Growing up loving Little House books the way I did it’s no wonder I couldn’t wait to have children of my own to share them with. But that wait can be so long! While they make a great read aloud and a fabulous base for a unit study for kids in elementary school on up they are a bit over the heads of the younger crowd- Toddlers and Preschoolers. That is until I discovered the My First Little House Books that is! They are perfect for toddler through preschoolers and make great first simple studies.
I am putting together a series of My First Little House Books Themed Unit Studies based on each of the books and I am so excited to share the first one with you! The Deer in The Wood. I hope you enjoy doing some or all of these hands on learning activities with your own child and stick around for the rest of the pioneer fun.
While toddlers and young preschoolers don’t need or usually enjoy highly structured learning where they are sitting at a desk completing worksheets, they do enjoy intentional hands-on activities with mom. My “unit studies” will give touch on all 7 basic parts of early childhood lesson plans- daily life skills, sensory, language development, music & movement, colors & shapes, letters & numbers, and creative art. Plus Bible references and character training tie-ins are included!
Use what you have on hand by all means, but I am including links for items that I used or are similar to what I used in case you want to pick up a few things, you will likely see some of them in future studies and they are quite open ended so you can use them in a lot of other ways as well.
Related: Myth: You Can’t Homeschool and Have Little Ones in the Mix
Read the book out loud, point out the characters, animals, and other interesting things in the book, let your toddler look at the book on their own.
Language development, letters & numbers
Enjoy bread and butter for a snack the way the family had for dinner rather than deer. Let your child help you spread the butter.
Daily life skills, sensory
Deer and Friends Sensory Tray
You could make a big sensory bin or you can keep it simple and just put together a themed sensory tray. I found this little tray at Dollar Tree but you could also use a small baking sheet. To create a forest floor I added a little soil from outside and sprinkled some moss (Dollar Tree) on top. Add some small plastic animals like deer of course and trees. This is great for free play but you can also use letter tiles to introduce beginning sounds by matching them to the animals-D deer, B Beaver, etc… Talk about what animals and plants that you might see in the woods with your child.
Sensory, Language Development, Letters & Numbers
Walk in the Woods
Go for a walk outside, encourage your child to walk lightly and quietly like a deer, then stomp like a bear, tweet like a bird, etc… A great way to get some wiggles out! Gather items like leaves, acorns, and pretty stones to take bake and examine.
Music and Movement, Daily Life Skills, Language Development
Make Deer Prints
For this, you just need a wine cork and a straight edge blade or knife. Look up deer prints online, show your child what they look like. Cut a very basic deer print shape into the cork, be sure to cut deep so it makes a good impression. Place a thin layer of paint on a plate and show your toddler how to stamp the cork into the paint and then on paper to create deer tracks.
Creative Art, Colors & Shapes, Sensory
Sew a Quilt
Make your own paper patchwork quilt like the real ones Laura and Mary made in the book. This craft is great for art yes but it also helps build fine motor skills as well. Gather some patterned scrapbook paper, a solid piece of 12” x 12” cardstock or cardboard, yarn, tape, glue, and a hole punch. Cut patterned paper into 3” squares. Demonstrate for your toddler how to add glue to the solid cardstock piece and add the squares, let them put them in any pattern they like. Alternatively, you could lay out the first pattern and have them repeat it on the next line. Now, use a hole punch to make holes all the way around the quilt. Wrap tape around the end of a long length of yarn and demonstrate for them how to lace in and out as if they were sewing.
Daily life skills, sensory, language development, creative art, colors & shapes
D is for Deer
Cut or print out a letter D, let your child color or paint it while you talk about D, the sound it makes, words that begin with D. Cut the D from sandpaper, felt, or another material to engage them even more.
Language development, sensory, creative art, letters & numbers
Music like Pa
Grab your phone and play some fiddle music for listening to like Pa would play, dance with your child, let them do whatever comes natural-they will move! You can also start learning some of the traditional songs Laura and Mary would have sun in the My Little House Songbook!
Sensory ,music & movement
Laura and Mary’s Math Manipulatives
Use pretty buttons and wooden spools as counters, place them in a pouch to use in several ways. Your child can either count them or sort them, write a couple numbers on the back of 3×5 cards and let your child count out the same number of objects. Toss everything back in the bag for the next time.
Letters & numbers, Language development
Take your study a little further by adding in some character training and Bible memory.
- The overall theme of the book is one of compassion for God’s creatures as well as being thankful for what you have. Use it as an opportunity to talk about kindness, compassion, and contentment.
- Read your child a Bible Memory Verse that goes along with the book and help them learn it, it’s never too early to impress God’s Word onto their hearts. “ As the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Psalms 42:1-2 fits perfectly!
Character development and Bible
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Tiffany
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