Visiting Lincoln's Birthplace

We're actually taking this week off from school since we had to be out of town Monday through Wednesday and then I'll be at a homeschool convention all day Friday. However, I was able to squeeze in some education in the form of a fun field trip this week.

On our way back home from the conference we were attending we made a slight detour to the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, near Hogenville, KY.

One of our favorite things about visiting the National Parks and Historic Sites is the Jr. Ranger program. We've been participating since The Princess was in kindergarten and the kiddos have earned quite a few badges. Last summer I finally conned...er...talked my mom into sewing up these little sashes for them to pin their badges to and wear when we visit National Park sites. I think they turned out so cute--and the kiddos loved them:)

We really enjoyed the visitors center. There was a very interesting film and some nice displays of what the inside of the Lincoln cabin may have looked like. We had fun browsing around while the kiddos completed their Jr. Ranger booklets.

After their booklets were completed they received their certificates and new badges from the rangers.

This was some very interesting penny art that a collector created. It even contained a couple of the very first issue pennies (worth about $4K each now!).

After exploring the visitors center we were ready to climb the 56 steps (in honor of how many years Lincoln lived) to see the memorial to the cabin where he was born. It was a beautiful day to be out for a walk! The memorial is really so nice.

Inside the memorial is a representation of the cabin where Lincoln was born. This memorial was begun while Teddy Roosevelt was president and dedicated while Taft was in office.

We took the scenic route back to our car on the lovely nature walk they have there. It was a much-needed break from our car time!

My only regret was that we didn't have time to drive the 10 miles further to Lincoln's boyhood home at Knob Creek, but that just gives us a reason to go back now!

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

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