What We Did on Friday

The kids and I spend all day together on Fridays. Sometimes we have a day full of errands and chores, sometimes we are packing to go out of town (but not so much while the price of gas was so high...), and sometimes I find a special activity that I think the kids might enjoy. More often than not, we stay in our pj's for breakfast - something we never do on a school day! And, if Miss M is so inclined, she might let Mommy sleep in for 15 minutes or so....

We had a couple of late nights (well, late for the kids) last week, so Miss M (the really early riser in the family) let me sleep about 20 minutes late on Friday morning. When she was ready for me to get up, we left Mister J in bed and tiptoed downstairs. As I opened the blinds, we saw a light dusting of snow on the ground (yes, snow!). After breakfast, we snuggled on the couch and rubbed noses (which Miss M thinks is hysterical), and tried to be quiet so we wouldn't wake up Mister J. It didn't work, so Mister J joined us for some snuggles, snow-gazing, and breakfast a bit later. (No, I didn't let them go out in the snow. It was cold, y'all! Besides, it wasn't enough to really have fun in...)

A little while later, Miss M discovered some Dora the Explorer coloring pages that I'd printed out the night before. While she was coloring, I pulled some supplies together for a cute Thanksgiving craft. After some cutting, gluing, and a little bit of drawing, here's what we made:

Aren't they cute? If you want to make some, here are the directions. I would suggest cutting all of the paper the night before, when the children are in bed. Miss M hasn't yet developed a healthy respect for cutting tools, so that was a little, um, scary. Plus, some of the pilgrim "clothes" and the indian "feathers" are cut freehand - which is a skill that I have yet to perfect in my 30+ years. So, I repeat, cut the paper the night before. You may even want to make one of the people just to get a little practice. Then, let the kids make a whole village full of pilgrims and indians the next day - without a pair of scissors in sight!

Mister J and Miss M have hauled these 'people' up and down the stairs and played with them until the hats and feathers are bent and some of the clothes are coming unglued. I never imagined they would have that much fun pretending with toilet paper tube people! I shouldn't be surprised, since these are just fancied up 'stelescopes' (which they 'make' from paper towel tubes). Once again, my mom was right - whether cardboard boxes or tissue/towel/wrapping paper tubes - the packaging tends to be more fun that what comes in (or on) it! And when these toys wear out, I can just recycle them!