At LauraPalooza Ann Weller Dahl announced that her curriculum guides for use with the Little House books would be going out of print. This two volume set was introduced in the 1990s and has been well known in Laura circles. We felt that we should extend to all our readers a chance to get these before they are gone and so asked Dahl to put together the following post about how to purchase them.

Guest post by Ann Weller Dahl

One of the fascinating things about Calvert School, where I taught in the Lower School for 31 years, is the fact that most of the children who have been enrolled there have never seen the school buildings in Baltimore!   To answer your obvious question:   that is because in 1906, Calvert (founded in 1897) created a homeschooling  division, now also working with charter schools.   Knowing of my interest in the ”Little House” books, my headmaster suggested that I design a reading guide to them.  This would provide literary enrichment (no tests, no grades) for the thousands upon thousands of children that Calvert educates around the world, as well as for those in my Day School classroom .

What do these guides offer in their 400+ pages?  To quote from the review written by Renee Mathis for Mary Pride, who is known for her Big Book of Home Learning: “These books are a treasure trove that will surely delight all “Little House” fans everywhere.     Rich in background information and bursting at the seams with trivia and tidbits,  Calvert’s Reading Guides will turn the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder into an educational gold mine for your family.”     Rating:  five hearts.

At the time they were published, Bill Anderson, who was Calvert’s consultant on the guides, wrote a column about them in the Laura Ingalls Wilder LORE with the title “Definitive Study Guides Published.”

Anita Clair Fellman stated in her 1998 speech at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum’s symposium on “Laura Ingalls Wilder and the American Frontier”: It is notable that the best and most thorough child level study guide to the books are the two volumes written by Ann Dahl for Calvert School, which produces much curriculum for homeschoolers.”

What are these” tidbits”?   What makes the guides “definitive” and “most thorough”?    In addition to much detailed background information, definitions, and instructions on what to look for and to think about while reading the books, Calvert received permission to include 25 of the recipes from The Little House Cookbook and 14 of the songs from The Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook, plus many of the original Helen Sewell and Mildred Boyle illustrations, as well as some by Garth Williams.

The two volume set is $50.  It may be ordered online at http://homeschool.calvertschool.org or by mail or telephone at

Calvert Education Services,

10713 Gilroy Road, Suite B,

Hunt Valley, MD   21031

1-888-487-4652