Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Trappers and Traders

This week was Project Week for History! Have you ever seen a more eager group of children celebrate history? Syndi planned a wonderful Rendez-Vous Party! She even went to the pond and collected sticks for the tent! We were afraid the tent was going to fall down because my cats loved it! We 'jokingly' said that we could skin the cats, and use their furs to trade with. Erik took it quite literally and kept telling Jess that he likes the cats and would be really sad if we did that.
She assured him that PETA would be all over it and we would not be allowed to do it. He was relieved.

The day started with the children finding cards that had beavers on it and going to the scout (Syndi) to trade for items that they would need.
Savannah drives a hard bargain and got the most for her fur!



The best looking Scout in camp!



It was a tough choice to pick the most useful and cool items. The scout had bear claws, corn husk dolls, beaded necklaces and bracelets, beads, feathers, and real antler buttons!
On a side note, I put Ruby down for a rest before the party (at 10:30am) and she fell asleep! She must have really needed it, I woke her up at 2:00 so she would not miss the whole party. I guess I now know why the morning was so tough.




Jake demonstrates some Indian Sign used in story telling. All the children shared stories, we began in the tent but moved inside due to inclement weather.
The Trappers and Traders had to endure some of the harsh conditions in order to practice throwing tomahawks and knives in the camp.



The children even got to try to start fires without the use of matches! This was one of the most exciting parts of the day! Probably because they are not usually allowed to play with fire.



The children were all eager to answer questions related to what they have learned so far! It makes all the effort worth it when you see how much they know and have retained and how excited they all are about history.


Liberty discovered that Syndi was handing out M&M's for correct answers. It was pretty cute to watch the boys share their hard earned and coveted candy with the baby. Libby quickly learned that she could plow though and sign please and would be rewarded!



We finished off the party by heading to the pond and letting the children shoot their BB Guns and Slingshots!
Another side note: recently, Sean took Erik to the local sporting store so Erik could buy his own Slingshot. Erik said to Sean, "Thank you so much for taking me Papa! This slingshot is going to change my life!"
Jess and I were feeling quite guilty sitting in the nice warm truck with the little boys and Libby while Syndi and Jason took all the children out in the rain to practice their hunting skills. We were soon joined by Ruby, Taylor, Savannah and Ian.

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