Special Interest Day

Sorry for not posting sooner today.  It has been one of those extremely busy days.    I was unexpectantly woken up around 3:30 am to the sound of one of my children throwing up. (not a sound you like to hear!) What made it worse was that it was on the carpet and not in the bathroom.. Ewwwwwww! I think I got back to sleep just about the time the alarm went off..

Today our school held its annual Special Interest Day.  This year's theme was Time Traveling. The kids spent the day going to several  programs during the day to to learn about different eras.   Our first program was about the telephone.  We saw all kinds of different phones.  The kids in the class did not even know a time without cell phones,  They learned what us older folk had to do when we were young, and actually attached the wall of the house when we talked on the phone.. LOL! .  

While the cardboard box in the photo doesnt look like much, it is actually a model of a cardboard Hooverville shack.  So many people lost their homes during that time and had to find some sort of shelter. We also had a bread and soup line where the kids each got bread (with jelly) and water.  

After the Depression, we learned about the Gold Rush.   

The kids had a great time panning for gold.  I was actually going to post an activity very similar to this in my party of the week post.   Kara had a western/horse party a couple of years ago and we panned for gold in the sandbox.

Each of the kids got a metal pan and dug for gold nuggets in swimming pools full of sand.   The gold nuggets were little yellow fish tanks rocks.    When each child had at least a cupful, they went to the General Store to trade it in. 

 The gold was weighed, and then they were able to pick out crackers, jelly beans and twizzlers in exchange for what they panned. 

The kids were very excited about their treats. 

Our next stop was the 1700s where we learned how kids played.   Here we made a cup and ball game out of a paper cup,  craft stick, string, paper and rubber bands.    

In another program we learned how to kids in olden times had to make their own dolls.  We learned how to make a clothespins doll with scraps of fabric.  It was interesting to learn that many of the scraps were from military uniforms and ripped flags.  The kids seemed to enjoy this craft, even the boys, who found ways to add interesting details to their dolls.  

 After making the dolls, we had Greek games in the gym. The kids ran races,  measured how far they could jump and raced on scooter boards.   We also had an  assembly with songs around the world.    The kids were full of questions when learning about Space.  

By then it was the end of the day, and time to go home.   It was a fun, but tiring day.  I am probably more tired than most since I have pretty much been up since 3:30 am.   My child who was sick,  is now 100% better so hopefully a good night of sleep for all.