Okay, I know that I could have shelled out the $8 bucks and got the traditional Sparky Bag, but I needed an excuse to use my fabric markers……And I think it turned out pretty cute.
Of course, Bubba wanted a Cubbie bag too.
We’re all about FAIR around here.
This is actually a craft we did a few years back, but I’ve finally put up a photo tutorial for how to make it. They turned out really colorful too, because this time we used paint instead of markers.
Additionally, I thought it might be fun to have children draw pictures of different items and resources that were aboard the Mayflower and put them into the pocket.
If you haven’t already noticed, for each craft I offer some “Discussion” ideas. (You’ll see them to the right of the “Materials” list) These discussion questions are meant to be things you can be thinking about and teaching on as you complete the craft. It’s my experience (what little of it that I have) that my kids are very receptive to information when it is paired with hands on activities, and they actually commit it to memory easier when we’re having fun learning about it. It’s also useful to have something tangible for the visual learner in all of us, and I think crafts are a great way to fill that need when they are paired with educational topics.
Blah Blah, right? You know, just in case you were wondering what all that discussion stuff was.
Anyway,
Here are the Photo Instructions
I’ve paired this with the book, “If you sailed on the Mayflower” which has more then enough information to teach children all about the Separatists, and they’re journey to the New World, in search of religious freedoms.
Last year when Oriental Trading was having their 75 year celebration Giveaway, I entered to win thinking (yeah right….I’m sure millions of people are trying to win and I’m just wasting my time even hoping)
But to my surprise I won a $50 gift card! And I got to pick from the thousands of goodies they have over there. Well to my surprise again, OT is having another Giveaway, this time they’re choosing a $500 winner each day for a month! (You can believe I’ve already entered!)
Anyway, after the baby came (4 1/2 months ago!) I didn’t really have any time to figure out what I wanted to spend my BIG $50 on: (I’m the sort of person who has to read all the reviews, price check and get the best deal…..you know, when I have the time)
Well this month I scraped together a few extra minutes and picked out some much needed resources for our Crafty Classroom!
Here’s what I got:
Lab-in-a-Bagâ„¢ pH Power Science Kit
This is cool because it came with easy to use ph-paper baking soda, citric acid and some fun science experiments. And we can use the test tubes for tons of other projects in the coming years!
Let’s Mix! Color Paddles $4.99 for a set of three full rainbows!
(My favorite deal!) I was really surprised that I received three sets of paddles for this price, so that is something like $1.65 or something a piece. Total deal. My only problem is that they don’t come on a ring already, but I just tied some yarn around them! We’ll be using these for Art, Science, and even reading. (Yes, reading can become more fun when you do it in color!)
Fabulous Fabric Markers
I got these for some upcoming projects I’ve got in mind! More details to come…
Nature Prints Sun Sensitive Paper
(Okay, I admit it, this is for me :)
12 Petri Dishes for our Moldy Pumpkin Experiment and any other disgusting experiment the kids come up with in the coming years.
Classroom Thermometer
We have needed one of these FOR-EV-ER. Serious. Now, we’ve got one and I’m a happy homeschooler. I have visions of my children checking the temperature every morning, charting them on a graph and preforming intensive data analysis procedures to predict weather patterns in relation to global warming and it’s impact on native habitats.
Or, you know deciding whether or not to wear pants or flip flops for the day.
That’s important too.
So that’s what I ended up with for my $50, and can you imagine the goodies you could get for your classroom if you had $500 to spend! I’m totally drooling already over all their Science and Active Learning products!
Don’t forget, you can enter to win daily!
