The Dinosaur Excavation

I made a goal this year to have a more productive summer with the kids.  I love the summer months when the kids are all home and we have nowhere to be at any specific time but after a while the lack of structure starts to wear on me and on them.  They fight non stop and whine more about being bored so I decided to get ahead of the game this year.  I've made us a weekly schedule pieced together by numerous things I've found on Pinterest, which typically is a huge time suck but in this case was enormously helpful, and each day we have a specific theme.  Yesterday was library day, today was baking or cooking day, and tomorrow will be our service day.  They also have chores they are expected to complete each day along with reading, exercising (not like The Firm exercising but walking, biking, sprinkler running exercise.), practising a skill and so on.  Anyways, to fill in the time that we aren't spending around our theme and required activities I also have pre-planned activities, also found on Pinterest, to keep them busy and away from the television, which again is cable free for the Summer.  That was a very long winded intro to the purpose of my post tonight. 

 

Yesterday, as one of our fun time fillers, the kids excavated plastic dinosaurs from a huge block of ice.  I spent $3 at the dollar store to get said dinosaurs, froze them in a plastic tub from the basement, handed the kids some excavating tools and let the fun ensue.  And ensue it did.  Easily the best $3 I've ever spent!  Emma and Walker spent well over two hours outside retrieving their "dinosaur babies" from the ice and refused to quit until they were all rescued.  My favorite part was that they called each other "Dr. Emma" and "Dr. Walker" the whole time, it was very serious business.  They are already begging to do it again.

Dr. Emma and Dr. Walker ready with their tools.

 

 

 

Allan was a little alarmed when he found out that I gave them screw drivers as an excavation tool, but they did just fine.

 

Eventually they moved into the sunshine to help speed things along.

 

Look at those delighted faces!!

 

Lillian is absent from the pictures because we waited until she was in bed to begin the extraction of the dinos, for obvious reasons.

 

Kelsey you must try this with that Eli boy, particularly after baby #2 arrives and you need a couple hours of peace.