We Interrupt This Blog...

We interrupt this blog for an announcement. My children and I have been anxiously awaiting our trip to 'Merica and it has finally arrived. Due to travels and plans, this blog will be temporarily closed for an unspecified amount of time. I will return before the beginning of the school year with many new ideas, plans, and activities. I may return sporadically this summer with updates but I don't want to promise anything.

We are hoping our summer will be full of family, friends, popsicles, and fun. And we hope that your summer will be full of those too. Happy vacation!

I really should be packing....

I really should be packing but I saw this post about creating finger puppets and I just couldn't help myself. I was really just looking for things to do during the flights, since I will be iPad-less :(,  and I thought finger puppets would be fun. Then it got a little involved with looking for graphics and such. But I did it, I created finger puppets for the Three Little Pigs. Hope you enjoy them. We will be using these on one of our three flights or layovers in the airport. Wish me luck!

The template is from LilCountryKindergarten and the graphics are from Mrs. Patton's Patch. Thanks! Click on pic to take you to the file.

Monday's Discovery

Bravery - the discovery of the week/month/year. A family who was leaving for awhile left us a plastic slide that we could use while they were gone. I had put it up when Kaleb was starting to crawl around because I didn't want him to hurt himself. Recently, I have brought it out of the storage closet. Kaleb can stand on the bottom step but usually needs help getting to the top and sliding down. I was working with J when I looked up and saw this...

on the second step....

on the third step....

success!!!!

Can you tell he was pleased with himself? Every time he moved a little, he screamed with joy at his achievement. Bravery, this child has very little fear. That can be good and bad. To aid in his safety while practicing the slide steps, I have placed every pillow I own around the slide to prevent too harsh of a fall. He still has to learn how to sit and slide but for now, he was on top of the world.

Culture Kit

This summer I am participating in a Culture Exchange with several other families. Living abroad is an ultimate learning experience for any child but for those unable to travel, culture kits allow the world to become a little smaller. These allow children to experience a taste of a a culture/country that they may not know about or may only dream of visiting. This is my first cultural exchange so I was unsure of what to put in my kit. Hopefully what I have chosen will offer a view of the country we live in. This is what I will be sending my other families.

I created a mini book which discusses many of the wonders of our country. It contains maps, pictures around the country, mini T lessons on colors, numbers and sayings, customs, recipes, etc... I added packages of Salep which is a drink made from orchid bulbs, a mini rug, and a keychain of the eye that is very popular here.

I bought some postcards of familiar sights here, added a balloon with the national flag on it, and an array of coin money that we use.

I was lucky to find a puzzle of some of the famous sites. I added a paper doll craft, a coloring book, and a seek-n-find in T.

Lastly, I added some fun chocolate cookies and some tourist apple tea. I truly wanted to add T Delight but I was unable to find small packages. I may still add another sweet before I send them.

I am hoping this kit will allow the children who are receiving it to experience a little of the country we live in. If you would like to do your own Turkey country study, you may check my pinterest board. It has links to different sites with recipes and crafts. If you would like a copy of my mini book, please leave me a message and I will email it to you. It is a personal book with my daughter in it, so I won't post it as a download. I hope this post will encourage you to experience new cultures and possibly participate in your own cultural exchange.

 Worldwide Culture Swap is a good place to start for ideas on culture boxes and for joining a swap.