The Pioneers Grades 2 & 3

The Prairie

This year our theme is the Prairie. We began the year focused on the pioneers and their travel across the prairie. For our fictional wagon train, the children picked identities along with a profession. The children decided what supplies they would need (not to exceed 2,000 pounds). The children made lists, created their own stores, were given money and the markets in Independence Missouri were opened. The children dressed in pioneer garb, bought and sold the goods and supplies they needed for their several month journey. As the wagon train progressed we learned about using compasses to find the way west, as well as trying to build shelters on the prairie. This group has a great love for dramatic play, so they dress up and are given a scenario to act out of life on the wagon train.

Studying the prairie has given us the opportunity for much hands on learning with the making of butter and johnny cakes, boiling up walnuts for ink and making our own feather quills for writing letters, braiding and sewing rugs, sewing bonnets and vests, exploring a gold mine and panning for gold,and more. Through experiences, reading and researching, we are looking to create an inner experience of what the pioneers went through in their journey to a new land. Soon the children will be picking something of their own interest to research and we will be presenting a living museum before we move into studying about the tribes of the prairie.