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10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

October 21, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a varied list of 10 Viking explorer project ideas to get you started on a wonderful hands-on unit study. Also, I have this Vikings Lapbook Unit Study and Hands-on Activities.

And we are also going to make a simple Trollen wheel and Viking braid.

Create costume pieces, tools, ancient writings, and more through the tutorials, and learn more about Vikings who ruled the seas from the late 8th century to the 11th.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

For example, a Trollen Wheel is a tool for making patterned cords or ropes and dates back several centuries.

Trollens were traditionally made from organic materials like bone, horn, leather, and wood.

We are going to craft a simple and inexpensive one with cardboard.

While Trollen wheels are used frequently in Viking reenactments it is undetermined if they used them, since none have been found in archeological digs.

However, they did wear braids in their hair as well as adornments on their clothing and the Trollen wheel is a great way to braid intricate decorative braids.

Books About The Vikings

First, add some of these books to your day.

11 Viking Resources & Books for Multiple Ages

Grab some of these books and resources for multiple ages about Vikings.

Viking Adventure

Sigurd, a Viking boy, cannot see the value of learning to read and write. All he can think of is adventure. But then he has an adventure that he cannot help but tell. And to do that, he decides, he must learn to write. A fine story for young readers.

Guts & Glory: The Vikings (Guts & Glory, 2)

From battle-axe-wielding tribes plundering the greatest cities of Europe to powerful kings and queens ruling their dominions with iron fists, the Vikings were some of the most feared and fearless figures in European history. Find the bravest heroes, the most menacing villains, and unbelievably awesome facts and myths inside this action-packed overview that will amaze kids with tales of a people so incredible...it's hard to believe they were real.

Viking: Discover the Story of the Vikings―Their Ships, Weapons, Legends, and Saga of War

The most trusted nonfiction series on the market, Eyewitness Books provide an in-depth, comprehensive look at their subjects with a unique integration of words and pictures. Loaded with superb color photographs of Viking ships and swords, clothes and shields, memorial stones and beautiful brooches, this revised and updated edition of Eyewitness: Viking offers a unique view into the lives of the Norse people and their outstanding achievements.

LEGO Creator Viking Ship

Kids can experience thrilling adventures on land and sea with this 3in1 set featuring a toy Viking ship, Viking house and Fenris wolf figure

A Child's Introduction to Norse Mythology: Odin, Thor, Loki, and Other Viking Gods, Goddesses, Giants, and Monsters

The newest book in the best-selling, award-winning A Child's Introduction series explores the popular and captivating world of Norse mythology. Organized into two parts, part one introduces characters like Odin, the leader of the Norse gods; Thor and his mighty hammer Mjollner; Frigg,
weaver of the destinies of humans and gods; frost and fire giants; cunning dwarves like Brokk and Eitri; and many more. Part two tells the stories of the suspenseful myths themselves including The Creation of the Cosmos, The Aesir-Vanir War, Loki Bound, Thor's Hammer and many more.

Renegade Game Studios Raiders of The North Sea,Multi-colored

Play Raiders of The North Sea, a worker-placement board game where players work to assemble a crew and outfit a longboat to raid settlements for gold and fame.(For 2-4 players)

Odd and the Frost Giants

Odd, a young Viking boy, is left fatherless following a raid. In his icy, ancient world there is no mercy for an unlucky soul with a crushed foot and no one to protect him. Fleeing to the woods, Odd stumbles upon and releases a trapped bear…and then Odd's destiny begins to change.

The eagle, bear, and fox Odd encounters are Norse gods, trapped in animal form by the evil frost giant who has conquered Asgard, the city of the gods. Now our hero must reclaim Thor's hammer, outwit the frost giants and release the gods…

Viking Quest Series Set of 5 Volumes Including Raiders From the Sea, Mystery of the Silver Coins, the Invisible Friend, Heart of Courage, and the Raider's Promise

Raiders from the Sea: Viking raiders capture Bree and her brother Devin and take them from their home in Ireland. After the young Viking prince Mikkel sets Devin free on the Irish coast far from home, Bree and Devin embark on separate journeys to courage. Readers will be captivated by the unfolding drama as Bree sails to Norway on the Viking ship and Devin travels the dangerous road home.

Black Fox of Lorne

Set in 1005 AD, twins Brus and Jan go a-Viking with their father Harald Redbeard and all their household. They plan to settle in England with Danish relatives there. But, their ships are caught in a fierce gale on the North Sea, and they are taken far off course to the western shore of Scotland. Held captive by a cunning Scottish Laird, Jan and Brus must navigate the political intrigue of chieftain, clan, and king without the help of their father, who has been killed and their mother, who is believed lost at sea. They follow adventure after adventure until they earn their freedom and find a home in Scotland at last.

Make This Viking Settlement (Usborne Cut-Out Models)

Printed on stiff card, this book contains templates to cut out and construct a model of a Viking settlement crammed with authentic detail. The base of the completed model measures 61 x 46cm, and includes 16 houses with doors and windows that open to reveal the details inside, and two Viking trading ships. It contains over 40 cut-out figures including merchants, traders and towns people to recreate scenes of everyday life in a bustling riverside settlement.

Who Were the Vikings Internet-Linked (Starting Point History)

Answers questions about the everyday life of the Vikings, including clothing, homes, religion, medical care, food, entertainment, ships, shops and towns, government, warfare, and the travels of the Northmen in Asia and the North Atlantic.

Too, look at these facts about daily life with the Vikings.

Daily Life With the Vikings

  1. Surprisingly the majority of Viking men spent most of their time farming, not sailing the seas. They raised crops like barley and oats, as well as a variety of animals.
  2. Vikings were known for their good hygiene, dig sites have turned up tweezers, razors, combs, and ear cleaners that were made from animal bones and antlers. They bathed weekly, which is more than most Europeans at the time, and also enjoyed frequent dips in natural hot springs.
  3. Viking men preferred being blonde, so if one was born brunette they would use a strong soap with a high lye content to bleach their hair and sometimes their beards as well.
  4. They did not wear helmets with horns, or any helmets at all. This belief started when it was dreamt up by a costume designer named Carl Emil Doepler for an 1876 production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.
  5. A Viking named Leif Erikson was the first to set foot in the new world, not Christopher Columbus, he beat him to it by 500 years. Leif’s father was the first Viking to set foot in Greenland.

Next, look at these explorer project ideas.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas

  1. This impressive tutorial will teach you how to Make a Viking Shield that is worthy of the best adventures.
  2. Create fun and special messages on these Viking Runestones.
  3. The Best Free Viking Lapbook and Hands-on Ideas
  4. Try this delicious Viking Bread Recipe and see how Nordic explorers ate between adventures.
  5. The BEST Viking Unit Study for Homeschooled Kids
  6. Turn cardboard and metallic paint into this amazing-looking helmet with the Make a Viking Helmet-Crafts for Kids.
  7. How cute is this simple Viking Lunch? What a great addition to a Viking unit study and a fun break in the day..
  8. STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship
  9. You can learn to make A Makeshift Lucet, a fiber-working tool used by the Vikings.
  10. This DIY Kids Viking Costume is great for the kid who loves to dress up, for fairies, for a co-op presentation, or just for fun.
10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Finally, look how to make a Trollen wheel Viking braid.

Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

You will need:

  • Sturdy cardboard
  • String or yarn
  • Ruler
  • Pen
  • Scissors
10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

First, trace a circle on sturdy cardboard, you want it small enough to be held comfortably in your child’s hand, 3”-4” in diameter is a good size.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Cut out the circle.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Use a ruler to create 4 lines, intersecting across the middle, to end in 8 equally distant ends.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Cut ⅛” to ¼” of the way in, into a narrow v at the end of each line.

And then use the scissors to cut out a roughly ¾” in diameter hole in the center of the wheel.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Cut 8 lengths of string or yarn to 12” long.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Tie all the strings together at one end in a knot.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Place the knotted strings through the hole and place one string through each slit you cut in the ends of the lines.

You should have one empty spot.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

To create a braid, you will hold the wheel in your hand, letting the knotted end hang free in the middle.

Place the empty spot right in front of you and count 3 strings clockwise from the empty hole, bring that string down onto the empty spot.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Repeat, moving the 3rd string clockwise from the empty spot into the empty spot over and over until you reach the end of the string.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Once at the end of the length, you can remove the strings from the cardboard and knot it.

Use the braided piece to make a friendship bracelet, or to make a decoration for a keychain or backpack.

10 Viking Explorer Project Ideas and Make a Trollen Wheel Viking Braid

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: Ancient HIstory, handicraft, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, Vikings

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

October 20, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If you love hands-on projects for your unit studies, I have 13 easy Native American crafts that you are going to love. You’ll also love my page Native American Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning.

Native American crafts are rich in history and cultural significance.

They are reflections of the traditions, beliefs, and artistic skills of the different Native American tribes across North America.

These crafts demonstrate a wide range of artistic expressions, including pottery, weaving, beadwork, basketry, and carving.

Important artifacts like arrowheads are still being discovered today.

They are found in dried-up creeks, springs, rock overhangs, or around lakes and rivers.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Creating arrowheads was a skill that was passed down through generations.

It started with reaching small boys and each tribe had its unique style and methods of crafting arrowheads.

Join me on an exciting journey to unlock the mysteries of arrowheads and gain a deeper appreciation for the ancient civilizations that relied on them for weapons and tools.

Get ready to discover the secrets of flint knapping and facts about arrowheads, you can even try your hand at creating your own arrowhead replicas.

Also, look at some of these books about Native Americans.

16 Books About Native Americans

You’ll love these books about various Native American tribes and how they lived and their rich history.

The Winter People

Saxso is fourteen when the British attack his village. It’s 1759, and war is raging in the northeast between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people Saxso’s people by their side. Without enough warriors
to defend their homes, Saxso’s village is burned to the ground. Many people are killed, but some, including Saxso’s mother and two sisters, are taken hostage. Now it’s up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home . . . before it’s too late.

In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull

In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull tells the exciting story of Sitting Bull's life using real drawings, letters, and speeches from him and from his friends and family.A warrior I have been. / Now, it is all over. / A hard time I have.With these words, Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. government on July 20, 1881. Sitting Bull spent most of his life trying to protect his people. A proud father and brave warrior, Sitting Bull wanted the Lakota Sioux to continue hunting buffalo and roaming the Plains. Although he lost this battle, Sitting Bull is remembered for his brave actions and notable accomplishments.

Blackfeet Indian Stories

Here are the great stories of the Blackfeet, recorded by the famous conservationist and ethnologist, George Bird Grinnell, who became a tribal member in 1885. The Nizitapi, or Real People, as they call each other, were people of the buffalo. They originated on the plains of today’s southern Alberta, western Saskatchewan, and central Montana. Famed frontier artist George Catlin called the Blackfeet “the most
powerful tribe of Indians on the continent.” Like many native people, the Blackfeet have stories and legends that originated centuries ago, perhaps thousands of years ago, and were passed down from generation to generation through an oral tradition.

The Double Life of Pocahontas

In a story that is as gripping as it is historical, Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz reveals the true life of Pocahontas. Though at first permitted to move freely between the Indian and the white worlds, Pocahontas was eventually torn between her new life and the culture that shaped her.

The Buffalo and the Indians: A Shared Destiny

Countless herds of majestic buffalo once roamed across the plains and prairies of North America. For at least 10,000 years, the native people hunted the buffalo and depended upon its meat and hide for their survival. But to the Indians, the buffalo was also considered sacred. They saw this abundant, powerful animal as another tribe, one that was closely related to them, and they treated it with great respect and admiration.

Hidden Roots

"Hidden Roots" focuses on the greater impact that the generations of Abenaki that followed had to deal with. Readers will learn about the loss of identity, history and culture;lack ofself worth and fear that Abenaki people were feeling, and still feel today. Middle grade readers love to see life as "being fair", and will totally understand that life is not fair in this story. This is a book that should be read in every middle school class, so that this history will not be forgotten, and never be repeated.

Children of the Longhouse

When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighboring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. He has done the right thing—but he has also made enemies. Grabber and his friends will do anything they can to hurt him, especially during the village-wide game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse). Ohkwa'ri believes in the path of peace, but can peaceful ways work against Grabber's wrath?

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains

Through the eyes of a brave and in­dependent young woman, Scott O'Dell tells of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce, a classic tale of cruelty, betrayal, and heroism.

This powerful account of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877 by the United States Army is narrated by Chief Joseph's strong and brave daughter.

When Sound of Running Feet first sees white settlers on Nez Perce land, she vows to fight them. She'll fight all the people trying to steal her people's land and to force them onto a reservation, includ­ing the soldiers with their guns.

But if to fight means only to die, never win, is the fight worth it? When will the killing stop?

Black Hawk

Before dying, Pyesa, Black Hawk’s father and chief of his people, commanded his son to defend their land from whites, who were trying to force the tribe off their land. Black Hawk, however, has no taste for killing and scalping and goes through great internal conflict. The story of this great-hearted leader shows how some whites and Native Americans were peaceful and kind, while others were not. Based on true events, this powerful book teaches about a difficult time period and shares profound, unique messages about love, faith, mercy, humility, friendship, forgiveness, and faith. Recommended for ages 13-18/Grade 7-12

Moccasin Trail (Puffin Newbery Library)

Jim Keath has lived for six years as a Crow Indian when he learns that his two younger brothers and a sister are journeying west to take up land. Although Jim finds it difficult to fit in with the family he hasn’t seen since childhood, and though they are wary and distrustful of him, Jim feels his duty is at their side. But slowly, as they survive the dangerous trek west, the perils of frontier life, and the kidnapping of their younger brother, Jim and his family realize that the only way to survive is to accept each other and truly reunite the family.

The Pueblo Indians,: Farmers of the Rio Grande

Young hawk lived over 400 years ago, but the civilization of the pueblo indians, already well advanced before any white settlers came into their land, has changed very little since his day.

Sacajawea

Captured by her enemies, married to a foreigner, and a mother at age sixteen, Sacajawea lived a life of turmoil and change. Then, in 1804, the mysterious young Shoshone woman met Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Acting as interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, Sacajawea bravely embarked on an epic journey that altered history forever. Hear her extraordinary story, in the voices of Sacajawea and William Clark in alternating chapters, with selections from Clark’s original diaries.

The Birchbark House (Birchbark House, 1)

She was named Omakakiins, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop.

Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has.

But the satisfying rhythms of their life are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever—but that will eventually lead Omakakiins to discover her calling.

Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran (Amazing Indian Children Series)

After being taken prisoner by an enemy tribe, a Shoshoni girl escapes and makes a thousand-mile journey through the wilderness to find her own people

Squanto, Friend Of The Pilgrims

Tells of the adventurous life of the Wampanoag Indian,Squanto.

Plains Indians (First Nations of North America)

This title teaches readers about the first people to live in the Plains region of North America. It discusses their culture, customs, ways of life, interactions with other settlers, and their lives today.

5 Arrowhead Facts

First, look at some of these facts about arrowheads.

  1. Arrowheads were mainly created from flint, obsidian, or chert. But ones made from bone, wood, and metal have also been found.
  2. Arrowheads were used as weapons and tools. They were attached to a spear shaft, an atlatl shaft, an arrow, or a knife handle.
  3. Handcrafted arrowheads were used to hunt, fish, and fight battles.
  4. Arrowheads come in various shapes, sizes, and materials depending on the tribe that made them. Their uniqueness provides a glimpse into the history and traditions of different Native American groups.
  5. Native Americans might spend hours looking for just the right material and make their arrowheads using a chipping process called flint knapping.
13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Flint Knapping – How Were Arrowheads Made

First, a piece of flint (or other stone) was chosen.

The large piece was cut down in size by blows to the edge with a piece of hard stone.

This is called percussion chipping and was done repeatedly until the piece was thinned down and shaped.

The most common stones used to make arrowheads were:

  • Basalt
  • Flint
  • Quartzite
  • Jasper
  • Quartz
  • Chalcedony
  • Petrified wood
  • Agate
  • Obsidian
  • Chert

The piece was then pressure chipped using a sharp deer or elk antler to get it detailed into the right shape, size, and sharpness desired.

The final step was called notching.

Notches were made in the arrowhead by using a combination of pressure flaking and abrading or grinding. 

This way they could create the gaps, or notches, that the Native Americans would use to attach the arrowhead to the shaft of the arrow.

Points were then attached to the arrow shaft with a variety of different methods. Usually, the arrow shaft would have a slit cut into the end to accept the point.

Sinew would then be wrapped around the shaft to pinch the slit closed. Points could also be hafted directly by wrapping the strong sinew around the point and the arrow shaft to bind them together.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

The shafts of the arrows were made from strong shoots like dogwood, wild rose, ash, birch, chokecherry, and black locust trees.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to find an arrowhead on your own, you can purchase some replicas to have a closer look and add to your unit.

Next look at these 13 easy Native American crafts.

13 Easy Native American Crafts

Dig into more aspects of native American life by creating several hands-on crafts beyond arrowheads like canoes, jewelry, drums, and even simple games they would have enjoyed.

  1. Make a simple Shawnee Birchbark Canoe with a few basic craft items.
  2. Making Talking Sticks with Kids is not only creative but it’s a great study in history and social studies.
  3. Create an easy and Fun Corn Craft to use as decoration while your child learns about Indian corn.
  4. I love this handicraft idea for making a Native American Indian Medicine Bag for Kids.
  5. Make this cool Iroquois Bracelet.
  6. Watch this video that demonstrates Making a Bear Claw Necklace for a fantastic hands-on idea.
  7. Recreate a Cradleboard Craft that fits perfectly on small dolls. It demonstrates how babies were carried for long journeys, hunting trips, and throughout a busy day.
  8. These little Popsicle Stick Bow and Arrows are just adorable (and pretty harmless as well).
  9. Grab some air-dry clay and paint and create a little Native American Crafts for Kindergarten How to Make a Kids Pinch Pot .
  10. Learn How to Make a Longhouse Out of Popsicle Sticks, an important part of Native American life.
  11. Native American Stick Game.
  12. Easy Native American Spin Drum Craft for Kids. Spin drums were found in the Southwest tribes of the U.S.
  13. Build a Wigwam like the Algonquin and other tribes would have lived in.
13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Finally, look how to make a cool Native American arrowhead.

Make a Cool Arrowhead

You will need:

  • Air dry clay
  • Rock
  • Wooden craft stick
  • Leather cord
13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

First, give your child a feel of how it would’ve been for the Native Americans to carve an arrowhead.

Give your child an uneven blob of clay as if they had been searching for just the right rock.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Obviously, the clay is soft and moldable unlike the hard flint that they would’ve been made of.

However, we can still try to give them as much of the experience as possible.

Next, use a craft stick or clay knife to form the basic shape of an arrowhead.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

We can still use the rock to simulate the motion of carving the arrowhead into a piece of flint.

It also helps give the clay a little more texture like a real one would have.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Continue shaping until satisfied with the design as well as thickness.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Allow the clay to dry completely for 24 to 48 hours depending on how thick your arrowhead is.

Once it’s completely dry, you can leave it as is or paint it a dark gray or black and let that paint dry.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Leave it as is, so it looks like an artifact that was just picked up.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

In addition, you can wrap cording around it a few times, knot it off, and then tie the end into a necklace to wear.

13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: crafts, early American history, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, homeschoolhistory, Native Americans, nativeamerican, nativeamericans

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

October 19, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have some fun Little House on the Prairie crafts and a rug craft. Also, you love my post Little House on The Prairie Unit Study and Fun Punched Tin Lantern.

I love Little House on The Prairie crafts, from making bonnets to building little model wagons it has always been one of my favorite periods to recreate.

Little House was a large part of my childhood.

I spent countless hours pretending to ride in a covered wagon, harvest crops, and churn butter.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

I can also remember when braided rugs still lined kitchen floors with their colorful simple beauty.

Sometimes those things seem to have faded away but if you are like me and want to pass on some of those sweet handicrafts you will enjoy my braided rug tutorial.

Ma, Mary, and Laura would have braided rag rugs for their floors from strips of worn-out calico dresses.

We will use something that we are likely to have on hand, t-shirts.

Too, I have plenty of other crafts from the pioneer days that will go wonderfully with a study on any or all the Little House books.

Books About Little House on the Prairie

First, look at some of these resources and books to study about pioneer life.

Little House on the Prairie Unit Study Resources

Add some of these fun resources to ignite a love for learning about the Little House on the Prairie.

The Little House (9 Volumes Set)

The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.

Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Readers around the world know and love Laura, the little girl born in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and raised in covered wagons and on wide open prairies. Now Little House fans can learn more about the remarkable story of the pioneer girl who would one day immortalize her adventures in the beloved Little House books in this, the first picture book biography book of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A Little Prairie House (Little House Picture Book)

With the My First Little House picture book series, the youngest readers can share in the joy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books in these illustrated adaptations of the beloved series! 

Laura, Pa, Ma, Mary, and baby Carrie have traveled from the Big Woods to the prairie in their covered wagon, driving through tall grass until they found just the right spot for their new home. With the help of their kind neighbor, Mr. Edwards, Pa builds a snug little house for the family in the middle of the wide-open prairie.

Farmer Boy (Little House, 2)

The second book in the treasured Little House series, Farmer Boy is Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved story of how her husband, Almanzo, grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams. 

The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America’s frontier history and as heartwarming, unforgettable stories. The Little House series has captivated millions of readers with its depiction of life on the American frontier.

While Laura Ingalls grows up on the prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town.

Almanzo wishes for just one thing—his very own horse—and he must prove that he is ready for such a big responsibility.

The Little House Cookbook

With this cookbook, you can learn how to make classic frontier dishes like corn dodgers, mincemeat pie, cracklings, and pulled molasses candy. The book also includes excerpts from the Little House books, fascinating and thoroughly researched historical context, and details about the cooking methods that pioneers like Ma Ingalls used, as well as illustrations by beloved artist Garth Williams.

Who Was Laura Ingalls Wilder?

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, based on her own childhood and later life, are still beloved classics almost a century after she began writing them. Now young readers will see just how similar Laura's true-life story was to her books. Born in 1867 in the "Big Woods" in Wisconsin, Laura experienced both the hardship and the adventure of living on the frontier. Her life and times are captured in engaging text and 80 black-and-white illustrations.

Laura Ingalls Dress Up

  • Three Piece Set: Kid girls colonial dress, attached apron and bonnet.

Little House Coloring Book: Coloring Book for Adults and Kids

A beautifully designed coloring book featuring classic artwork by Garth Williams and quotes from all nine original Little House books. Perfect for at-home creative time—return to the world of Little House with your kids...or enjoy on your own!

Join Laura Ingalls, her Ma and Pa, and her sisters, Mary, Carrie, and Grace, on their travels across the frontier as you color in your favorite pioneer characters and scenes and revisit this beloved series.

This 96-page coloring book offers hours of relaxing, stress-reducing pleasure.

Next, look at these Little House on the prairie crafts.

Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts

  1. Make hand dipped beeswax candles.
  2. Fun No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll 
  3. Have fun churning butter.
  4. Pioneer Peg Dolls 
  5. Pioneer Living and Cloth Dyeing 
  6. Edible Log Cabin 
  7. A simple craft that even little hands can help create is this Make an Apple Pomander Just Like Ma Ingalls idea
  8. For teens, A Beginner’s Guide to Whittling is a great way to reprise the past time of carving out little toys and other bits as they did.
  9. Punched Tin Lantern.
  10. No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll
  11. Another great sewing project is this Pioneer Quilt Craft using cloth scraps.
11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Finally, look how to make this pioneer rug craft.

How to Make a T-Shirt Rag Rug Craft

You will need:

  • Old cotton t-shirts
  • Scissors

First, start by cutting t-shirt strips 1 ½” -2” wide, cut through both sides of the t-shirt to make a big loop piece, and then one of the ends so it is a long strip.

You can either use scissors or a rotary blade and mat which makes it quicker.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

For this tutorial I used just 3 shirts and saved the sleeves and neck for another project; it came to about 10” wide.

So, you will want to cut up enough to make a good-sized rug which is about 6-8 strips for a small standard rug.

This can be an ongoing project as you get enough shirts or grab a bunch from the thrift store.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

At the end of each strip cut a small vertical hole.

The holes are to secure the pieces together rather than trying to braid 10’ lengths. 

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Grab 3 strips and tie one end into a knot as small and tight as you can, and then cut off the excess.

You can either create a random pattern or use the same colors over and over to make a pattern.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

If you want to follow a pattern, you might want to go ahead and lay out a bunch of strips together.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Braid the pieces together just like you would a simple hair braid about 4” long and then begin twisting the center so that the braid wraps around itself.

T-Shirt Rag Rug Craft

It needs to be firm and tidy but not too tight as you will need to slip through the braid occasionally.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Take the strand closest to the ball of the braid and slip it through the outside piece of the braid.

This is how you will secure each row together without sewing.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Resume braiding and wrapping it around itself for about 2” and then repeat the step of threading the closest strip to the center through one of the loops of the braid coil.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

When you reach the last couple of inches of strip, draw a new strip through the hole in the end and then loop the other end around.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Draw it through the hole of the other end to make a small flat knot.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Continue the method of braiding for a couple of inches and then loop the closest strip through the closest braid inside until the rug is as big as you would like it.

To finish it off, thread the ends through the front side of the rug to the back and knot them off, cut off any excess as close to the knot as you can.

11 Pioneer Crafts for Kids Who Love Little House On The Prairie Crafts & Rug Craft

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: american history, crafts, handicraft, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, pioneer, pioneer crafts

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

October 4, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a Farmer Boy unit study and fun hand loom craft. Also, grab more ideas on my Best Homeschool Unit Studies page.

Dig into a wonderful literature-based Farmer Boy unit study while also teaching your child about pioneer and farm life.

Too, I have a step-by-step weaving loom tutorial that demonstrates weaving and ends with a beautiful keepsake.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Additionally, this is a great activity that teaches not only a way of life in pioneer days but also a unique handicraft, fine motor skills, following directions and patterning.

Another great book to supplement your study is Julia Rothman Farm Anatomy to study the farming aspect of life back then.

It covers farm animals, skills like how to plow a field and milk a cow, make cheese, barn structures, and more modern machinery.

Besides a great way to learn is by doing, so here are activities for each area that you might want to teach-cooking, science, history, language arts, and crafts.

Farmer Boy Unit Study Ideas

RECIPES

  • Make Fried Apples N’ Onions alongside your next dinner to try a taste of one of Almanzo’s favorite treats.
  • Give Almanzo’s Moms Doughnuts a try to start off your day.
  • Next, pancakes are an important part of a hungry growing boys breakfast in both this book and The Long Winter as well, make Farmer Boy Pancakes.

FARMER BOY SCIENCE

  • A must do activity is the Popcorn and Milk Experiment from the book.
  • However, if you are going to do the popcorn and milk experiment, you have to also try this Dancing Corn.
  • Furthermore, choose an animal or two from Farm Anatomy or another book to study.
  • Learn about farming with my How to Create Homeschool Farming Curriculum and Adorable Clothespin Sheep Craft.
  • Further, farmer Boy talks about how ice was stored in the days before refrigeration, this Ice Insulation Experiment gives your child a little more understanding how that works.
  • Add my Free Horse Unit Study for Your Horse Loving Kids.
  • Learn how to make soap.
  • I thought this How to Test Soil Ph would make a great experiment if you are doing gardening alongside your study as well.
  •  Make Butter 

FARMER BOY GEOGRAPHY/HISTORY

  • Find Malone, New York on a map where Almanzo was born and raised.
  • The book covers approximately one year in Almanzo’s life, have your child create a timeline to learn the basics of a timeline.
  • And then, take a step back in time and watch this video on the Wilder Homestead, see the layout, furniture, and more details of life as a pioneer.

LANGUAGE ARTS

  • Vocabulary. Find a full set of vocabulary flashcards for the whole book here to use online, print, as well as in several online activities to practice.
  • Have your child write a letter to Manzo from the future to try and explain life in present times.
  • Use excerpts from the book for copywork to develop handwriting skills.
Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

FARMER CRAFTS

  • Make a Clove Apple like Ma Ingalls to preserve it and scent the house.
  • Create these adorable Pine Cone Farm Animals
  • Pioneer Living and Cloth Dyeing
  • Fun Pioneer Peg Dolls

Farmer Boy Manzo won an award for his milk fed pumpkin, creating this Book Page Pumpkin using an old book

Books for Studying Little House on the Prairie Series

Little House on the Prairie Unit Study Resources

Add some of these fun resources to ignite a love for learning about the Little House on the Prairie.

The Little House (9 Volumes Set)

The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.

Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Readers around the world know and love Laura, the little girl born in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and raised in covered wagons and on wide open prairies. Now Little House fans can learn more about the remarkable story of the pioneer girl who would one day immortalize her adventures in the beloved Little House books in this, the first picture book biography book of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A Little Prairie House (Little House Picture Book)

With the My First Little House picture book series, the youngest readers can share in the joy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books in these illustrated adaptations of the beloved series! 

Laura, Pa, Ma, Mary, and baby Carrie have traveled from the Big Woods to the prairie in their covered wagon, driving through tall grass until they found just the right spot for their new home. With the help of their kind neighbor, Mr. Edwards, Pa builds a snug little house for the family in the middle of the wide-open prairie.

Farmer Boy (Little House, 2)

The second book in the treasured Little House series, Farmer Boy is Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved story of how her husband, Almanzo, grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams. 

The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America’s frontier history and as heartwarming, unforgettable stories. The Little House series has captivated millions of readers with its depiction of life on the American frontier.

While Laura Ingalls grows up on the prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town.

Almanzo wishes for just one thing—his very own horse—and he must prove that he is ready for such a big responsibility.

The Little House Cookbook

With this cookbook, you can learn how to make classic frontier dishes like corn dodgers, mincemeat pie, cracklings, and pulled molasses candy. The book also includes excerpts from the Little House books, fascinating and thoroughly researched historical context, and details about the cooking methods that pioneers like Ma Ingalls used, as well as illustrations by beloved artist Garth Williams.

Who Was Laura Ingalls Wilder?

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, based on her own childhood and later life, are still beloved classics almost a century after she began writing them. Now young readers will see just how similar Laura's true-life story was to her books. Born in 1867 in the "Big Woods" in Wisconsin, Laura experienced both the hardship and the adventure of living on the frontier. Her life and times are captured in engaging text and 80 black-and-white illustrations.

Laura Ingalls Dress Up

  • Three Piece Set: Kid girls colonial dress, attached apron and bonnet.

Little House Coloring Book: Coloring Book for Adults and Kids

A beautifully designed coloring book featuring classic artwork by Garth Williams and quotes from all nine original Little House books. Perfect for at-home creative time—return to the world of Little House with your kids...or enjoy on your own!

Join Laura Ingalls, her Ma and Pa, and her sisters, Mary, Carrie, and Grace, on their travels across the frontier as you color in your favorite pioneer characters and scenes and revisit this beloved series.

This 96-page coloring book offers hours of relaxing, stress-reducing pleasure.

More Best Homeschool Unit Studies

  • Fun Chocolate Unit Study and DIY Chocolate Candy Bar Activity
  • Fun Renaissance Unit Study Ideas for Kids and Lapbook Renaissance
  • Free Homeschool Geology Unit Study And Easy DIY Eggshell Geode
  • Free Swiss Family Robinson Unit Study And Easy DIY Water Filter
  • Free Peregrine Falcon Lapbook And Fun Unit Study Ideas
  • Dandelion Flower Unit Study and Easy Tea Recipe & Notebooking Pages
  • France Unit Study and Make Easy French Bread
  • Free Horse Unit Study for Your Horse Loving Kids
  • Free Greek Mythology Unit Study and Greece Lapbook & Fun Hands on LEGO Zeus
  • How Do Sharks Float STEM Activity Free Shark Unit Study & Notebooking Pages
  • Free Homeschool Chicken Unit Study and Anatomy of an Egg Felt Activity & Worksheet
  • How to Incorporate Subjects into a Fun Homeschool Cooking Unit Study
  • Volcano Unit Study and Fun Apple Volcano
  • Solar System Unit Study and Hands-on Planets Activity
  • Charlotte’s Web Homeschool Unit Study and Fun Hands-on Ideas
  • Homeschool Unit Study Ideas | Lewis and Clark Exploration Lapbook
  • Mushroom Unit Study and Kids Learning Activities
  • Little House on The Prairie Unit Study and Fun Punched Tin Lantern
Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Finally, look at this fun hand loom craft.

Farmer Boy Unit Study Hand Loom Craft

However, before your children begin with this craft have them learn about chores or activities that would be done seasonally.

After reading the book, look at some of the chores. I have divided them by seaons.

WINTER

SPRING

  • weaving cloth on a loomm
  • hauling timber
  • sledding
  • filling the ice house
  • threshing grain
  • plowing the fields
  • dyeing woold
  • shearing the sheep
  • gathering the eggs
  • making maple syrup
  • planting crops

SUMMER

FALL

  • making ice cream
  • haying
  • trout fishing
  • berry picking
  • butter making
  • mending fences
  • candle making
  • winterizing house and barns
  • soap making
  • butchering livestock

Now, let’s make this fun hand loom craft.

You will need:

  • 8 jumbo craft/popsicle sticks
  • Several colors of yarn
  • Twine
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun/sticks
  • Twine
Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

First, hot glue 4 craft sticks corner to corner to form a square frame, allowing glue to harden.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Glue twine to the bottom corner of the frame and wrap it tightly all the way around ½” apart, glue into place at the end, cut off excess.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Run a thick line of glue across the top and bottom to hold the lines in place from one side all the way to the other.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Press another craft stick on top of the glue on top and bottom.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Cut the angled strings on the backside off the frame to leave a clean easy to use loom.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Pre-cut piles of yarn 10” long.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

If your child wants to create a pattern for their loom, lay out the threads flat in the order they will be placing them.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Demonstrate how to weave over and under from one side to the other.

For younger children it may help to take another craft stick and thread it over and under to keep the alternating lines easier for them to identify. It slides easily up the lines as they fill it in.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

For the next yarn switch to the opposite-under and then over.

Repeat continuing up the loom, every so often pushing the rows down so that it ends up full.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Once the loom is full, cut the ends off of each side just short of the edges of the frame.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Run a generous line of hot glue along a craft stick and press it down onto the cut yarn edges on both sides.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Create a hanging loop by knotting off a loop of yarn and hot glue onto the back of the frame.

Farmer Boy Unit Study and Make a Fun Hand Loom Craft

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: american history, farmer boy, farming, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, history, history resources, unit studies, unit study

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

September 26, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have sweet Johnny Appleseed cookies and some facts about Johnny Appleseed. Also, you’ll love some facts on my page Apple Lapbook and Apple Unit Study.

Besides, National Johnny Appleseed Day is September 26th to honor the contributions he made.

The recipe is a semi-homemade one that starts with a basic sugar cookie mix and uses fresh apples.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Cooking teaches fantastic life skills like following directions, measurements, creativity, and math skills. It can also be used to give kids a glimpse into other people, places, and times.

Cook a little, read a little, make a craft or two, learn some new facts about Johnny Appleseed, and enjoy celebrating this simple day with your child.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed

  1. Unlike a lot of other legends, Johnny Appleseed is a real person, his given name was John Chapman.
  2. He loved nature, insects, and animals, and later in his life became a vegetarian.
  3. Besides planting apple trees, he also planted medicinal plants and herbs, like -mullein, motherwort, mayweed pennyroyal, and several others.
  4. The image that comes to mind of Johnny planting apple trees may be of him randomly tossing seeds out of a sack here and there as he went but he actually planted orchards on unclaimed lands. By planting there it was a way of legally claiming ownership in parts of the west. He went back later and sold the trees at a profit and would comeback years later and sell the trees at a profit.
  5. John was very wealthy when he died, he then left his 1200 acres of apple orchards and other land to his sister.
  6. The apples that he planted were not sweet, delicious apples, instead, they were small, tart apples used to make Applejack and hard cider, two very popular drinks at the time.
  7. You can still see one of the trees he planted in Nova, Ohio, here is a 176-year-old tree, the last known tree to be planted by Johnny Appleseed.
  8. He traveled through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, parts of northern West Virginia, and Ontario planting mostly barefoot, sometimes via canoe.

Next, look at some of these resources and books to learn about Apples and Johnny Appleseed.

Fun Learning About Apples Books and Resources

You will of course need a few great books that not only teach but that your kids will enjoy, a fun game or two, and maybe a few other items to make a fun apple unit.

Apples (New & Updated Edition)

Discover the well-loved tradition of growing and picking apples - a fruit that has been in existence for about two million years. Explore the history of the apple but also the way that families and farmers grow and care for apple trees today, from planting to selling, to turning them into delicious treats and using them for classic games like "bobbing for apples" .

How Do Apples Grow?

This is a clear and appealing environmental science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom.

Questions addressed in this book include:

  • Did you know that when you bite into an apple, you're eating part of a flower?
  • Why do apple trees need bees to make apples?
  • How does the tree feed the growing apples and make them ready to eat?

Read and find out in the proven winner How Do Apples Grow!

My Little Golden Book About Johnny Appleseed

In this simple yet lively book, preschoolers will be introduced to John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Lyrical text and bright, appealing artwork capture the essence of this important American and early conservationist who traveled the country planting apple trees. Little ones will enjoy engaging anecdotes about Johnny Appleseed, beginning with the young John, who liked to walk barefoot in the cool, quiet woods.

Ten Apples Up On Top!

Don't let the apples drop! Three animal friends practice balancing apples on their heads in this hilarious introduction to counting, illustrated by Roy Mckie. The sturdy board book teaches all about numbers, with a dose of signature Seuss charm. Kids will learn to count to ten--and want to start all over again!

SmartGames Apple Twist Travel Puzzle Game with 60 Challenges

  • An "apple" game board with five twisting levels to create different puzzles!
  • Includes 60 challenges and is great for on the go fun.
  • Helps develop Spatial Insight, Problem Solving, Planning and Logic Skills
  • All SmartGames are made with the highest quality materials to ensure long product life
  • Set Includes twisting apple game board, 3 caterpillar puzzle pieces and challenge booklet

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books)

Bake a delicious apple pie--and take a trip with this culinary global adventure!An apple pie is easy to make...if the market is open. But if the market is closed, the world becomes your grocery store. This picture book takes readers around the globe to gather ingredients for a delicious apple pie. First hop a steamboat to Italy for the finest semolina wheat. Then hitch a ride to England and hijack a cow for the freshest possible milk. And, oh yes! Don't forget to go apple picking in Vermont! A simple recipe for apple pie is included.

LeapFrog Tad's Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set

Choose a level and push the letter tiles into the letter slot to reinforce letter names, phonics and word skills
Magnetic back makes it great for fridge play in the kitchen
26 magnetic letter tiles stick to the fridge and help kids learn the shape of each letter
Three photo tiles can be customized with your own photos for a unique, personalized play experience.

Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts & Pieces of Our Edible World

Get your recommended daily allowance of facts and fun with Food Anatomy, the third book in Julia Rothman’s best-selling Anatomy series. She starts with an illustrated history of food and ends with a global tour of street eats. Along the way, Rothman serves up a hilarious primer on short-order egg lingo and a mouthwatering menu of how people around the planet serve fried potatoes — and what we dip them in. Award-winning food journalist Rachel Wharton lends her expertise to this light-hearted exploration of everything food that bursts with little-known facts and delightful drawings. Everyday diners and seasoned foodies alike are sure to eat it up. 

Also, look at these Johnny Appleseed resources to enjoy with your Johnny Appleseed cookies.

More Johnny Appleseed Resources

  • Make Johnny Appleseed No-cook Apple Pie Play Dough for a fun sensory experience.
  • Create this Fizzy Paint Apple Craft  

You can find out more about apples like planting an orchard, apple varieties, and how a flower becomes a fruit using Food and Farm Anatomy, a favorite resource of mine.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies
  • Watch the video Who Was Johnny Appleseed?
  • Learn all about the Parts of an apple with this activity.

Additionally, look at these apple activities for kids.

More Fall Apple Activities for Kids

  • Apple Themed Back to School Crafts & Fun Calming Apple Jar Craft
  • Free Homeschool Volcano Unit Study and Fun Apple Volcano
  • Fun Apple Lapbook and Hands-on Unit Study for Multiple Ages
  • Apples Unit How to Make a Fall Kids Garland Apple Craft
  • Dried Apple Crafts: Hands-on Fun Shrunken Head Apple Craft for Kids
  • Kids Fun Hands-on Apple Unit Make Dried Apple Slices
8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Finally, look at how to make the fun Johnny Appleseed cookies.

Johnny Appleseed Cookies

You will need:

  • Sugar Cookie Mix
  • (whatever supplies your mix calls for)
  • 2 large apples
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
  • ½ cup of water
8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

First, coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Prepare your packaged cookie mix according to the directions, mine called for softened butter and water.

To give your cookies a little extra flavor you can also add a little cinnamon to your mix.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Place the prepared dough in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the next step.

Peel, slice, and finely chop the apples.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Put brown sugar, lemon juice, water, spices, and cornstarch in a small shallow pan.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Add diced apples and stir, simmer the mixture over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until the apples are soft and tender.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

The mixture should be darker and have thickened up.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Set aside and remove the dough from the refrigerator.

Roll pieces of dough into little balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Press down in the center with your fingers or the back of a spoon to create a shallow well in the center.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Spoon in a little of the cooked apple mixture, maybe a teaspoon worth.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Top with another small piece of dough to create a “stuffed” cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

8 Facts About Johnny Appleseed and Sweet Johnny Appleseed Cookies

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: apples, cookies, fall, fall crafts, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, homeschool, Johnny Appleseed

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