the scavengers

all our beach trips this summer were super fun.  all our camps were super fun.  the vacation bible school weeks (yes, we did multiple ones), the library outings, the mountain excursion, the wildlife conservation center visit ... all super fun.

and then, all the super fun ended.

we returned from bald head to an empty calendar.  and i mean E-M-P-T-Y.  school began on august 25 (more on that later, natch) but we had a good eight days to fill.  and a mother can only do so many hours at the pool before it starts to lose its luster.

luckily, i'm blessed (and believe me, i know it) with children who still love playing with each other.  most days they'd entertain themselves for four or five hours, holding Critter School or playing Guess Who or building legoes or reading or playing soccer in the back yard.  they'd come get me for snacks or lunch, but i was able to get a surprising amount of work done as we slowly but surely transitioned back into our home and i transitioned back into teaching mode.

but tuesday, after almost a week of self-entertaining, they hit a wall.  for the first time all summer, i heard the dreaded, "we're booooooored, mommy.  what do we do now?"

and thank goodness for stacey, my college friend who also writes a blog who happened to discuss that very morning a fun activity called a Make and Do Scavenger Hunt.

i hastily scribbled a list down on a torn-out sheet of paper, and posted it on the kitchen door.  i don't remember all the items on the list, but whatever they were, the kids had a ball completing their tasks.  here are some highlights: 

creating a play-doh porcupine (notice the toothpicks as quills)



Snow White herself traced her feet -- without her princess slippers, of course



finding pinecones (they took it a step further and not only found them, but used about two entire rolls of tape to adhere them to paper and hang them in their rooms. of course, the tape gave out and i'm still picking up shards of dirty pinecone from the carpet, but i'd say it was worth it)

so the Make and Do Scavenger Hunt turned out to be super fun, just like most of the rest of the summer. 

but you know what else is super fun?  school starting.