We're reading Josefina

"Josefina Montoya is a Hispanic girl whose heart and hopes are as big as the New Mexico sky. 1824"

Dear Josefina,

I would be a little scared of that mean goat too. I would be sad if my mommy passed away. I like the clothes that you wear. I like the flowers that you planted. You take good care of the flowers. The rebozos you wear are pretty.

Love, Josie

Prairie life

We finished the Little House on the Prairie Book. I (geo and jos) learned that prairie life was hard. They had to build everything like thier house, well. beds. chairs, tables, fireplace, barn etc. The prairie had a fire and they almost lost everything. Pa took the plow and plowed a dirt path around the house and then set backfires to save the house and barn. Laura described the prairie as having lots of grass and a big sky. They were in Kansas. These are pictures of the Kansas prairie.

Here is a prairie chicken. Pa would hunt and they would eat a lot of prairie chicken. (jos) I wouldn't like the food they eat. They didn't have a lot of sugar it was really special to have sugar. They mostly drank only water and milk after they got the cow. (Geo) I would love the food they ate because I like chicken and milk and cornbread. (mom) Would you like to eat that every day? (Geo) NO!

At the end of the story they heard that Washington was going to make the settlers leave so they had to pack up and they had to leave to find another place to live.
(Jos) It made me feel sad because they worked so hard to build their house then had to leave it. They just started their garden.

(Geo) This is a wagon like one that the Ingalls family used to travel in.

Little House experiment

Georgia and Josie: We are reading the Little House on the Prairie book now. We are not in the colonial times now we are in the pioneer times. Mom is helping us do a lapbook too.

In one of the chapters Pa dug a well. They would send a candle down the well to see if the air was good. Mr. Scott, a neighbor who was helping dig the well, went down without testing the air because he thought sending the candle down was hogwash. Then he passed out because a gas was in the well.

We did an experiment that showed how candles need air to burn.

Georgia: First Mama had to light the candle.
Georgia: Next we had to put a plate over it.

Josie: It went out! And the experiment was really fun.

Georgia: We did it again and again and again.

Josie: Emeline thought it was fun and exciting.

Georgia and Josie: The candle went out because it needs air. If Pa would have put the candle down the well that morning it would have gone out and Mr. Scott would be safe.