Oregon Trail books or activities

[joyfulhomeschooler]

We are getting ready to study the Oregon Trail. Does anyone have any good book recommendations or fun activities they did when learning about this? My children are 7 & 5.

Thanks

 

Oh and we live in Oregon :)

[kolamum]

The Oregon Trail cd-rom game is a big hit around here. :)

[Momling]

 

The Oregon Trail cd-rom game is a big hit around here. :)

:iagree:

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Thanks! Checked it out from the library today!

[FairProspects]

Not an activity book per se, but at our museum we use rope to show the size of the wagon and get kids to try to fit enough people for a family, clothes, kitchen utensils, medicines & supplies, barrels or bags of food, tools, & as much furniture as they can in the space. Inevitably, they end up having to decide what to take/leave out and it creates some good discussions.

 

ETA: Sewing cloth dolls is also a very fun and simple activity. You can also dip candles pretty inexpensively. If you own a butter churn or can go to a museum with one, that is another fun activity.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Thanks for the ideas. I think we will have to do the cloth doll one. We are taking a trip to our local oregon trail museum (oregon city) next week too so that should help with the learning experience. We already made butter, that was fun! We used a jar with cream in it and shook, shook, shook lol until it made butter. This was one of the MFW adventures activities that we enjoyed.

[Ali in OR]

Is the Oregon City museum open again? It was closed for awhile. Another good one is Philip Foster Farm in Estacada. They do a home school day in early October with lots of activities. This farm is at the end of the Barlow Road--the end of the trail for the folks who took that road. If you want to go during the summer, just try to pick a day when they have activities going (like the home school day in Oct.). My kids got to saw a log, cook a biscuit over the fire, grind corn, wash clothes, etc. Lots of fun. If you have any vacations planned for eastern Oregon, the Oregon Trail museum at Flagstaff Hill (Baker City) is fantastic. And there are lots of places where you can see wagon ruts. There are great ones down the hill from the museum, but also at Blue Mountain Crossing and we've found some roughly south of The Dalles/Pendleton too.

 

My 10 yo loves the Dear America diary for crossing the Oregon Trail. I think it is Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie. She also loves Bound for Oregon.

 

Here's the link to Philip Foster Farm:

http://www.philipfosterfarm.com/

[FairProspects]

Thanks for the ideas. I think we will have to do the cloth doll one. We are taking a trip to our local oregon trail museum (oregon city) next week too so that should help with the learning experience. We already made butter, that was fun! We used a jar with cream in it and shook, shook, shook lol until it made butter. This was one of the MFW adventures activities that we enjoyed.

 

Ooh! Have a good time! All the interpreters at that museum are good friends of mine so say hi for me!

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Is the Oregon City museum open again? It was closed for awhile. Another good one is Philip Foster Farm in Estacada. They do a home school day in early October with lots of activities. This farm is at the end of the Barlow Road--the end of the trail for the folks who took that road. If you want to go during the summer, just try to pick a day when they have activities going (like the home school day in Oct.). My kids got to saw a log, cook a biscuit over the fire, grind corn, wash clothes, etc. Lots of fun. If you have any vacations planned for eastern Oregon, the Oregon Trail museum at Flagstaff Hill (Baker City) is fantastic. And there are lots of places where you can see wagon ruts. There are great ones down the hill from the museum, but also at Blue Mountain Crossing and we've found some roughly south of The Dalles/Pendleton too.

 

My 10 yo loves the Dear America diary for crossing the Oregon Trail. I think it is Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie. She also loves Bound for Oregon.

 

Here's the link to Philip Foster Farm:

http://www.philipfosterfarm.com/

 

The webiste says they are open for two days in May. I guess I should call to verify. Thanks for the other ideas too. We may have to take a drive this summer to go to one of the others too.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Ooh! Have a good time! All the interpreters at that museum are good friends of mine so say hi for me!

 

Will do :-) I may have to write your name on my hand to remember though lol

[EppieJ]

Where in Orygun are you? ;)

 

I grew up in Cottage Grove (just south of Eugene). It's not exactly Oregon Trail, but there are lots of covered bridges in CG and there's a small mining museum as well that's got some interesting history things to look at.

 

I haven't used it yet, but HOAC has an Oregon Trail lapbook study and I've found a free one for youngers here:

 

http://www.lapbooklessons.com/OregonTrailLapbook.html

Edited May 10, 2011 by EppieJ

[Virg]

I second the museum in Baker City. We visited it on our way, moving out of state and it was AWESOME! They had some really cool books and I think a couple of them are at their online shop at oregontrailshop.com.

[TC5]

Oregon Trail interpretive Center site:

http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/

 

And here, you can download a great resource to teach about the Oregon Trail:

http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/education-teachers-packets.php

 

Near the end of this PDF is a list of interpretive sites in other states, all along the trail. There is also a book list, activities, activity ideas, history, recipes, songs, etc. I'm planning to use parts of this later this year, before our next trip to Oregon.