Farmer Boy, Chapter 27

Social Studies
Woodhauling 
In Almanzo’s time (1860), they used skids as levers/cant poles or loaded the wood by hand. They would load it in sleds or wagons, or if it were going long distances, it would be loaded in train cars. Almanzo used his oxen to help get the logs from one place to another.

Today gathering wood (for an individual) the “traditional way” is by making a trip to the woods with these tools:
Chainsaw - a chainsaw is a portable mechanical, motorized saw.
Heavy splitting maul - A splitting maul (or mall) is a heavy, long-handled hammer used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of it is identical to a sledgehammer and the other side is an axe.
Sledgehammers -A long heavy hammer, often wielded with both hands, used for driving wedges and posts and for other heavy work.
Metal wedges - a triangular shaped tool used to separate two objects. Used in manual log splitting (2 way) or powered log splitters / firewood processors.
Hydraulic wood–splitters - Hand machine used to cut wood. It uses liquid pressure and flow to cut the wood. (Think speed cutting!)

Logs are transformed into rough-cut timber used to make pallets, railroad ties and other items (and of course fire wood). The long, round logs have to be squared off and the first bite of the saw on each side removes the bark and a certain amount of wood. The long, irregular shaped hunks, sometimes called slab wood, are cut into pieces of varying length and are hauled to the woodpile. Slabs that have more bark than wood are chopped into mulch for homes and gardens or churned into sawdust that farmers use for bedding material for their animals.

The logging industry includes felling, or cutting down, the timber; cutting it into lengths; and transporting it, usually by truck, to the sawmill. After the trees are felled and trimmed, the logs are skidded to landings where they can be put on trucks and hauled to the mill. Skidding involves raising one end of the log and dragging it across the ground. Early skidding relied on teams of horses, mules, or oxen. (just like Almanzo!)

Animal skidding still occurs in some developing countries and on small woodlots, but wheeled or tracked vehicles have mostly replaced animals. Cable skidders are vehicles that pull logs behind them with steel ropes placed, or choked, around each log. A grapple skidder saves time by scooping up a bunch, or hitch, of logs by means of hydraulic arms mounted on its back.

Schooling 
Almanzo didn’t have to go to school because he was hauling wood. There are many times when it was more important for Almanzo to help at home (hauling wood, threshing, harvesting) and not go to school. He was learning valuable lessons that he would use for the rest of his life as a farmer.

“He was learning to be a pretty good ox driver and wood hauler. “ They had hauled that years supply of wood and it was time for Almanzo to go to school. Even though there were times that he did not go to school and this was an accepted practice, there were many times when it was necessary and expected for Almanzo to attend school.

“But can you figure? A farmer must know more figuring than that, son. You’d better go to school” “And he studied hard to learn the whole arithmetic, because the sooner he knew it all, the sooner he would not have to go to school any more.” He saw the value and purpose in studying to learn for his future. He had a good attitude and knew that the sooner he learned what he needed to he would move on to the next stage of his life. Almanzo later shows his father that he can figure. This was necessary for him to learn to sell, buy, and trade his  stock, extra harvest, etc.

How could Almanzo learn the skills he needed, such as arithmetic, without going to school? Even though Almanzo was not at school, was he still learning? He could have learned these at school, but he would have experienced them being applied in his every day life like when he went to town with Father. So not only is there a book learning, but also a practical (daily life ) learning. What can you learn in your daily life? (Measurements for cooking and building things, gardening skills, automotive maintenance, etc) Do you have to go to a school building to learn?

In the 1800s there were not many options for school. Every child that was of schooling age went to the same building. They sat according to age-the youngest in front and the oldest in the back rows. Pierre and Louis don’t go to school. As foreigners, they were responsible for learning English on their own. Without going to school how do you think they learned it? (Using it and practicing it every day. Practice makes progress!)

There are three commonly recognized styles of learning: visual learning, auditory learning, and tactile/kinesthetic learning. People are usually learn best with a mix of the three styles, but some people lean toward one better than the others.

• A visual learner learns best by seeing things. (for example, by reading the words or seeing diagrams). 
• An auditory learner learns best by hearing (instead of seeing the text, they will remember it better if they hear it being read out loud to them). 
• A tactile/kinesthetic learns information best by touching (this type of learner wants to experience it, not just see or hear about it).