Many Little House fans appreciate the masterful storytelling in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy. It's one of my favorite books in the series. And I had an incredible research trip to Almanzo Wilder's childhood home in Malone, New York while I was writing The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide. 

I also had a ton of fun coming up with ideas for crafts, games, and food inspired by Farmer Boy for The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion. (OH! THE FOOD!) I couldn't include all of my ideas in the book, so I'm providing them here. I know teachers, homeschoolers, and families love to complete activities paired with books. And I'm happy to help.

During my planning and research for The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion , I created long lists of potential activities for each of the Little House books, including Farmer Boy. I certainly could have just included all of the food that Almanzo loved from his childhood, but there were plenty of crafts and games to try, too. In my book, I included activities (crafts, activities, and recipes) in each chapter in a section called "Live Like Laura" or "Live Like Almanzo." 

Below is a fairly comprehensive list of potential activities, games, and food that can be used with Farmer Boy. 

These recipes and food items based on Farmer Boy are included with complete instructions in The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion. Links are provided when instructions are also included on this site.

Below are additional recipes and food items are additional ideas to "live like Almanzo" based on Farmer Boy. These ideas were not included in my book. You might find many of them in the The Little House Cookbook, a book I highly recommend for those seeking authentic pioneer recipes--and the stories behind them. Links are included for this site, when appropriate.

In case you can't tell, I was a teacher once upon a time. I love pairing activities with books. Literature-related activities help readers of all ages to get excited about the books they read. (Have you ever been part of a book club with related food? It's not just for kids!) When it comes to the Little House books, the books paired with activities excite kids while helping them to understand and remember the history even better. I love being able to provide ideas for teachers, students, and families for free here on the blog as well as in my book.

As a classroom teacher and now as a parent and writer, I enjoy pairing activities with books, especially the Little House books. (I may have had a lot of fun creating a Little House birthday party for my 6-year-old long before I began this blog or had an idea to write a book...or a few books.) 

In addition to the 75 activities included in The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion, I also included an activity in each of the fact-filled books in The Truth About animal series I wrote. I created comprehensive teacher guides for those books. My newest book Quirky Critter Devotions: 52 Wild Wonders for Kids includes dozens of animal-related activities as well as journal prompts following each of the fact and faith-filled animal devotions.

Would you like to see more activities for the other Little House books? Subscribe to the blog to be certain you don't miss a blog post.