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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

There Be Pirates About!!

During a visit to a local neighborhood park this week my 4 year old began having some make believe fun. I couldn't help but to smile as he commenced drawing X's in the sand with a large stick while announcing grandly "Arrrr...Pirate Aiden is burying his treasure!!!" After several pinecones and dandelions had been sufficiently buried my little pirate decided it was time to head home...but the pirate talk continued. What better way to spend an afternoon then making my childs fantasy a reality..if only for a few hours.

Outfitting my junior pirate in the proper attire was first and foremost on our list. We found a printable template online which we used to create the pirate hat. I found the eye patch that was printed along with the hat was much too small. I created an eye patch by cutting a shape freehand from black construction paper and attaching some black ribbon with scotch tape.After my pirate was properly outfitted it was time to seek out some pirate booty!! I was inspired by No Time for Flashcards creating this treasure sifting activity. I also made up a pretend treasure map (which Aiden carried around in his front pocket all afternoon) by printing out a pirate map coloring sheet, adhering it to some cardstock and rolling up with a red ribbon.We finished up our days pirate adventures by working together to create this awesome milk carton pirate ship. We found the idea on kaboose.com Our ship was created using a milk carton and an empty Jello box. Mommy designed and cut-out a skull and cross bones, secured the design to a piece of black construction paper and then adhered the finished flag to a chopstick with a few pieces of scotch tape. Over the next few days we have plans to decorate our ship even further.Taking your childs own imagination to new creative heights is one of the best parts about being a parent. Encourage your childs creative mind and see what you can come up with together.

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