scratch you'll appreciate the effort that goes into choosing appropriate resources, developing activities and conducting research. Gray's provision of a general overview to each book (including relevant historical and background information), weekly planning guides that are invaluable in gathering knowledge and material in advance, and the clearly laid out daily lesson plans with scheduled readings, comprehension questions and a plethora enrichment activities are the keys to a simple unit study.

While the presentation and organization pull everything together for homeschooling parents, the content is excellent as well. Reading through the Primer provided an additional level of depth and understanding as Gray tied together Ingall's life with historical events, revealed the actual chronological order of the events of the books, and shared additional background information from Ingall's life. Reproducible worksheets and forms are also included for suggested learning activities which correlate with the portion of text studied that day.

The daily activities provide far more options than a typical homeschooling family will be able to accomplish in a single day. Many times lengthy assignments are suggested, involving research, report writing, and presentation - a project requiring more than a single day's effort. Picking and choosing from the available activities will result in your children learning through a variety of modalities (visual, hands-on, tactile, auditory etc.) while working in a number of subject areas each day.

Of particular interest to Christian parents is the integration of applicable Bible passages and scripture memorization suggestions that are tied into the study of the text, enlivening the selected passages. I still recommend a systematic Bible study in your home apart from thePrimer, as the verses examined are topically included, serving more as character lessons than deep study. This focus upon character and illustration allows for profitable use of the material by Christian families of a wide variety of denominational bents Major doctrinal issues are generally left unexamined while the author maintains a conservative, Christian worldview throughout.

As a homeschooling mother herself, Gray has pulled together as many features to simplify life for the teacher as possible. One such inclusion is an extensive appendix of suggested suppliers for the many recommended resources Gray shares throughout the Primer. Last revised in 2000, some of the suppliers are no longer in business (where am I going to find dry owl pellets for dissection now?), and parents will need to do some extra scouting to find replacement suppliers.

Whether you are interested in using The Prairie Primer to tackle several major subjects for the year, or simply want to use it in conjunction with your family's read through and take advantage of the background information and some light activities, Gray has penned an invaluable resource. The ease of use paired with Ingalls much beloved series guarantees a delightful educational experience for both you and your children.

"The Prairie Primer" is a unit study written to cover the westward movement/pioneer era using Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" book series as the spine. Topics covered in this unit study include: Bible, literature, art, science, creative writing, cooking and history.
The pluses of this curriculum are:
1. The curriculum is extremely affordable. The unit study can be done over a period of one to two years.
2. The study emphasizes character development from a Biblical perspective.
3. The author has included a section on the study of Native Americans.
4. The unit study method works well with all types of learning styles.
5. The unit study method is great for teaching younger students basic library skills. In regard to the older student it reinforces the basic library skills while teaching research skills.
The minuses of this curriculum are:
1. Several of the books which are required for the curriculum have gone out of print. The parent or older student will need to search for materials to replace those which are no longer in print.
Overall I think the concept of studying the life and era of Laura Ingalls Wilder's is a fantastic idea for studying the pioneer era/westward movement of the United States.

I have always loved the Little House books but my interest increased when my oldest child asked me to read them to her at the beginning of our homeschool journey over 7 years ago. We'd sit for hours on the couch reading till my eyes refused to focus on the page anymore. I'd take a short break and dive in again because my daughter was begging for more. How could I say no? I wish we'd found the Prairie Primer back then because we missed out on so much fun. I never knew you could learn so much and touch on so many academic subjects simply from reading one chapter. So far we've read books on manners, watched videos on light, bears, owls, gun safety, cleaning house... we even successfully made butter and we're only on day 4.

This unit study is wonderful. I want to do every activity. In fact it's Sunday and my 2nd daughter wants to "do school" today- that's how much she loves it. I'd also love to try Cadron Creek's Further Up and Further In unit study of the Chronicles of Narnia. Now my problem is there's so much good curricula and so little time. :)

We are very happy homeschoolers and we live near the site where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her books. I was thrilled to find this resource that are individual unit studies based on each of the Little House books bound into one easy book!

Great homeschool resource if you want a unit study. I used it with my two children. They loved it! Highly recommend.

I have to say first off that I do not own this book *yet*. However, I have looked at it often and will buy it when I can. Because it looks to be an amazing way to dive head first into the Little House books.

Most subjects are covered - math, science, reading, history, and more. I believe that anyone living on the Great Plains would be well advised to use this for at least one year of home schooling to learn more about the region.

With this book you really can't push the grade or age. My DD is advanced for her age and I know I have to wait to use this. It would mean a lot of work to adapt it down in age.