No other stories have captured the hearts of 8- to 12-year-olds quite like the Little House on the Prairie series. Now these time-honored tales serve as the basis for a comprehensive homeschool unit---including cross-curricular studies in Bible, literature, science, art, creative writing, cooking, and history! Features twelve 4-week lesson plans for use with grades 3 to 6. Additional materials required. 283 pages, softcover from Cadron Creek.

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Reviewed by Kathy (Southeast Wisconsin), June 28, 2010

"The Prairie Primer" is a unit study written to cover the westward movement/pioneer era using Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series as the spine. Topics covered in this unit study are: Bible, literature, art, science, creative writing, cooking and history. The pluses of this curriculum are: 1. The curriculum is extremely affordable. The unit study can be done over a period of one to two years. 2. The study emphsizes character developement from a Biblical perspective. 3. The author has included a section on the study of Native Americans. 4. The unit study method works well for all types of learning styles. 5. The unit study method is great for teaching younger children basic library skills. In regard to the older student it reinforces library skills and teaches research skills. The minuses of this curriculum are: 1. Several of the books which are required for the curriculum have gone out of print and are no longer available. The parent/older student will need to search for materials to replace those which are gone out of print. 2. The description of assignments seems vague. The author gives you an idea, but it is up to the parent/older student to expand on the idea and locate the resources necessary for the student to complete the assignment. Overall I think the concept of studying the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a fantastic concept in teaching the pioneer era/westward movement of United States History.

Reviewed by Melissa Cyphert (Westover, WV), June 15, 2010

There is not an answer key for the comprehension questions. A lot of the suggested reading etc. is out-dated.

Reviewed by Jennifer @ Quiverfullfamily.com (Canada), May 16, 2009

Clearly organized for easy use, Gray makes the lesson planning process simple for busy mothers. If you’ve tried planning your own unit studies from scratch you’ll appreciate the effort that goes into choosing appropriate resources, developing activities and conducting research. Gray’s provision of a general overview to each book (including relevant historical and background information), weekly planning guides that are invaluable in gathering knowledge and material in advance, and the clearly laid out daily lesson plans with scheduled readings, comprehension questions and a plethora enrichment activities are the keys to a simple unit study. While the presentation and organization pull everything together for homeschooling parents, the content is excellent as well. Reading through the Primer provided an additional level of depth and understanding as Gray tied together Ingall’s life with historical events, revealed the actual chronological order of the events of the books, and shared additional background information from Ingall’s life. The daily activities provide far more options than a typical homeschooling family will be able to accomplish in a single day. Many times lengthy assignments are suggested, involving research, report writing, and presentation – a project requiring more than a single day’s effort. Picking and choosing from the available activities will result in your children learning through a variety of modalities (visual, hands-on, tactile, auditory etc.) while working in a number of subject areas each day. Of particular interest to Christian parents is the integration of applicable Bible passages and scripture memorization suggestions that are tied into the study of the text, enlivening the selected passages. The ease of use paired with Ingalls much beloved series guarantees a delightful educational experience for both you and your children.

Reviewed by Joseph Kozak (Byron, IL), June 06, 2008

This is such a fun book to use. It allows for very little planning time. Just look through a few weeks worth of plans and highlight what you will be using with the kids. It takes about 15 minutes per week. The books it uses for suggested reading are readily available. Or if you are book person like me. I like to purchase the ones I will use and then after we are done it goes into a special Little House box along with all the Little House books. This will be bought out later for the other kids and hopefully one day all the books will be able to be used by the grandkids. It's a great product for multiage groups. Currently I am using it for my 9 and 12 year olds. An absolutely wonderful teaching aide.

Reviewed by Amy (Whittier,NC), January 24, 2007

I'm using the Prairie Primer with my daughter this year. We are Loving it. Its been the best unit study we ever done.

Reviewed by Kim Wolf (West Milton, Ohio), November 15, 2002

Using the Prairie Primer was 2 of the best homeschool years our family has had (out of 10). I say "2" because we've used it twice: the 1st time was year when our daughters were 5/6 and the other 8/9 and the 2nd year was when they were 9/10 and 12/13. It was amazing how differently the years turned out; how differently they learned because of their ages and the different things they retained from the lessons. Last year, my oldest daughter spent the year using Margie Gray's "Where the Brook and River Meet" based on "Anne of Green Gables" and enjoyed it just as much. I HIGHLY recommend both unit studies!

Reviewed by Sonja (Tennessee), November 14, 2002

Love this program! We had such a good time with it.

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