Ya'll Have a Good Time Now, Ya' Hear!

November 18, 2010

No, I'm not trying to be The Pioneer Woman. I am definitely a Canadian expat living in the northeastern United States. But I couldn't resist that little bit of slang after looking at these photos.

jumping off play structure

This week the kiddos attended a cowboy/cowgirl birthday dress-up party.

We love dress up parties (or at least the kids do, I don't usually dress-up). Especially, this year since we decided not to do halloween. We have always loved the dress-up part of halloween but I'm tired of the rest of it. Tired of the gruesome costumes. Tired of wondering what to with all the junk food that comes in our home. And tired of spending precious mental energy brainstorming what I can purchase to hand-out to tricker-treaters that doesn't contribute to tooth decay or landfill clutter.

tooth decay, so not cool for a pretty face like this

I'm just done with the whole scene. Instead this year we hiked on halloween and went out for our usual post-hike Thai supper where we were all treated to mini chocolate bars. And that was all the treat we needed.

But back to the birthday party. This is the second dress-up party the kids attended this fall. Earlier in September the house was a buzz with medieval costuming, this month it's been the wild west. If I was a unit-study type of homeschooler I might have turned it into a something more educational. As it was, it was one big craft and costume fest as the children prepared gifts and outfits for the past of couple weeks.

I love that the kids get so much pleasure from the creative process. They just want to make things all the time. Parties like this give them something to focus their creative energies on. Laurent put together a cork, wood, wire and electrical tape six shooter. He helped Brienne make her own thirteen(?) shooter.

Laurent also hand stitched a felt holster with a loop for his belt to complete the set. The Waldorf version of a cowboy if there is such a thing!

The kids used their imaginations to put together gifts for the birthday girl. Handmade paper, adjustable wire and felt spurs for the birthday cowgirl, and a re-gifted hobby horse that Brienne no longer needed to own. At one time this horse was a prized toy, a birthday present of her own one year. Now that she has outgrown her interest in it she has been hanging onto the horse to specifically give it to a person she knew and not anonymously donate it to goodwill. How convenient then to have a friend with a cowgirl party!

Celine crafted this yarn doll as a gift using these instructions (which I found via this great post at Simple Kids). The felted hat was her own addition.

Watching my children create - costumes, gifts, and even facial hair (tee, hee) gives me such pleasure. And then watching them have a rousing good time running around like crazy cowboys and cowgirls with a bunch of other kids, totally engaged in imaginative play is the bonus on top.

the bandit in jail

It makes my mama's heart happy to watch how much fun they create for themselves. In making things, in giving of themselves and their gifts, and in just plain ol' having fun.