How to Use the Prairie Primer

The Prairie Primer, produced by Cadron Creek Christian Curriculum, is designed for use with homeschooled children in grades 3 through 6. The Primer is a large, spiral-bound book that accompanies each of the nine books in the Little House series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It integrates a variety of subjects, including history, literature, writing and science. It also incorporates the teaching of Christian scripture and its application. It includes 12 four-week lesson plans and comes with a Planning Guide, Study Guide, worksheets and suggested activities. Although using the Prairie Primer might at first seem a daunting endeavor, especially if you are new to homeschooling, you can successfully use the Primer by investing some time and careful planning.

Things You'll Need

  • Prairie Primer curriculum
  • The nine Little House books (some may be optional, depending on how you plan)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Skim through the Primer's weekly planning guides to get a feel for how the curriculum will take shape. The weekly planning guides list the topics that will be covered each week, materials you need to gather, as well as suggestions for field trips. For example, for Week One, you will need the book "Little House in the Big Woods." Other suggested items include the book "The Biography of a Grizzly," by Earnest Seton, an encyclopedia, a dictionary, fried pork rinds and items for a whittling project.

    • 2

      Study in more detail the Planning Guide for Week One to determine exactly how your week's lessons will play out. For example, in her review of the Prairie Primer, Cathy Duffy explains that most likely you will not use all of the resources and items listed. Write your own, more detailed planning notes in the space provided.

    • 3

      Gather the necessary resources for the activities you have decided on for the week. Many of the lesson descriptions are general, so you will need to fine-tune them into more specific lessons. The Primer comes with activity sheets, so be sure to include any activity sheets you may need.

    • 4

      Study the Daily Lesson Plan for the first day to decide which activities you think your students will be able to handle in a day. For example, if one activity is to write a report on something students will read, then most likely you would allow them time to first read the selection. You might have to break up one daily lesson into two or even three lessons to allow sufficient time for your students to complete it.

    • 5

      Use the suggested field trip lists to plan a field trip that you think is doable. Plan the field trip well in advance of the day you want to go.

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