*Transparency Note: Some links below are affiliate links. I only recommend what we personally use and love in our home. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
*Safety Check-In: The activities in this curriculum are intended for family-style use under direct adult supervision. Because every family’s home environment and children are unique, please use your best judgment to ensure a safe experience. Always verify materials—such as plants, food items, or chemicals—for safety and allergies before use, and keep heat sources, tools, and small parts under close adult watch. You know your children best; please adapt these activities as needed to ensure they are age-appropriate and safe for your specific family.
Lesson Plans Coming Soon!
Practice letters, spelling, or design with this Little House on the Prairie activity.
Materials
- Cookie sheet
- Water
- Thimble
- For younger readers (picture book): Winter Days in the Big Woods or the Little House Picture Book Treasury if your child really enjoys Little House books
- For older readers (read aloud or independent readers): The Long Winter or the larger chapter book series
- Optional: Lincoln Logs
* Prep several hours in advance
How To
We froze a stainless steel cookie sheet pan (although I think aluminum would work just as well) with a small layer of water on top. This would work well if you even mearly sprayed the water onto the pan in a thin layer, rather than filling the pan thinly. Freeze the tray for several hours or overnight.
Read Winter Days in the Big Woods (which you can buy here!). Read how Laura and her sisters saw the designs Jack Frost made on the windows and tried to create their own in the frost.
After the thimble activity use Lincoln Logs to create your own little house in the big woods.
Learning Across Ages
Toddlers & Preschoolers: These children may enjoy the younger books found here. Discuss frost and encourage creativity and design. You can also practice letters, numbers, names, or shapes in the frost by hand-over-hand teaching or placing a printed image of the symbol above their tray.
Elementary: These children will like The Little House in the Big Woods chapter book before starting this activity. This can be done through read-aloud or independent reading. Practice spelling words on the tray, math problems, or use this as an opportunity for creative design.
Be engineers! Use Lincoln Logs to create your own structure or copy a design found in the directions. These can be deceptively difficult!
Leave a Reply