Read Along: Week 23: A Roof and a Floor

• Family activity: If you and your kids made a log house back at the beginning of our read-a-long, they may enjoy making some furnature like a bead-stead or a table.

Materials:
gathered twigs or popsicle sticks
strong string
white glue
small amount of scrap cloth
stuffing
needle & thread, scissors
Instructions:
cut the twigs or popsicle sticks to size (I used pruning shears that were handy) and use strong string to bind the uprights to the cross-pieces as in these pictures:


This may require cooperation (like neighbors helping each other): one person holding the pieces together while the other does the tying. Once the whole frame is together and can stand on it’s own, add a dab of glue to the joints to strengthen them & set it aside to dry.
When dry, glue other twigs/popsicle sticks across the frame lengthwise (on the lower cross-pieces) for the bed or the other direction ( on the upper cross-pieces) for a table.

While that is drying, make a small mattress for the bed out of scrap fabric and a little stuffing. Use another piece of scrap fabric for the blanket (or table-cloth if you’re making a table).

• Activity: Nature Journaling

The Ingalls girls spend much of their free time exploring and observing the beautiful world around them. This is a wonderful activity for all ages and all seasons. Lets begin a nature Journal. This can be as simple or involved as you like. You can start with a spiral notebook or a fancy blank journal book. The journal can include anything from temperature & precipitation reports, sketches, found objects taped or glued in, to poems whether original or copied. Here are some links to give you some ideas and inspiration:
http://highland.hitcho.com.au/naturejournal.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/naturejournals
http://www.connecting-with-nature.net/journal_prompts.html
http://homemade.truepath.com/nature2.htm
http://www.sierraclub.org/education/nature_journal.asp
http://naturesketchers.blogspot.com/
When I was young, my Mother took us on nature walks, pointing out flowers and birds along the way. Once we chose a small plot of ground and marked it out with some twine. We returned every few days to record what we saw in that little patch. This is another way to approach nature journaling.

By SarahJayne