Little House on the Prairie

This weekend, I've been home sick the whole time. Actually, I've been sick the past 3 weeks. I thought I was getting better, but then I started feeling like I couldn't breathe again and had a fever, so after school on Friday I went back to the doctor to get more meds. Yuck. But everything has an upside- and the upside to my boring weekend is that the Hallmark channel has played a Little House on the Prairie marathon.

I love Little House on the Prairie. When I was little my mom read me ALL of the original chapter books. I love imagining the pioneer times. My friends and I, in the picture above, used to play "Old Fashioned". We covered my 4 poster bed with sheets to turn it into a covered wagon. My loving mom eventually sewed enough bonets for all of us to wear, along with old clothes that seemed fitting to the time period. The picture above was taken one year for Halloween, but we really dressed up and played Old Fashioned often.

I also love the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I love how her family grew up believing in Christianity and that Ma and Pa expected their children to do what they were told (why did that ever go out of style?) I love that Laura was so close to her sister Mary. I love that Laura became a school teacher. I love that Laura met and fell in love with Almanzo Wilder after a sweet courtship. When I reread the book about Laura and Almanzo a few years ago it reminded me of falling in love with Ryan.

In 2nd grade we study the prairie and we get to watch certain episodes of Little House on DVD that incorporate life back then on the prairie, economics, and the use of natural resources. I don't think I've ever been so thankful for a TEK. Most of my kids really enjoy watching the show even though its so different from anything they'd normally watch. One year we even wrote a class book called Little Class on the Prairie after a field trip to a preserved prairie in Denton.

So tonight I'm just sitting here on the couch, enjoying my Little House. Right now it's actually the newer made for TV movie with different actors. My mom doesn't like the new one but I do because the girls look a little like the girls that my mom nannys for. If they ever need a new actress for grown up Laura, or maybe even Ma, I volunteer to play the role.