Learning on the Sly

I am a huge fan of having fun while you learn! I mean, really, who wouldn't be?! I'm so grateful that I seem to be passing that trait along to my kids as well.

This weekend Fort Smith, AR celebrated it's 2nd annual *Heritage Festival*. So we headed downtown today for lots of educational fun. We had such a great time! I really love historic downtowns anyway, and Fort Smith has an especially colorful history.

First of all, we started the afternoon right with some good ol' Mexican food. You just can't beat chips and good salsa~not to mention bean & cheese dip! Then we were ready for some walking.

The Fort Smith Historic Site, which includes the oldest building in Fort Smith, the remains of the original fort and Judge Parker's courthouse and gallows, was hosting re-enactment tours throughout the grounds and courthouse. There were lots of volunteers for the re-enactments along with Park Rangers, too. Everyone did such a great job and was so informative, our kids loved it! It wasn't our first visit, but it was the first time to have people in period costume.

{some period music}

{federal marshals rounding up some outlaws}

{getting read for a hanging}

{Vince & the kiddos watching the preparations for the hanging.
Don't worry~they ended the tour before the ropes got on the
lawbreakers' necks:)}

{enjoying some ice cream at the old fashioned soda fountain
of the Fort Smith Historic Museum}

{the newly-reopened Park at West End~so cool!}

{Not sure about CJ, the cow, but she sure likes her lipstick!}

The weather was perfect, the learning experiences were wonderful (& free!) and the family time couldn't have been better. I'm having a great weekend!

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...

my blessed life

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