By the Shores of the Silver Lake

By the Shores of Silver Lake: A Living Little House on the Prairie Unit Study in Our Homeschool

A Brief Summary of By the Shores of Silver Lake

By the Shores of Silver Lake is the fifth book in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series and marks a turning point in the Ingalls family’s life. The story follows Laura, Mary, Carrie, and Ma as they journey westward by covered wagon to Dakota Territory, where Pa has accepted a job working for the railroad. Along the way, the family experiences loss, illness, and the challenges of travel, all while holding tightly to hope and perseverance.

Once they arrive near Silver Lake, the Ingalls family settles into a claim shanty while Pa works long days. Laura takes on more responsibility, helping with cooking, sewing, and caring for the family. Themes of resilience, hard work, family cooperation, and adapting to change run strongly throughout the book, making it a powerful and meaningful choice for a Little House on the Prairie Unit Study in your homeschool.

Catch Up! If you haven’t read all about our first week on the prairie, I would encourage you to go and read my Little House in the Big woods post. This covers everything we did from making nightdresses, to prairie cooking and making button strings. It also gives you a good idea of everything we achieved with our own little house on the prairie renovations!

When Homeschool Plans Go Off the Rails

Once again, our homeschool week was marred by illness. Nothing I had planned happened, and the children, usually eager participants in our Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, were unusually apathetic to all things prairie-related. I paused everything until I was sure everyone was truly better, and only then did I gently begin rebuilding momentum.

This post is necessarily shorter than previous weeks because most of what we accomplished happened just yesterday. Still, I was pleased with what we managed to do, and I can honestly say that much of our success this week was thanks to their wonderful Daddy stepping in and bringing the project back to life.

Check out week two! Last week we focused on Farmer Boy. This is the second book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did lots of prairie cooking (hasty pudding, making a sour dough starter and some prairie bread) and also made some button lamps, a prairie ladder, and some peg hooks. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

Watching Our Little House Evolve

Seeing the transformation of our Little House over five weeks has been incredibly encouraging. What began as a simple structure has slowly turned into a purposeful, lived-in pioneer space, much like the Ingalls’ own claim shanty described By the Shores of Silver Lake.

The inside tells its own story as well. Each handmade item reflects the settlers’ belief that everything should be useful, durable, and made with care. This visual progress has been especially motivating for the children after such a disrupted week.

Basket Weaving: Patience, Perseverance, and Perspective

First up this week were the baskets, finally finished by the girls and their daddy. Gary, it turns out, has a hidden talent for basketry and finds the process relaxing and therapeutic.

I, on the other hand, discovered that basket weaving is one of the most frustrating activities I have ever attempted.

Each row takes an eternity, mistakes are easy to miss, and undoing your work to fix a single error can test even the calmest temperament. The girls wholeheartedly agreed. Still, the final result, two beautiful, handmade baskets, was absolutely worth it.

We plan to use one as an upstairs toy basket and the other on the table to hold cutlery and napkins. Practical beauty, just as pioneer families would have valued.

Check out week three! We focused on The Little House on the Prairie. This is the third book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did some of prairie cooking (soda biscuits) and also made some curtains, hay sticks and a hammock net. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

Prairie Problem-Solving: Building a Stove

While basket weaving was underway, Thomas took on his own ambitious project: turning a broken box into a stove for the Little House.

He turned the box on its side, reattached the lid with hinges, added a wooden block handle, and installed a magnetic fastening so the door closes securely. He raised the stove on blocks for easier access and cleverly repurposed an existing hole as a “temperature control.”

Next, he plans to paint it black and add a flue, attaching both to the inside wall. Watching this kind of thoughtful, independent engineering unfold is one of the greatest joys of homeschooling, especially within a By the Shores of Silver Lake context where ingenuity was essential for daily life. I will be sharing a whole post devoted to Thomas’ work on this next week.

Last week, we focused on ‘On the Banks of Plum Creek’ and the children learnt about herbal medicine, stained a rocking chair for the corner of the house, made some baskets and began a productive Little House vegetable garden. And lastly, we made some home-made yogurt and a blueberry pie.

Making the Little House Feel Like Home

Abigail, 4, and I worked together to create a house sign using the head of Becca’s old cot and permanent felt tips. Simple materials, meaningful collaboration.

We also made a hanging for inside the Little House using cot sides, ribbon, and a heavy-duty stapler, writing our message in felt tips. It now hangs on the banisters, adding warmth and personality, very much in the spirit of the handmade touches Ma brought into every Ingalls’ home.

Prairie Cooking: Honest Reviews Included

Molasses Popcorn Balls

Before illness caught up with her, Lillie managed to try some prairie cooking: molasses popcorn balls. Unfortunately, they were not a success. The smell of molasses now makes everyone feel slightly nauseous, so we may not be revisiting that recipe anytime soon.

Prairie Chicken and Green Beans

Thankfully, the week ended on a high note with a proper prairie meal. We harvested green beans from the Little House kitchen garden and served them alongside a stuffed “prairie” hen, fried parsnips and carrots, roasted new potatoes, and creamed sweet corn, all from the Little House Cookbook. It was delicious and deeply satisfying.

Bringing Real History Into Our Homeschool

One of the unexpected blessings of sharing our homeschool journey is the connections it creates. A fellow homeschooling mum, Tonyia, shared that she has settler family stories reaching back to the 1800s. She has kindly allowed me to share them in this post, and I cannot wait to incorporate real-life pioneer accounts into our Little House on the Prairie Unit Study.

History truly comes alive when it becomes personal.

Reflection Questions for Your Homeschool

Use these questions for discussion, narration, or journaling:

1. How does Laura’s role change in By the Shores of Silver Lake?
2. What challenges did the Ingalls family face while traveling west?
3. Why were practical skills so important for pioneer families?
4. How did illness affect families then compared to today?
5. What responsibilities would you have if you lived by Silver Lake?

Hands-On Activity Ideas to Extend the Lesson

• Simple Weaving: Try paper or yarn weaving on cardboard looms.
• Pioneer Engineering: Build a stove, bed, or table using recycled materials.
• Prairie Cooking: Choose one recipe from the Little House Cookbook and discuss ingredient substitutions.
• Garden Project: Grow a simple vegetable and record its progress.
• Family History Study: Research or record stories from older relatives.
• House Sign Craft: Create a family name sign using reclaimed materials.
• Art & Narration: Illustrate a scene from By the Shores of Silver Lake and narrate the story.