Farmer Boy Story Study Lapbook
Created by Heather L.

Lapbook Templates

Instructions

Chapter One

Going to School:  At what age did Almanzo start school?  What did he have to carry and why?

Almanzo was 8 when he started school.  Since he was the youngest, he had to carry the dinner pail.

Mr. Corse:  Where did the school teacher stay?  Why was Almanzo concerned for him?

Every 2 weeks he stayed at a different person’s home.  For these 2 weeks, he’d be staying with the Wilders.  Almanzo was afraid the big boys would beat Mr. Corse as he was a small man.

Chapter Two

The Farm:  Describe the Wilder’s farm.

Chores:  What chores must Almanzo and Royal do when he arrived home from school?

They needed to clean the stalls and put down fresh hay for the cows, oxen, calves, and sheep.  They also needed to fill the mangers with fresh hay.  They milked the cows when they finished filling the mangers.

Table Manners:  Who was allowed to talk at the table?  What saying goes along with this?

Only the adults were allowed to talk at the table.  Children must be seen and not heard.

Chapter Three

Moccasins:  Why did Almanzo have moccasins and not boots?  How did he take care of the moccasins?

Almanzo was a little boy, so he wore moccasins and not boots.  Each night, he rubbed tallow into his moccasins until they would absorb no more.

Winter Night:  Describe how the Wilders spent their winter evening.

The Wilders made popcorn, ate apples, and drank apple cider.  Mother knitted. Father worked on his ax handle.  Royal whittled.  Alice worked on her embroidery.  Eliza Jane read the newspaper aloud.  Almanzo thought about the food that he was eating.

Breakfast:  Describe what the Wilders had for breakfast.

They had oatmeal, fried potatoes, buckwheat cakes, sausages, preserves, jams, jellies, doughnuts, and spicy apple pie.

Chapter Four

Big Bill Richie:  Describe what happened between Mr. Corse, Big Bill Richie, and the other big boys.

Chapter Five

Almanzo’s Birthday:  What did Almanzo receive for his birthday?  What did he get to do for his birthday?  What other surprise was waiting for him after lunch?  How did he spend the rest of the afternoon until chore time?

Almanzo received a calf-yoke.  Almanzo got to stay home from school and work with the calves.  He received a hand-sled.  He spent the afternoon sledding.  He also spent some time with his father making shingles.

Chapter Six

Ice-House:  Describe the process of filling the ice-house.

1)    Cut large cubes of ice from the pond

2)    Load ice onto bobsled

3)    Cover floor of ice-house with saw dust

4)    Place cubes of ice three inches apart

5)    Fill space between cubes with saw dust

6)    Cover cubes with three inches of saw dust

7)    Continue alternating saw dust and cubes until ice-house is full

Chapter Seven

Bath Night:  How did Royal and Almanzo decide to get the water for the bath?  Explain the process of taking a bath.

Royal and Almanzo broke icicles off the house to fill the tub.  They took the heated water from the tub on the stove and put it in the tub on the floor.  The next person would empty the tub prior to their bath.  Father would be the last one to take a bath.  He emptied the tub in the morning.

Chapter Eight

Sunday: Describe the Wilders’ routine on Sunday.

Chapter Nine

Breaking the Calves:  Why did Almanzo say he needed to stay home from school?  Was he allowed to stay home?  What did he do with his Father?  How did he use the whip?

Almanzo said that he needed to stay home to work on breaking the calves, so they wouldn’t forget the lessons that he had taught then.  His mother said that he could stay home.  He made a whip with his Father.  He used the whip to train the calves how to turn left and right.  He never struck the calves.

Showing Off:  How did Almanzo show off?  What happened?

Almanzo showed off the work that he had done with the calves.  Then, he decided that he would hook up his new sled to the calves, so the calves could pull him (and the boys) around.  He decided after they did well in the barnyard that he would go outside of the barnyard.  The calves took off and the boys went flying.

Chapter Ten

Maple Syrup:  Describe how Almanzo helped his Father make maple syrup.

Wintergreen Berries:  What did Almanzo think about wintergreen berries?  What did he promise Alice?  What did they do on Saturday?  What did they bring home for the Mother?  What did she do with them?

Almanzo thought there was nothing better than wintergreen berries dug out of the snow.  He promised Alice that he wouldn’t touch the berries by Trout River.  On Saturday, Almanzo and Alice headed out to find wintergreen berries.  They brought home a pail of green wintergreen berry leaves.  Their Mother put them in a bottle with whiskey to make flavoring for cakes and cookies.

Potatoes:  Why must the Wilders rush to bring in the potatoes?  Explain the process of collecting the potatoes.

The potato buyers were in town, so they needed to get the potatoes in town to sell them.

Chapter Eleven

Bess and Beauty:  Why was Almanzo allowed to drive Bess and Beauty?  Why did he not completely enjoy driving them?  What does a good horseman always do?

Almanzo was old enough to work in the fields and drive an old, gentle work team.  He didn’t completely enjoy driving them because they knew how to do everything.  A good horseman always takes care of the horses before he eats or rests.

Planting Potatoes:  Why would they plant cut up potatoes instead of potato seeds?  Describe how they planted the potatoes.

If they planted a potato seed, you would never know what kind of potato might come up.  If they planted a cut up potato, they would get the same kind of potato as they planted.

Chapter Twelve

Nick Brown:  Why did the kids like it when Nick Brown came to visit?  What did he do for a living?

The kids loved it when Nick Brown told stories and sang songs.  He was a tin-peddler.  He also gave the kids goodies when he came to visit.

Bartering:  How did Mother get the best of Nick?  Did he mind?

Mother got exactly what she set out to get.  She placed the dishpan out as a bargaining chip, but she didn’t really need it.  Nick didn’t mind as he got what he needed as well.

Chapter Thirteen

The Dog:  Why was everyone jumpy that evening?  Who was allowed to stay just for the night?  What happened during the night?  What did Mother think about this?

The family was jumpy because they had $200 in cash in the house.  A stray dog was allowed to stay the night.  Someone tried to come steal the cash, but the dog protected the house.  Mother felt that the dog was probably sent by God to protect them.  Since they showed him kindness by feeding him, he repaid the kindness by protecting them.

Chapter Fourteen

Sheep Shearing:  Describe the process of shearing the sheep.

Chapter Fifteen

Making Soap:  Describe the process of making soft soap.

Frozen Corn:  Why did Father wake Almanzo and Royal in the middle of the night?  What must the family do to save the corn?  How much of the crop were they able to save?

Father got them up because the corn had frozen.  They had to slowly pour water over the corn before the morning sun touched it or the corn would die.  They save 3/4ths of the corn crop.

Chapter Sixteen

Independence Day:  Describe the Independence Day celebration.

Half-Dollar:  Why did Almanzo ask his Father for a nickel?  Why did his Father give him a half-dollar instead?  What did he explain to Almanzo?  What did Almanzo do with his half-dollar?

The boys dared Almanzo to ask his Father for a nickel and they teased they his Father wouldn’t give it to him.  His Father gave him the half-dollar to teach him the value of money.  He explained how much work it took to earn the half-dollar.  Almanzo decided not to buy the lemonade; he bought a sucking pig instead.

Chapter Seventeen

The Pumpkin:  What did Almanzo use to help his pumpkin grow?

Almanzo feed his pumpkin a bowl of milk every day.

The Pig:  What did Almanzo do to help his pig grow?

Almanzo kept her in the shade and fed her as much as she could eat.

Rainy Days:  What did Almanzo and his Father do on some rainy days?  When did the fish bite the best?

Almanzo and Father went fishing on rainy days.  The fish would bite best when the raindrops were falling on the water.

Chapter Eighteen

Lucy:  Explain what happened to Lucy.

Almanzo gave her some sticky candy.  Her teeth ended up stuck together, so she couldn’t eat, drink, or squeal.  They had to chase her around in order to get the candy off her teeth.

Keeping House:  List some of the fun things that the kids did while Mother and Father were away.

Polishing the Heater:  What happened while Almanzo was polishing the heater?  What had Eliza Jane done about it prior to Mother getting home?

Almanzo had thrown the blacking brush at Eliza Jane and it had hit the parlor wall leaving a black mark on the wallpaper.  Eliza Jane had patched the wallpaper, so Almanzo would not get in trouble.

Chapter Nineteen

Harvest Time:  Describe how they harvested the different crops.

Chapter Twenty

Harvesting Potatoes:  How did they keep warm while harvesting the potatoes?  What happened to Almanzo?

Almanzo made a fire out of the potato tops to keep him and Alice warm as they worked at harvesting the potatoes.  Almanzo had put potatoes on the fire to cook; the potatoes burst and hit him in the face.  His eyelid and cheek were burned.

Chapter Twenty-One

Fair Games:  What piece of advice did Father give to Almanzo about the fair games?

He told him to never bet your money on another man’s game.

Horse Race:  Who was the surprise entrant into the horse race?  Describe what happened.

An Indian was the surprise entrant into the horse race.  He ran as fast as the winning horses.  He saluted the crown and walked off the track.

Prize Pumpkin:  Describe the judging of the pumpkins.  What place did Almanzo’s pumpkin win?  What was he worried about?

Almanzo’s pumpkin won first place.  He was worried that maybe it wasn’t ok that he had raised the pumpkin on milk.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Preparing for Winter:  Describe how the Wilders prepared the farm for winter.

Butchering Time:  What did the Wilders do with the cowhide?  What did they do with the pork fat?  Describe what they did with all of the meat.

They used the cowhide to make shoes.  They used the fat to make lard.

Candle-making:  Describe the candle-making process.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Academy:  How did the girls prepare to head to the Academy?  Why was Mother concerned that the cobbler hadn’t arrived yet?

They ripped the seams out of their dresses and turned them inside out before re-sewing them.  This made the dresses look new again.  Royal had outgrown his boots.  He had slit them open to allow room for his feet.

The Cobbler:  Why was the cobbler late in arriving?  What would he make for Almanzo this year?

The cobbler was delayed at someone’s house because he had to make shoes for a wedding.  Father said that Almanzo was now old enough to have boots.

Royal:  What did Royal want to do when he grew up?

Royal wanted to be a shopkeeper, not a farmer.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Bobsled:  Describe how Father and Almanzo made the bobsled.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Threshing:  Why didn’t Father want to use the machine thresher?

Father said that haste makes waste.  It was the lazy man’s way to thrash.  The machine chews up the straw so they can’t use it for the animals.  It also scatters grain all around and wastes it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Christmas:  Who was coming to visit for Christmas?  What did Almanzo do to help get ready for company?

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Delia, Uncle Wesley and Aunt Lindy, and all of the cousins were coming for Christmas.  Almanzo had to scour the steel knives and forks and polish the silver.  He also ran around getting anything that Mother needed.

Christmas Presents: What did Almanzo receive for Christmas?

Almanzo received a cap, a jack-knife, horehound candy, mittens, orange, and dried figs.

Snow Fort:  What did the boys play after Christmas dinner?

The boys built forts and had a snowball fight.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Wood Hauling:  What happened with Almanzo’s first load of logs?  What lesson did he learn?

The log rolled down and smashed Almanzo in the snow.  Then, the sled wouldn’t move.  Almanzo learned that he must take his time and not overload the sled.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Pocketbook:  What did Almanzo find in the road?  What did he do with it?  Retell what took place when he returned it.

Almanzo found a pocketbook filled with money.  He returned the pocketbook to Mr. Thompson, the man who lost it.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

An Apprentice:  What did Mr. Paddock offer to do for Almanzo?  What did Almanzo think about this?  What did he tell Father that he wanted?  How did his Father respond?

Mr. Paddock offered to make Almanzo his apprentice.  Almanzo did not want to work in town; he wanted to be a farmer.  Almanzo told his Father that he wanted to buy a colt.  His father said that he would give him Starlight.

Additional Booklets

Vocabulary:  Define any words for which you do not know the meaning.

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