a button lamp

Delaney and I have been reading the Little House books for the past few months....well actually, I think we've been at it off and on for about a year now.  However, we've picked up the speed now that I'm reading to them after I've tucked them into bed and they're ready to fall into blissful sleep.  We recently finished The Long Winter.  While we were reading about all the blizzards and the lack of supplies to feed and warm themselves we read how Ma made a button lamp to provide light.  We were intrigued by this idea--covering a metal button with cotton fabric then coating it all in axle grease.  We wanted to try this...so we did!

After looking online we decided to use a quarter and lard instead of the button and axle grease.  It worked beautifully, much better than I thought.  To bad we didn't know about this before we had our bout with no electricity, the light the button lamp provided was better than a candle. The button lamp we made lasted for about an hour.

Delaney was also interested in how they used a coffee mill to grind wheat kernels for bread.  She wanted to try it so I pulled out our hand grinder and let her have a turn or two.  She thought is was fun, but readily agreed with Laura that it would grow tiresome and tedious after a while.

We are starting to enter the time period of the pioneers and westward expansion in our history studies.  This has been a fun preview of what life was like in the 1800's.

We are halfway done with Little Town on the Prairie.  They talk often about gardening in this one...now, Delaney wants her own garden plot. I forsee some science projects on the horizon!!  She wants to grow cucumbers just like Laura did.