I love arts and crafts. Most people think I do them all "for the kids," but I'll let you in on a secret. I love them myself. They are relaxing to me, and they give me a chance to express myself in ways other than running my mouth (which I do more of than I should!). I also believe that arts and crafts can provide powerful learning experiences for those involved! The past week was full of arts and crafts and celebrations at our house, and I'd like to post a few of them.
I am originially from Louisiana, so Mardi Gras is part of my heritage. My kids are finally old enough that I wanted to share some of that heritage with them. I visited the Dollar Tree and picked up a few masks and some decorations and we got to work. While we worked, I talked about my memories of Mardi Gras parades, king cakes, and school celebrations. When we finished, it was interesting to see everyone's personalities come out in the their masks. My daughter's was extravagant and fancy; my son's had primarily blue sequins (his favorite color!). My husband decorated his with happy faces (his trademark), and mine was very patterned and symmetrical (I can't help it!). A few days later (on Mardi Gras), we had a traditional king cake, and Daddy found the hidden baby. It was a blast sharing this part of my past with them, and I think it created fun new memories for them as well!
Here's the king cake:
The week before was Dr. Seuss week. My kids aren't in school yet, but we wanted to celebrate, because we LOVE reading and Dr. Seuss is a favorite! Since that week has been dubbed "Read Across America" week, we printed off a map of the USA and read 50 books. Each time we read a book, we colored in a different state and labeled it with the book title. Without even realizing it, the kids were exposed to history and geography! Not to mention all the topics in the books we read... Funny thing is, we didn't read any more books than we do in a normal week, but calling attention to it made it "new" and "different."
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