Learning History With Kirsten Larson

Book three for Kirsten Larson's
collection, "Kirsten's Surprise, A
Christmas Story"

       "Kirsten Larson is a Swedish immigrant who settles in the Minnesota Territory with her extended family in 1854. She faces the hardships, challenges, and adaptations necessary to adjust to life in America such as learning to speak English. More changes include making a new friend outside of her own "world" and the arrival of a new baby. Kirsten was one of the first three dolls produced by American Girl in 1986. Unlike many of the dolls, Kirsten's books have maintained their original illustrations (with the exception of the covers). Kirsten was officially archived on the American Girl website on January 1, 2010." Wikipedia 

• My pinboard for Kirsten Larson doll costumes
• Look up the meaning of the name, Kirsten

Artifacts at Our Blog for The Kirsten Larson Doll: 

• Craft a Knitting Basket for A Doll 
• Leaving Home to Work A Different Farm  - from O'Brien's Pioneer Memories
• A Pioneer Thanksgiving  - from O'Brien's Pioneer Memories
• Compare O'Brein's 1rst "Long Ago Christmas" in Maine to his 2nd "Long Ago Christmas" in Minnesota 
• Collecting for A Kirsten Larson Doll or A Pioneer Doll 
• The Old Home by Arthur Burdick 
• The Pioneer Doll's Christmas Tree
• We found an 18" doll sized water barrel!
• Three ways to craft the St. Lucia crown...
• Doll Sized Spelling Printables - 1841
• Piece A Simple Patchwork Quilt for Your Doll's Bed
• Ezra's Thanksgivin' Out West
• The Pioneer - author unknown
  
• Craft candle molds for historic doll display and play here

School for Pioneer Children:

• One-Room Schools of The Past 
• Tucker Mountain School House Reenactment, 1837
• Elihu Thomson an engineer born in 1853 recalls his childhood

Food Out West:

• Food on The Oregon Trail
• Prairie Yard & Garden: Growing Vegetables in the 1800's
• The Harsh Reality of Food for 'Little House' Pioneers
• Food Preservation in Early Virginia
  

White House Politics and Immigration:

• United States 14th President, Franklin Pierce
• Swedish Immigration Story, 1854
• Immigration: The Swedes
• History of Immigration to the U. S. in 1890-1920 documentary
  

"Kirsten On The Trail" from American Girl Short Stories

Fashions from The 1850s:

• Godey's Lady's Books Online
• The Kirsten Project, 1854 by studio quirk
• See folk fashions artifacts from Dalarna County, Sweden

Music from The 1850s Performed by musicians and vocalists today:

• Star in the East - The Southern Harmony (written in 1854)
• John sings "Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair" in 1934 performed 100 years later. (This song written in 1834)
• The Scots-Irish musical legacy in the USA and Appalachian Mountain Music Documentary
• Songs of the Civil War and Ballads of the Civil War

More Crafts for Kirsten Doll Lovers:

• DIY Saint Lucia Day Crown and Activities 
• Little House On the Prairie Paper Dolls 
• Dipping Beeswax Candles
• How To: Berry Ink
• Wrap and Tie A Prairie Yarn Doll

Museums, Universities and Libraries With Swedish Collections: 

• Swedish American Museum
• Swedish Historical Society
• The Swedish Emigrant Institute
• Swedish-American Historical Quarterly
• American Swedish Historical Museum
• Swedish Immigration to North America 
• How Scandinavians Transformed The Midwest, And...

Kirsten Larson Collections:

• American Girl Dolls Wiki - Kirsten Larson
• Kirsten Larson: Celebrating An American Girl
• Products for Character Kirsten Larson 
• About Kirsten Larson - 1854 
• Kirsten's Cabin by DanDridgeHouseDolls 
• Kirsten Larson Character Books and The Author: Janet Shaw 
• My Entire American Girl Kirsten Collection

More Links to Kirsten Related Learning:

• Christ Centered St. Lucia Day
• American Pioneer Notebooking and Activity Unit
• Rosemaling on Wooden Eggs 
• Every Star is Different
• Julemanden is the gift-bearer in Danish culture
• Oregon Trail Lapbook
• Scandinavian Kitchen
• The legend of the wooden shoe. A Dutch Folktale 

Video for Kirsten Doll Fan Culture:

• Meet Kirsten Larson: American Girl
• Kirsten Larson's Cabin by Dolls and More
• Day in the Life Of A Pioneer Child
• My Kirsten Collection 
• Kirsten back from the doll hospital! 
• How to redo Kirsten's braids 

Advanced Reading: Historical Fiction about Westward Expansion, Pioneer Life and Immigration:

•  All the Stars in the Sky: The Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder, The Santa Fe Trail, 1848 by Megan McDonald
• My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881 by Jim Murphy
• Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849 by Kristiana Gregory
• The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory, 1868 by Kristiana Gregory
• Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 by Kathryn Lasky
• West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 by Jim Murphy
• Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847 by Kristiana Gregor
• So Far from Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 by Barry Denenberg
• A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 by Kathryn Lasky