Hello sweet friends! Welcome to Lessons With Laura Farmer Boy. This is the third post in an eleven-week series.
You can find all of the Lessons With Laura posts HERE.
Lessons With Laura Farmer Boy
In this post, we will feature three excerpt readings from Farmer Boy along with some accompanying activities.
- Chapter 2 Looking at an 1860’s dress.
- A Chapter 2 craft: Creating Alice’s Air Castle.
- Chapter 6: Cooking Almanzo’s favorite dish: Apples and Onions
This post works in conjunction with my YouTube channel.
The full-length video can be viewed by clicking HERE.
It includes this funny blooper.
Chapter 2 An 1860’s Dress
For this week’s historical fashion segment we examine an 1860s dress inspired by one worn by Almanzo’s mother, Angelina Wilder, in Chapter 2, Winter Evening.
It was first shared in this Little House post.
Creating Alice’s Air Castle
In chapter 2 of Farmer Boy Almanzo describes an enchanting air castle hanging over the dining table. The air castle was made by his sister Alice. As a child, I had wondered what an air castle was. It sounded so beautifully romantic. With research, I learned that Alice’s yellow wheat-straw air castle was a lovely craft of Scandinavian origin called Himmeli. They are mobile decorations traditionally made out of straw or reeds. The mobiles can be quite ornate and are often hung during the holiday season.
There are numerous Himmeli designs. Individual pieces are often combined to create spectacular mobiles.
One design can be found in The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion. The author shares a tutorial here.
In this week’s VIDEO, I share a child-friendly design with step by step instructions.
You’ll need:
- Scissors
- Twine
- Drinking Straws
Almanzo’s Favorite Dish: Apples and Onions
While I have eaten fried apples and spiced apples I had never tried apples and onions.
I share the recipe in the video and it is also available in both The Little House Cookbook as well as The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion.
It was so easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Visit The Real Life Home of Farmer Boy
Wilder Homestead
177 Stacy Rd, Malone, NY 12953
518-483-1207
I hope you have enjoyed today’s lessons. Next week we will take a look at Little House on the Prairie.
Laura
These posts are always so interesting. Apples and onions, that doesn’t sound like a great combination, but maybe I just need to try them.
When I was in college (in upstate NY, the setting of Farmer boy,) the dining hall used to serve apples and onion and breakfast sausages for lunch once in a while. I loved it, everyone else hated it! My family likes it – and you can substitute peaches or similar stone fruit for the apples as well. Good way to use up fruit slightly past its prime.
Last week I made hot Italian turkey sausage with onions, tool them out of the pan and set aside, then added some cold boiled potatoes to fry slightly crisp. That dish also was approved….
Funny, I don’t remember about the air castle. I’ll have to watch for it my next time through the books. I do remember apples and onions and thinking that was an odd combination, but I want to try it some time.
I have to say “Farmer Boy” may be favorite book of Lauras. I also love to saute pork chops with onions and simmer in apple cider with apple slices!
I might have to make that apples and onions this week up here. I think I’ll be scoring more apples from the market tomorrow morning and onions, I have! That looks great with pork! I love the air castle — how pretty!
And that MAY be one of my favorites of your costumes. I hope you wear it on Christmas!