American Girl: Molly 1944 – American History Unit Study

Here is another American Girl unit study we did for our two boys and one girl homeschooling in grades 2, 4, and 6. I also have unit studies for American Girl: Kaya and American Girl: Felicity if you want to check those out.

The Molly series takes place during WWII. We got a bit of Molly fever and went all out reading the short story series in addition to the regular books. After we finished all the books, we watched the American Girl Molly DVD. I had glasses growing up so I was always particularly fond of Molly with her round glasses. She is one of the original American Girl dolls.

Books:

1. Meet Molly
2. Molly Learns a Lesson
3. Molly’s Surprise
4. Happy Birthday Molly
5. Molly Saves the Day
6. Changes for Molly

• Welcome to Molly’s World
• Molly and the Movie Star
• Molly Marches On
• Molly’s A+ Partner
• Molly Takes Flight
• Molly’s Puppy Tale
• Brave Emily
• Molly’s Cook Book

Crafts: Learn to knit. I highly recommend the circular knitting looms. They make knitting so easy even I can do it!

Make WWII pipe cleaner Christmas ornaments.

The directions for these are in the 3rd book, Molly’s Surprise. I gathered 9 pipe cleaners, cut them in half, then cut them in half again, gathered them together, tied them with a pipe cleaner in the center and bent them out to form a ball.

Activities: Recycle glass, aluminum, and paper – if your state gives money for these things donate the money to the local Department of Veterans Affairs or Operation Heal Our Patriots.

Watch children’s movies from the 1940s: Walt Disney’s Cinderella, Lassie Come Home, and National Velvet were our favorites!

Make a bomb shelter fort like Molly and her friends did. Bonus points if you can make one in your basement!

Plant a garden. We attempted a potted patio garden this year. If possible, make a meal with something from your garden.

Field trip: We had the opportunity to visit Warhawk Air Museum – Nampa, Idaho. If there is a military museum near you, this would be a great time to go check it out!

If you can, attend a sleep-away camp. We went to Camp MiVoden Family Camp recently and Leoni Meadows Family Camp a few years ago.

Snacks: We made jelly flag sandwiches from Molly’s cookbook

We also made Apple 🍏 Coffee Cake, a recipe from my childhood in lieu of the coffee cake recipe in Molly’s Cook Book.

Some other activities that would tie in nicely with the Molly series are: learning to paddle a canoe, swimming lessons, playing capture the flag with friends, and taking tap dance lessons.

Happy homeschooling friends!