Goldtown Beginnings Online
The activities on this page supplement the Goldtown Beginnings Activity Guide (six books). Page numbers are included to show where in the guide the links to these activities are found. Enjoy these activities along or with the print or instant download guide.
🔎 Jump to a Book’s Activities
- Jem Strikes Gold
- Jem’s Frog Fiasco
- Jem and the Mystery Thief
- Jem Digs Up Trouble
- Jem and the Golden Reward
- Jem’s Wild Winter
1- Jem Strikes Gold
Jem Strikes Gold Chapters 1-3
Page 11 – Blueberry Pie (with an adult)
Âľ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups fresh berries (or frozen)
1 tablespoon butter
Double 9″ pie crust (buy or make)
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix berries, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Line a 9″ pie pan with bottom crust. Pour berry mix into pie pan. Slice butter and dot on the berry mixture. Cover with pie crust. Seal edges. Poke a few holes in the crust. Sprinkle with more sugar. Bake 45-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and the pie is bubbly. Cool and eat!
Jem Strikes Gold Chapters 4-6
Page 14 – Pan for Gold. Watch Mrs. Marlow and her family pan for gold on Stockton Creek in Mariposa, California. Goldtown is a made-up town, but it is near the real gold town of Mariposa. Fun fact: Mariposa means “butterfly” in Spanish.
Jem Strikes Gold Chapter 10
Page 21 – Jigsaw Puzzle. Click on the image to put together this 56-piece digital puzzle of Jem and his new dog “Gold Nugget.”
2- Jem’s Frog Fiasco
Jem’s Frog Fiasco Chapters 4-6
Page 34 – Bullfrogs. Watch this 1½ minute video that shows how to catch a bullfrog at night in a pond.
Jem’s Frog Fiasco Chapters 7-9
Page 37 – Jigsaw Puzzle. Click on the image to put together this 56-piece digital puzzle of Jem, Ellie, and Nugget trying to catch a frog.
3- Jem and the Mystery Thief
Jem and the Mystery Thief Chapters 1-3
Page 45 – Marbles. Watch this one-and-a-half minute video on how to play marbles.
Jem and the Mystery Thief Chapters 4-6
Page 50 – Tarantulas. Tarantula spiders are gentle giants. Watch this 30-second video to see Susie and a couple of tarantulas. Do they look fun to play with? Susie found these tarantulas just crawling around on their mini-ranch in the California foothills near Mariposa.
4- Jem Digs Up Trouble
Jem Digs Up Trouble Chapters 4-6
Page 69 – Jigsaw Puzzle. Click on the image to put together this 63-piece digital puzzle of Jem, Strike, Canary, and Nugget starting on their way to prospect for gold.
Jem Digs Up Trouble Chapters 4-6
Page 70 – “Mountain Canary.” Listen to the sounds a donkey can make. They can bray very loudly. Their braying can be heard for miles in the mountains.
5- Jem and the Golden Reward
Jem and the Golden Reward Chapters 4-6
Page 96 – “Nessie,” the Loch Ness “Monster.” Watch this one-and-a-half minute video about Nessie, the name given to the strange creature thought to live in Loch Ness in Scotland.d Chapters 5-8
Jem and the Golden Reward Chapter 10
Page 100 – Rattlesnake. See a rattlesnake and listen to its rattles “buzz” in this one-minute video set on my family’s mini-ranch in the California foothills. My grandson Kevan killed the snake with a shovel (the actual killing is not shown). The snake slithered into their lives one hot summer day, the biggest snake they had ever seen. And they gave me (Mrs. Marlow) the rattle!
6- Jem’s Wild Winter
Jem’s Wild Winter Chapters 4-6
Page 113 – Mountain Lions. Learn a little more about the “king cat” in this one-and-a-half minute video. (Scroll down for another short video.)
Jem’s Wild Winter Chapters 4-6
Page 113 – Charlie and Chainsaw. Enjoy a fun clip (2 and 1/2 minutes) from Charlie the Lonesome Cougar (Walt Disney 1967), which shows a young cougar and the trouble he can get into at a logging camp. One of my favorite movies.
Jem’s Wild Winter Chapter 10
Page 121 – Psalm 56:3. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Listen to this kids’ scripture song about trusting God when you are afraid.
