Category Archives: Mom Camp 2014

We interrupt Mom Camp to bring you MANGA CARTA DAY..

So I had to interrupt Mom Camp to discuss that today is the 501st anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta. 

Mom Camp has done a Magna Carta Day (click this link for details). So this morning when I pointed out today was Magna Carta day and The Princess asked me what the Magna Carta was, I responded that she should know! (To be fair to her, she was pretty little when we did it so I am going to give her a pass). Although, she did suggest it was a British Declaration of Independence. Incorrect but at lest she knows it has to do with self government. 

Cinco on the other hand quickly explained that the Magna Carta was a document signed by King John.  He explained that it was to prevent the king from taking any more land.  He was of course discussing the provisions in the document regarding the king’s forest and hunting privileges. 

I did remind him that while it did discuss that.  The big point is that the king has to consult with his nobles to raise taxes. 

What’s more, yesterday was primary day in Nevada so I took them with me to vote.   We came full circle on self government. 

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The Long Drive: MCD 8

After the day in Dingle, the Captain took us on the long drive.  We we’re trapped in the car for almost 7 hours!!!!  Okay.  It wasn’t all bad.  But we certainly spent more time going the LONG WAY than I would have liked. 

The drive did include a ride on a ferry, which was a new experience for the kids.  

We also hit the famous Cliffs of Moher.  It was probably the most crowded tourist spot we encountered during the whole trip.  


At the end of the longest day we made it to Galway.  We walked the Latin Quarter and had dinner in a nice little pub with live Irish music.  That made The Captain very happy. 

  

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Egyptian Day: Mom Camp Days 34-35

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As mom camp 2014 winds down, we are revisiting one of our theme days from the very first mom camp three years ago: Egyptian Day!

20140821-125535.jpgAs you have guessed by now I don’t post pictures of the kid’s faces on here. But, I have found the pics from our previous Egyptian mom camp day… A blast from the past!

Last time we made elaborate Egyptian collars and the tall crowns of lower Egypt. We borrowed a book from the library with instructions for a few ancient Egyptian meals-dinner that night was a little iffy with the exception of the dates.

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This year headgear made a comeback for Egyptian Day! We decided to make Nemes Headdress. It’s the blue and gold head covering most people associate with King Tut’s golden mask. The real Nemes’ were made of cloth and were not considered crowns at all. Although, they might have been warn with a crown. As you can see by the picture of Cinco, he also added a traditional Pharaoh’s beard. A nice touch if you ask me!

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Next up was a little archeology! Thanks to all the junk you can find at The Dollar Store the kids were able to excavate an golden idol…move over Indiana Jones! We have done a bunch of these kits before– unearth fool’s gold, find-a-fossil, etc. Still, they never stop entertaining and engaging the kids. I used to by the pricey ones from the Smithsonian but now I just grab the cheapo Dollar Store kits and the kids are equally entertained.

20140826-131640.jpgWe also designed our own sarcophagus… Cinco tried to make his look authentic.

Then it was time for another of my famous clothespin people projects. Over the years we have made a clothespin Ben Franklin and colonial soldiers, Mermaids, and British soldiers. Now we can add Pharaohs to the list of clothespin creations brought to you by mom camp!20140826-131652.jpg

How to Make Your Own Clothespin Pharaohs:

What you need:

Steps:

  1. 20140826-131726.jpgCut out a very small piece of construction paper in the shape of the Egyptian neck collar (sort of a wide crescent shape). Depending of the age and talent of the kids, you can do this yourself or let one of them do it. You should hold up to clothespin person for sizing and make sure it goes around the neck.
  2. Cover the collar in Elmer’s Glue. Let the kids decorate the collar with small beads. Set it aside and let it dry. (Waiting for it to dry was one of the hardest things for The Princess on this project!)
  3. 20140826-131750.jpgUsing blue construction paper, cut out the “U-shaped” Nemes. Then cut a few strips of yellow construction paper and let the kids glue them in rows on the Nemes.
  4. Now you cut out a small circle of brown construction paper. Then from one of the edges cut a straight line to the center of the circle. This will be Pharaohs’ skirt.
  5. When everything is dry and ready, go ahead and hot glue it on your clothespin. I would start with the neck collar, add the headpiece and finish up with the skirt.
  6. Finally, finish it off with some heavily made up Egyptian eyes and glue on a few black beads to make the beard!

20140826-131710.jpgI wouldn’t be Bookymom if I didn’t also include some books on our Egyptian Day. We read:

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And we even went to the local Natural History Museum to see the King Tut exhibit.  That’s two full days of Egyptian excitement for Mom Camp!

 

 

 

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Mom Camp Day 33: Water Day Part Two!

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We took a trip back to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum to take a look at some more sea creatures. This time the focus was on the new Seahorses they have added.

I could have stood looking at them all day. Cinco and the Princess liked them as well, but not as much as I did!!!

Then is was back to the pool for more swimming practice, not exactly glamorous, but necessary!

Back at home we reading again. A bunch of aquatic books.

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Mom Camp Day 32: Water World!

In preparation for a long weekend of boating in Catalina, we decided to embark a few ocean inspired activities.

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We began by taking a trip to Las Vegas’ own Shark Reef! Cinco and The Princess end up going there all the time. But, if you want to learn about life in the water, it’s a good educational spot. Cinco got a hold of my camera phone and took a number of photos of our visit.

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As you can tell, we also got the chance to see the scuba divers cleaning the tanks. Always a little treat… But a fairly typically experience.

We also purchased some grow kits!

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The Princess choose the dolphin and Cinco went for the ray. We places them in the master bath and waited … And waited … And waited…. As we waited Cinco periodically took size measurements and recorded them in a small journal.

We also hit the pool to practice a bit of swimming. If you are going to jump off a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you better be ready! As it turns out, we did jump off the boat in water that was more than 1000 feet deep. And yes, it was cold!!!

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Dino Day Part 2: Mom Camp Day 31

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There was simply too much to do in only one day of Dinos so we added a second day. After all, who can say no to Dinos.

We started off with several of PBS’ Dinosaur Train episodes that we watched on Netflix.

Then it was time for a little learning. We consulted a number of dinosaur books laying around the20140731-170105.jpg house. The family favorite turned out to be an old 3D T-Rex book. We enjoyed a pseudo dissection of a T-Rex. The book took us about an hour to get through as it had little activities and experiments to do in each section. We measured out 40 feet to understand the scale of the T-Rex. We also conducted balancing exercises to learn how the T-Rex made use of it’s tail. You get the idea.

20140731-214701.jpgWe took the left over wooden frames from the wooden Dinos we made and used them as stencils. The 20140731-214729.jpgkids used all the different body parts in both ‘stencils’ to create their own new dinosaurs and color them in.

 

 

 

Then we embarked on making our own wearable Dino feet, too. Here’s what you need:

  • Cardboard (I used a Costco sized cereal box and that was enough for both kids or two pairs of Dino feet)
  • Paints
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Paper Towel Tubes
  • Feathers (optional)
  • Hot Glue Gun

Step 1: 20140731-170702.jpgHave the kids draw an outline of Dino feet on the cardboard. You can use a show to draw around to make sure the foot dino is large enough to wear.

Step 2: Cut out the feet. Depending on the age and skill of your child, you may want to do this yourself.

Step 3: Cut the paper towel tube length wise. You will glue these onto the feet so the kids can slip on the feet.

20140810-194408.jpgStep 4: Let the kids paint the Dino feet. Both kids enjoyed this part and used their creativity.

Step 5: Glue the long strips of paper towel tube onto the feet, making a slip-on for the kids.

Optional Step 6: Glue a few feathers onto the Dino feet. Let the kids choose the placement. I like a few coming off the back, but adding them to the sides or drought is fine too.

This helps the kids understand that scientists are starting to believe some Dino’s beyond those that fly maybe have had feathers…

Have fun playing!

 

 

 

 

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Let the Dinosaurs Roar: Mom Camp Days 30

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After all the traveling and the days of real camp, Mom Camp is back in business.  The kids actually complained that they have been too busy this summer and that they haven’t gotten enough “TRUE MOM CAMP” days.  To be fair, we have been doing a LOT of other things and our traditional mom camp activities have taken a backseat.

We all agreed on getting back on track with a few days dedicated to our favorite prehistoric pals, Dinos!

20140731-153637.jpg We started the day off with some arts and crafts.  Even before school gets out I am on the look out for anything I can use during mom camp.  I got the wooden dino puzzles from the Target dollar section and the fold your own dino kit from Michael’s.  20140731-154403.jpgBoth sets were easy for Cinco and the Princess to put together and provided plenty of entertainment.  They not only assembled the kits, but then enjoyed some play acting with the toys that they created.

20140731-153656.jpgNext, we attempted to make our own dino fossils.  On pinterest I found a recipe using coffee grounds, salt and flour to make a sort of cement.  I was surprised to find I had no flour in the house, so in my typical mom camp way, I substituted pancake mix for flour.  I am not saying that definitely ruined the mix,20140731-155701.jpg but our mix simply did not “pan-out” the way it should have.  It was a shame because we gathered some really fun items to make into fossils.  We were going to use a glow in the dark dino skeleton head and bone-shaped dog treats to make the impressions.

20140731-153847.jpgThe kids were somewhat disappointed by the failed attempt so it was time to hit our local natural history museum. They have a pretty elaborate room dedicated to large-scale dinosaur models.

20140731-153739.jpgPlus, the museum hosts traveling exhibits every few months.  It just so happened we got lucky and the current exhibit was all about dinosaur eggs!  Lucky us.  I didn’t even plan it that way…although the kids thought I did.  Shhhhhh….. don’ tell them.

There were a number actual fossilized eggs on display.  Additionally, there were tons of hands on experiences for the children.  Lots of displays for them to touch so they could get the feel for the texture of the eggs.  They learned that different dinosaurs had eggs with different shapes: some oblong, others more oval, some large, some small.

20140731-153757.jpgThe Princess and Cinco also had the opportunity dress up in dino costumes.   There were two sets and one of them even had feather on costume, which was fun! They spent quite awhile in that section of the museum laughing and playing at being dinosaurs.  20140731-153824.jpgThey wiggled the dino tales and played in the dino nests.

We also played a few of the computer games set up at the exhibit.  Cinco and I played dino hangman and The Princess made a series of cute little dino pictures.20140731-153903.jpg

All and all a productive day!

 

 

 

 

 

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July 30, 2014 · 12:07 am

Let it Rain

I cannot count this as mom camp, but I’ve got to share it!

On one of our Long Island days, we got a bit of rain. And The Cutie Cousin got a bit bored. Teaming up with another teen who came to visit, they created a wonderful of delightful mischief.

Spare google eyes were left over from the clam project and suddenly appeared everywhere!

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P.S. Thankfully no one was electrocuted! But, I do not recommend putting google eyes on light sockets!

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Mom Camp 27,28,29: Lazy Summer Days

When you are in a cottage two blocks from the beach, it’s water, water, water! All the days seem to be rolling into each other — get up late, eat pancakes by Pop-Pops, put on suits and head to the beach. At the beach, we gather shells, 20140718-094204.jpg torment hermit crabs (we just look at them and keep them in some plastic cups until we set them free), and search for jellyfish.

You see, the Cutie Cousin had a sad run-in with a jellyfish on one of our boating/swimming trips. It was a terrible entanglement and could only be remedied by a quick return to the house and a baking soda solution. I love baking soda, by the way. It cures so very many things…But that is beside the point.

Then each night to was time for a little backyard whiffle ball. Cinco is really the star of whiffle ball. It must have something to do with the timing of the ball. He was in a charity whiffle ball tournament in the fall and out hit the start Little League players. If only, there was such a thing as a professional whiffle ball league.

After dinner and whiffle ball we have one of two desserts…’smores grilled over the backyard fire pit or ice cream cones from “The Magic Fountain”.

Of course, we also had a few outtings: boating to Sag Harbor, and a super fun boat ride to dinner across the bay. What could be more fun than going to and from dinner on a boat? Plus The Captain and I had an amazing meal of lobster, clams, mussels and crab… yum!

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Mom Camp Day 26: A Day at the Beach

Having made it to Long Island we are all about the beach and living the ocean life.

We organized a beach combing trip to collect shells. Cinco and The Princess collected a number of interesting items. We also played with the hermit crabs.

Dinner included clams. What do you do with a bunch of leftover clam shells? 20140715-125124.jpgWell, The Cutie Cousin (as I will now call my niece) came up with the idea of making google-eyed clam shells! Awesome…

 

 

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