Craft Projects

1. Make your own candles.
2. These domes aren't from pioneer times, but they could be.  Pioneer children had to make their toys from whatever materials they could find.  You can reuse newspapers to create a playhouse.
3. Pioneer children often made their own toys from things that would have been thrown away.
4. Make your own wool friends.
5. Jar Lids - What can your kids make from juice lids?

Games

Marbles have been around for thousands and thousands of years.  Early marbles were round rocks that were used in both children and adult games.

Field Trip

1. Go on a picnic.
2. Talk to some senior citizens.  Find out what it was like when they were young.  Ask them what life was like for them as a child.  Do they know what it was like for their parents?
3. Visit a heritage building.
4. Walk through the oldest section of the town or city where you live.  See if you can identify the original homes and pick out what they have in common.
5. Learn about the first settlements in your area.

Activities

Most pioneers and early settlers spent their 'free' time creating the things they needed.

1. Here's an idea to make your own woven basket.
2. Make a bookmark as a gift for someone special place.
3. Make an Inuksuk.  The Inuit People of the Arctic used them for marking trails long before we had highways and road signs.

Science

Making your own butter is fun and delicious.  In this science experiment, kids can test different combinations to find out which method is easiest.

Early settlers made the things they needed for everyday life. They wove reeds and grasses into baskets, pieced together scraps of fabric for quilts, and made candles and lanterns to light their way. Pioneers also made toys -- balancing acrobats, whimmy diddles and rag dolls, to name a few. Kids today can dye fabric, weave gift baskets, or turn a piece of felt into a pair of cozy moccasins and make crafts the pioneer way. Pioneer Crafts