Little Town on the Prairie {Little House Unit Study}

As we round the home run of our Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, I can feel the pace gently slowing—for all of us. While we’re still being productive, something else has taken centre stage: hours and hours of imaginative play inside the little house. The kind of deep, absorbed make-believe that childhood is made of. This week, we have been happily ensconced in the seventh book of the Little House series: Little Town on the Prairie.

Rather than feeling like a distraction, this feels like the culmination of the past seven weeks of learning. The sewing, the building, the reading, the cooking, it has all poured naturally into this season of play. And honestly, it’s been a joy to witness.

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!

Little Town on the Prairie – Book Summary

Little Town on the Prairie is the seventh book in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The story follows Laura Ingalls as she grows from a carefree girl into a young woman, taking on new responsibilities while continuing her education in the prairie town of De Smet, South Dakota.

The book opens with the Ingalls family settled in De Smet after years of moving and hardship. Although life is more stable than in earlier books, challenges remain. Mary has gone to college for the blind, which puts financial strain on the family, and Laura steps up to help by taking on more work, both at home and in the community.

Laura Grows Up…

Laura attends school in town and begins to mature socially and academically. She studies diligently, determined to earn her teaching certificate so she can help support her family. Throughout the book, Laura teaches school in a nearby settlement, experiencing the demands of responsibility, independence, and leadership for the first time.

Town life brings new experiences that contrast with the family’s earlier frontier isolation. Laura attends social gatherings, church events, and literary societies, which broaden her world and help her gain confidence. These moments highlight the shift from pioneer survival to community life on the prairie.

Almanzo Wilder

At the same time, the Ingalls family continues to rely on hard work, thrift, and cooperation. Almanzo Wilder becomes a more prominent figure, offering quiet support and companionship to Laura. Their relationship deepens naturally, rooted in shared values rather than romance alone.

By the end of the book, Laura earns her teaching certificate and begins to envision a future shaped by education, responsibility, and service. Little Town on the Prairie captures a pivotal season in Laura’s life, the transition from childhood to adulthood, while emphasising themes of perseverance, family loyalty, community, and self-reliance.

This is all we have been up to this week!

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 a Little House Come to Life

Looking back at photos from the very first week, the transformation is astonishing. What began as a simple structure has become a fully lived-in space, shaped by small hands and big imaginations.

Inside, too, the change has been gradual but meaningful. Each added detail—hand-sewn linens, handmade furniture, carefully chosen props—has helped the children step more fully into pioneer life. This is the magic of long, immersive unit studies: learning doesn’t rush; it settles.

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 Dress-Up: Learning Through Imagination

This week was all about dressing up and once the costumes were finished, the play truly took off.

We now have:

• Mr Ingalls
• Mrs Ingalls
• Mary
• Laura
• Carrie

None of the costumes were made from scratch. Instead, dresses were altered into skirts, curtains became aprons, and waist aprons were transformed into an overall apron for the littlest one. With simple adjustments and creativity, we spent under £10 for all four costumes (hats included!), and the children were thrilled with the results.

This kind of resourcefulness mirrors exactly what pioneer families practiced, and it’s a powerful lesson in making do.

Week four 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.

A Prairie Tea Party (Because of Course We Had To)

Once the costumes were on, a tea party was absolutely non-negotiable.

Fresh lemonade was made by juicing five lemons, adding sugar and water to taste, and chilling it in the fridge. Biscuits were baked and proudly served on great-Granny’s china. The children arranged themselves throughout the house, some downstairs, one perched on the stairs, another happily enjoying her snack upstairs.

Even the visitors joined us: Raggy made an appearance, and Georgie the cat stopped by to investigate.

Moments like these don’t just support learning—they are the learning.

Sewing, Building, and Real Work With Real Purpose

Alongside the imaginative play, we continued working on small but satisfying projects.

• A new dishcloth and two tea towels were sewn for the sink unit
• Curtains were made for downstairs
• A butter press was crafted from an enamel oil holder, wooden disc, and stick

And then there was the sink.

Together with Daddy, Thomas built a wonderfully simple toy sink unit for the little house. Sometimes things turn out exactly as you imagined, and this was one of those moments. A wooden box turned on its side, a shelf made from cot bars, a hand hole repurposed for tea towels, it’s practical, sturdy, and completely perfect.

I feel incredibly blessed to have a Daddy willing to jump into these projects.

During week five, we focused on By the Shores of the Silver Lake. We made signs for over the front door and inside the cottage, wove our own baskets, Thomas began building a stove for the cottage, made some molasses popcorn balls and a very tasty prairie chicken with home grown green beans.

From Garden to Table: Prairie Recipes in Action

We were also able to harvest radishes from the kitchen garden—another small but meaningful connection to pioneer self-sufficiency. We also made some prairie biscuits for our aforementioned tea party.

And finally, we cooked one of our favourite Prairie recipes: Crispy Fried Cod Balls from The Little House Cookbook. These were an absolute hit and will definitely be made again.

One of my favorite ways to bring history to life in our homeschool is through food. When children cook recipes inspired by the past, history becomes something they can touch, smell, and taste—not just read about. Recipes like these help children understand how families stretched simple ingredients into nourishing meals, even when resources were limited.

Last week, our focus was on The Long Winter. We made this tea towel and dish cloth (I’m posting about them a bit later), did some prairie cooking and made butter, bread, and jam. Thomas also completed the Little House stove and Lillie made a table cloth.

Why This Kind of Learning Matters

This stage of our Little House on the Prairie Unit Study reminds me that not all learning looks busy. Sometimes it looks like:

• Children staying in character for hours
• Re-enacting scenes from books
• Using handmade tools for pretend (yet very serious) work
• Repeating activities again and again because they mean something

This is deep learning. The kind that sticks.

Little Town on the Prairie Hands-On Activity Ideas to Try at Home

If you’re doing a Little House–inspired study, here are some ideas to extend this kind of learning:

1. Create a Dress-Up Trunk

Use thrifted clothing and simple alterations to make prairie-style outfits.

2. Build One Practical Item

A toy sink, butter press, or wash stand makes play more purposeful.

3. Host a Prairie Tea Party

Serve lemonade, biscuits, or a simple snack using china or enamelware.

4. Sew for a Purpose

Dishcloths, aprons, or curtains help children see value in handwork.

5. Cook From a Pioneer Cookbook

Try Crispy Fried Cod Balls or other Prairie recipes together.

Little Town on the Prairie Reflection Questions for Children

1. Why do you think the Ingalls children spent so much time playing imaginatively?
2. How did making clothes and tools change daily life on the prairie?
3. What was your favorite job or activity this week?
4. How does pretend play help us understand history better?
5. What are you proud of creating with your own hands?

Little Town on the Prairie: Nearing the Finish Line

With only a few weeks left, next week will focus on laundry and finishing the projects we’ve started (and yes, there are a few!). But for now, we’re letting the days unfold slowly, enjoying the rhythm we’ve built.

This season of play feels like the truest sign of success in our Little House on the Prairie Unit Study proof that the learning has taken root.