Summer School: Week 3

So, this little one turned twelve years old last week. And, yes, that's whipped cream on her breakfast cereal. I tried to make this week's Summer School as much about Pazely as I could...

MAKE SOMETHING MONDAY

I had seen an Instagram friend post a picture of her toddler painting with her feet. And I thought, "I gotta do that!!" Because tiny humans inspire me. And sometimes kids get to do the most fun things, & why can't I, ya know?

I set up garbage bags outside (for protecting the ground + preventing a mess + easy cleanup) with rocks in the corners to keep the breeze from blowing our work space away. I gave the girls the option to paint acrylic paint with their toes onto cardstock that was taped onto the garbage bag, OR use watercolors while holding the paintbrush with their toes. (I taped watercolor paper to the garbage bags for that.) It was so much fun! But really challenging, too. The girls struggled a bit with accepting the fact that their painting would probably be a bit abstract. They pooped out before I did. In fact I loved it so much, I think I might make toe painting a regular habit. It stretched me artistically & pushed the boundaries of my creativity.

Pazely had this project on her Summer Bucket List too. Score!

Here is a short video of our toe painting fun, with pictures of our creations...

TIME TO READ TUESDAY

Our weekly walk to the library was put on pause this week. But we continue to read, of course. I am currently reading aloud the Wrinkle in Time quintet. We are on book #4, entitled "Many Waters". It's my summer goal to finish the series before school starts. 

WHAT'S COOKIN' WEDNESDAY

My birthday girl/chocolate lover was in heaven when the Summer Fun Schedule revealed this recipe! It's a recipe for hot fudge sauce I got from a friend when we lived in North Platte, Nebraska. My family literally fights over this stuff. And I couldn't find the recipe, so I had to send an urgent text for help all the way to the Midwest. I'm giving you the recipe here, so I never have to lose it again:

Melt together 1/4 CUP butter + 3/4 CUP sugar + 1/4 CUP unsweetened cocoa powder in a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Once melted & mixed, add 1/3 CUP milk or half-n-half. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Cool & store in a container in the refrigerator. To use: Warm up in the microwave in a heat-proof container, & then pour over ice cream. Or just dump spoonfuls in your mouth. Because you're gonna want to.

THINKING THURSDAY

Pazely has a wee obsession with Pokemon. And she had a few questions she wanted answered: Who invented Pokemon? {AND} Why does each Pokemon character only says its name over & over? These are things I could care less about. But, it's HER birthday week & I will make her dreams come true. I turned to the interwebs for help.

Although we did find out who created Pokemon, all the links online were only opinion about the characters & their language. There are no solid facts on that subject. Bummer. I was hoping to sleuth my way to a quick finale on the whole thing.

So then I stumble onto a list of 300 facts about Pokemon. Pazely asked me to read them out loud to her. And I realized that it was like reading a foreign language textbook. I had no idea what I was saying or what any of it meant. (Pazely even laughed at the way I pronounced some of the characters names.) To her it all made perfect sense. So then she thought she'd be helpful by trying to explain things to me. In detail. But that made it worse. She kept talking & talking about Pokemon powers & skills & other things I didn't understand. Things I didn't want to understand. I started getting sweaty. I couldn't focus. She wouldn't stop. This was as bad as getting a tour of one of her Minecraft houses. 

"Jesus help me," I begged. 

SOMEWHERE FUN FRIDAY

A friend told me about a neighborhood nearby where I could find a giant purple Adirondack chair. The nice people that have put the chair in their yard have welcomed anyone to sit in it & take pictures. So we did! We were only there a few minutes but had so much fun! A definite random pick for "Somewhere Fun Friday", but one my girls are sure to not forget too soon. 

To view all posts in our 2016 Summer School series, follow along HERE.

To see the pictures from our Summer School adventures so far, click HERE.

♥