The Compass Inn Museum: Our History Adventure

One last mini-vacation for the family! This past week the family traveled for a few days for some summer fun. Our first stop- The Compass Inn Museum.

We went back in time to the 1800's by touring the restored Inn that was furnished with artifacts from that time period. The common room, serving kitchen, ladies parlor, and bedrooms were toured.  We learned a lot about how people lived in the past and how different it was to travel and stay at a hotel in the 1820 compared to today! 

                                         

Besides touring the original Inn, we also had the opportunity to tour three reconstructed outbuildings: a cookhouse, blacksmith shop, and a barn.

Conestoga Wagon



Old sleds and Artifacts



Our tour guide... sharing information about the stagecoach with us.



Hmmm.... I wonder what is in here?? 

Bunny ears... really? And Peanut- where's your smile?

All this walking and learning- I'm pooped Mom and Dad!





A really neat place....so glad that we went!  Even teacher Mom learned a lot.  Sunshine (age 9) seemed to be really interested and asked a lot of questions. She has been "into" history lately. Peanut (age 7) really enjoyed the Museum, but commented about 1/2 way through that "my brain is full."  All in all- a beautiful day for learning and spending time together.  (scolded a bit for sneaking in learning during our vacation.  he, he)

Take Care,
Jen



Shoe Bop!!

What girl doesn't love shoes?  I knew right away when I saw the title to this book, that my girls would go ga ga over it, especially Peanut!  
When the main character's  purple tennis shoes fall apart, she has a very big decision to make. What shoes shall she buy today? Cowboy boots, or rain boots, ballet slippers, or saddle shoes?  This delightful story is written in poetry form with such delightful illustrations.

"This winning read-aloud offers adorable candy-colored illustrations and splendidly catchy poems, from odes to haikus to rhyming couplets, celebrating young fans of fabulous footwear." 

Shoe Bop is written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Hiroe Nakata. Such a clever book- love it!

Literature Links/Fun Activities
1. Study the history of Shoes!
Egyptian Shoes, About.com-The History of Shoes,SHOE INFO NET
2. Design your own shoes: High Top , Shoe Coloring Pages
3. Flip Flop Fun: Family Fun-Fluffy Flip Flops (that's a whole lot of f's- a tongue twister for ya!) and Fancy Footwear
4. Match the Shoes: Print out shoe clip art (2 of each) and create a matching game
5. Hide the Shoes: hide pictures of shoes or actual shoes and go on a shoe hunt- silly, but fun!

Okay, I'm all Shoed out!  Be sure to share your Shoe related ideas! Love hearing from my readers and followers.


Below- the shoes that I put on to clean the house. 

He, He!  Sorry I had to post these when I came across them in my hunt for shoe activities.  Too funny.  How does a woman actually walk in a pair of shoes like this? No way- not this Momma!

Jen

Disclaimer: I wasn't compensated for the above review in any way- my opinion- yours may differ. :)

Go Back in Time

Do your children or students love learning about people from the past? If you have a little history buff at home like I do, then they will absolutely love this project! Recently, Sunshine was assigned a Living History Museum Project.  She had to become Harriet Tubman.  Her requirements included writing a personal narrative, sharing real or created artifacts, and creating a poster that shows a time-line of Harriet's life, maps and pictures.
My daughter worked so hard researching Tubman's life.  There were plenty of articles online, but what she enjoyed the most was reading books about her life.  She read Who was Harriet Tubman? by Yona Zeldis McDonough and Time for Kids: Harriet Tubman: A Woman of Courage.


Because it is a living museum, she had to dress as Harriet in a historical costume.  She could wear a costume or make her own.  We did both.  Luckily, I was asked to review a costume for Costume Discounters.  What perfect timing!  I searched on their site to pick out a costume that I could review that Sunshine could use for her project.  There was a large variety, but I wasn't able to find exactly what we needed.  So what do you do in the Creative and Curious Kids household? You improvise. We chose a Colonial Girl Costume and turned it into a Harriet Tubman costume.  It will get a lot of use, because now she wants to be a colonial girl for Halloween.  The costume is adorable and affordable.  The quality is good for the price that you are paying. The colonial costume retails for under $17.00 and is 100% polyester.  Below is a photo of the original costume from Costume Discounters.

Sunshine modeling the costume

And next, you'll see how we switched things up a bit to turn her into Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman with her Gospel Hymns

Sunshine in character with project

Now that big sis has a costume, of course Peanut wants one as well!  I'm looking at this one below for her for this fall.  I think she'd make an adorable Betsy Ross.

Here's just a little bit more info. from their site:
Cheap Halloween costumes is the name of the game here at Costume Discounters. Our Incredible Lowest Price Guarantee ensures you'll get exceptional value when you buy your costume for Halloween or other occassion. Costume Discounters brings you the latest and best costumes at the lowest prices...all year round.

Well, this was wonderful experience for her.  I hope that you enjoyed reading about her project and my review.  

Enjoy your day,

Jen

Disclosure: I was provided with a costume at no cost by Costume Discounters in order to give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

I am an affiliate for Amazon,therefore receive compensation if a product is purchased through an affiliate link.

Mr. Potato Head

Last week, I had the pleasure of watching my two nieces in the morning, before getting them off to school. The house was full of life every morning, with four little girls playing dolls,watching cartoons,or creating puppet shows. One day, they had fun playing one of my childhood favorites- Mr. Potato Head. Here is a photo of their creations!!

I laughed at the site of them. They must be modern Mr. Potato heads, because they look to me like they are break-dancing. This is where I got my inspiration to learn more about Mr. Potato Head and his history.

A few fun facts!!
-Mr. Potato Head was developed in 1949 by George Lerner.
-George got the idea from playing with fruits and vegetables from his mother's garden.
-The toy was manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952.

Fun Photos!

Original 1952 Mr. Potato Head boxed set


Mr. Potato Head, 1992

If you are curious about Mr. Potato and want to learn more:
Mr. Potato Head- History

Wow! Look at Mr. Potato Head in 2008! There are a lot of different styles available.
Mr. Potato Head- Toys

Enjoy your Monday!!

Jen