Noticing what she wears and deciding why she wears it leads to making some inferences from the reading. When Ida makes stew, the children do all the work. In that way she's like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence. Find other characters that con others into doing their work for them. Activities Find Randall's similes and make up others.
Cooking plays an important part in the story.
This book is really a historical novel and the action of the story is very much influenced by its setting. Get into the history of the Twenties and Thirties. Find out about the Depression as it affected members of your family. Ida wasn't the only one traveling the road looking for work at that time. Research the locale of the book as it was then and as it is now.