Little House

For our first Christmas together (engaged), Brian bought me the first season of Little House on the Prairie. We both enjoyed the show growing up, and, because once we were married we were choosing to go cable-less for the first year, we wanted to have something to enjoy in the evenings. Before Addie arrived, we had purchased the entire series and looked forward to the day we could share this series with our children.

That day has finally come.

Brian asked me recently when we could introduce Addie to the series. Knowing Addie, how perceptive she is, and how "in to" something she gets, I knew we could start immediately. However, I did not want her to just watch the shows. I wanted her to get to know the real Ingalls family. I have most of the books in our personal library (the ones I read when I was a little girl), but for some reason, I did not have the first book Little House in the Big Woods. We went to the library and I borrowed it. , we began reading it together at nap time.

Now considering that she is a young five year old, I can't just read the book straight through. There are some times where I have to explain the wording, or even reword something with out Addie realizing it as I am reading it. We read 1/2 a chapter per day because the chapters can be a bit long.

After reading through the first chapter together, we decided to make our Family Night movie the pilot episode of the Little House series. (More to come on Family Night on Monday, Lord willing.) In this episode, the family leaves the little house in the big woods, so Addie was a bit disappointed to not get to see the attic where all of the smoked meat was kept, and believe it or not, she wanted to see them "turn the pig into food!" referring to when Pa Ingalls butchers the pig he had raised all spring, summer, and fall and the entire family helps or participates in the process of butchering and curing the meat.

Our episode watching does not correlate to the books at all. I want her to have a picture in her mind of what the characters look like. And because the series is not accurate at all in relation to the books, it really doesn't matter that she is watching the girls grow up in Walnut Grove while we are reading about them living in the little house in the big woods.

I think that reading the books and watching the series is also a good way to introduce her to the fact that movies do not always follow the actual book. She will end up seeing many instances where the shows are slightly different or completely off from the actual story written in the book. Many times, she will see that happen in Bible accounts that are turned into movies, so now is a great time to teach her about "creative license" and how the Book is always right.

I love being able to share this series with Addie. It's clean. It's worry free. There is no fear of language popping up. The children are respectful and obedient and when they aren't, there are consequences. The family is God-honoring and the community of neighbors (minus Harriet and Nellie Olson) is the kind I have always wanted to live among.

We have been enjoying one episode a night. It is a good way to end an evening.