Building a Sod House

We have fallen in love with the Ingalls new home “On the Banks of Plum Creek”.  The wildlife that is described in this book, along with the antics of the ever-precocious Laura is a win-win for the girls.

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This week our curriculum with The Playful Pioneers curriculum asked us to re-create a sod home with grass and twigs…well, we happen to be in the dead of winter and had to be creative with this one.  We quickly found inspiration over at Hidden Leaf Academy, thank-you Pinterest!

Supplies:

Mini Marshmallows

Cocoa Krispies

Shredded Coconut

Green Food Coloring

Butter

How to:

Add green food coloring to 3/4 cup of Shredded Coconut.

We used an old yogurt container and simply added color and shook until desired color was achieved.

 

Meanwhile, melt 6 TBSP of butter over low heat in a large saucepan.  Stir continually to make sure the butter doesn’t burn.

Add 6 cups of mini marshmallows (we only had large so it took longer to melt) and stir constantly until evenly melted.

Now stir in 9 cups of Cocoa Krispies until blended.  This smells divine…almost like s’mores!

We next poured out the mixture onto a prepared cookie sheet, lined with our Silpat baking mat.  Press (careful, it’s hot!) or roll it out to around 1/2 inch thick and form a nice even rectangle with straight edges.  This will ensure your “sod” can be easily cut in uniformed rectangles. Next sprinkle on your green coconut topping or “grass” and press it down into the warm “earth” layer.

Let it cool completely!

Remove from baking sheet and chop into small rectangles.

Sample as you go…very important step…this will ensure optimal excitement and squeals while building your Sod House!

Start building!  Keep the scale quite small so you don’t run out of sod pieces…leave space for a door and we left the back open so the girls could play inside with their little figures.

We used large popscicle sticks to brace the roof and this worked beautifully.

Large Popsicle Sticks by Darice

Voila!

 

This sod house is way too cute to eat…maybe make extra…

Let me know if you try this activity and how you enjoyed it!

 

Sue

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