Fast and Easy Extension Activities for You Wouldn’t Want to Be an American Pioneer! A Wilderness You’d Rather Not Tame by Jacqueline Marley.
More activities and projects from You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer from Sonlight’s HBL K Program. Arranged by page number. As always, let me know if you find any mistakes or broken links, or have any other ideas to add to the list.
Pages 5-7
Here is an activity PDF about packing for the Oregon Trail. On page 6, there is a list of things you can opt to bring, with their approximate weight (even though this is for a family of 4, you can pretend this is enough for your whole family, regardless of size, unless your child wants to try to figure out what would be needed for your whole family). You can help your child add up the things they think will be important to bring, let them know if they have enough or too much, and let them see the kinds of things that might have to be left behind. (Thank you, Stephanie Erwin, for the corrected link!)
Pages 8-9
If you think your child is ready for the sudden deaths and random old-fashioned gameplay of the very old computer game Oregon Trail, they can play for free online.
Pages 10-11
Make a simple covered wagon with your child on this page (also includes several other activity ideas!)
Pages 12-13
None.
Pages 14-15
None, but if anyone has any videos or things that counteract the ideas expressed here, I’d love to hear them.
Pages 16-17
Buffalo Stampede video (I tried to find a better one of a large group in the wild, but the best one I found was a commercial for a bank in Spanish that was great until the end)
Pages 18-19
Here is a video about food along the Oregon Trail. I highly recommend you pre-watch it first.
Pages 20-21
Reenactment of a river crossing in a covered wagon.
Pages 22-23
Modern video at a reconstructed fort shows some of the activities at a fort along the trail.
Pages 24-25
None
Pages 26-27
A fun look at Landmarks along the Oregon Trail
Pages 28-29
