How to make a scarecrow

My four year old has outgrown his 4T jeans and cooler weather clothing, and while the majority of them are going to find new homes at our church's Mission Center, we decided to recycle of a few of them and make a new friend, a scarecrow! 

Scarecrows are old.  They have been around for thousands of years.  The Egyptians, Romans and Greeks all used them to protect their crops from hungry birds, although they have not always been made out of hay.  Even native Americans used them!  To read more about the history of scarecrows;  http://www.spfdbus.com/thanksgiving/adopted-scarecrow/history_of_the_scarecrow.htm

If you want to stand up your scarecrow, you will need to make a frame out of wood.  If you are going to sit him on a bench or hay bale, you can skip this part.  We purchased the wood at Home Depot for $.92.  Because I wanted a preschooler sized scarecrow, I measured my little boy.  He is 42 inches tall and he is 41 inches from finger tip to finger tip.  Since I am planning to "plant" the bottom 12" of the frame, to make our scarecrow stand up, I need a stick that is 54" tall and one 41"  to secure his arms.  I used a screw to secure the 2 sticks together. 

As we are leaving the home improvement store, I'm thinking how cute my little guy is, carrying the wood and telling everyone he is going to make himself a scarecrow and use the wood to "hang it".  I think it's so cute that I'm trying to get a picture, and thinking how I wish I had let him wear his little Bob the Builder yellow hard hat, when he quickly turns around, and in a move right out of The Three Stooges, hits me on the nose with that 8 foot long piece of wood.  Instantly, the orange smocks are flying as admirers of my boy are ducking and taking cover as he twirls around to see why I'm shreiking, sending the wood swishing through the air.  My nose is now bleeding and I'm trying to grab the wood, and him.  We are a circus act, a sad, pitiful circus.  Learn from my mistakes... 

Once we get home, and I get cleaned up, I gathered a pair of his favorite jeans and a button down shirt.  We aren't really trying to scare away any crows, and I want it to look more like a scarecrow than a little boy. I like the way the hay looks sticking out of the holes of a button down shirt! 

We purchased a bale of straw at our local feed store for $8. Ask for straw instead of hay, because it's less expensive, and your scarecrow will never know the difference!    Stuff the jeans and shirt.  Again, I want some of the hay to show, so I overstuffed and pulled some down the arms and legs of the jeans.  Then using twine, tie them off so it doesn't fall out. Use tacks or a staple gun to secure the shirt and jeans to the frame.  I also used safety pins to attach the shirt to the jeans. 

The head is the most complicated part of the scarecrow.  The first jack-o-lanterns were made to adorn scarecrows.  You can also use a pumpkin and paint a face on it. (it will last much longer than if you carve it).
When I was a child, we had a scarecrow every year, and my mom would use a small, white pillowcase and paint a face onto it.  It's lighter and will stay in place much longer.  I outlined the face, and since this is a project for my little one and he WANTED to paint, I let him fill in the eyes, etc.  I probably could have done a better job, but the project is about him, and for him, not me. 

Every good scarecrow needs a hat!  My little guy wasn't about to share one of his baseball caps, but he was fine letting me use one of his brother's knit hats.  Be sure and stuff a little extra straw under the hat for hair! 
 

Pumpkin Bobbers

 

Here's a great way to add some fun to your October family fishing trips, or just a cute craft for at home!

Make Pumpkin Bobbers!

 

We made these adorable little pumpkin bobbers using a can of Rustoleum's Painter's Touch, which works well on plastic!  Using latex gloves to keep our fingers clean, we painted each of them.  It only tooks a few minutes to dry, then we used brown paint on the "stems" and a fine point black paint pen to transform them from pumpkin to jack-o-lanterns! 

It took about an hour to make them, and we had time to run out to our community pond for a little fishing before dinner! 

DIY Chalkboards

Check out these cute little chalkboards my kids and I made!  They can be used for so many different purposes, but my daughter and son enjoy using them as they play schoolhouse.  They are perfect for practicing writing his name! 

Making them was super easy, and something my kids could do themselves! 

1.  My oldest son and I picked up what we needed at our local hardware superstore.  We chose boards that were 2 feet long, but had the store cut them in half so that they are each one feet long.
2.  At home, we used sandpaper to smooth down the rough edges. 
3.  We then painted them with Rust-oleum Chalkboard Paint.  We painted both sides and the edges. 

That's it! 

Now, just get some chalk, or make your own homemade sidewalk chalk! 

We gone a little crazy with this idea, chalk painting anything that can't run from us!  We painted my son's baseball bucket, planters and pots, even a little table we have.  Next we are going to paint some pumpkins, I saw the idea on pinterest!  You just gotta love pinterest!
 
Michelle

10 fun things to do with your kids in the rain

John Ruskin wrote, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."  Obviously he didn't live near a Texas tornado, with his head buried between his legs in a "duck and cover" position.   But I understand what he meant; rain, cold fronts, heat waves they all have a purpose.  As we haven't had any rain in a while, it seemed like a perfect time to plan some activities to be prepared when it does! 

Here are some fool proof ideas to get you and your kiddos to pull on your slickers and rain boots (Have you seen how cute some of those are lately?) and carpe the dreary diem! 

1.  Visit your local playground, which is now a waterpark.  Splash in the puddles!  Take a ride on the wet slides!  Swing high in the air, and put your head back to feel the drops hit your face!  Have a picnic under a sheltering tree. 

2.  Get out the kids slip n slide, no water hose needed!  Add a few drops of tear free baby shampoo for some slick fun!

3.  Give the kids a disposable, waterproof camera.  Let them experience the rain through the viewfinder.  Encourage them to take pictures of the rain coming down, puddles and rain drops falling off leaves.  See how many of the leaves you can identify when you get home from developing the film.  Use a field guide or the computer as a reference. 

4.  Break out the sidewalk chalk, and create some wet chalk masterpieces!  Chalk takes on new hues when it's wet, and then the rain will wash it all away! 

5.  Drag out some potting soil, and let the kids make mud pies!  Encourage them to expand to cookies, cakes and bowls of mud soup!  Open up the sand box and build sandcastles with moats!  Just leave the top off when the sun comes out to let it dry up.  In the Texas sun, it won't take long!

6.  Take a sensory field trip to a botanical garden.  The incredible smells unleashed by the rain create an all new experience! 

7.  Get out the easel and some inexpensive watercolors, no water needed.  Paint on something that won't get soggy, like cardboard, clay pots or pieces of canvas or fabric! 

8.  Enjoy a wet safari!  Take a walk or a hike, and look for earthworms, frogs and other creatures who love the rain! 

9.  Ever wonder where the term, "ducky weather" comes from?  Ducks love the rain!  Get out your childs rubber ducks and let them splash around in plastic tubs, pools or buckets! 

10. Give your child some toy boats, or make some from objects found around your house, and race them down the street in the gutters (the low space next to the curb where the water runs down).  Always supervise your children in or near the street, and stay far away from the entrances to the underground storm drains!  As a child growing up in Houston, this was one of our favorite rainy day activities!  All the kids on our block would show up with their "homemade" boats for racing!

These are just some of the great ideas you can use to turn every day into a great weather day! I would love to hear of some other ideas you have!  Remember, these are just for those long, drippy wet days.  Stay safe on cold or stormy days, and always take cover indoors if there is lightening.  Have fun! 

Thanks to Jean Bean Photography for the great photo!  To see more of her work, visit her facebook page; http://www.facebook.com/#!/JeanBeanPhotography

Chick-fil-a Cow Appreciation Day

For the fourth year in a row, we have participated in Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day.  Participation is easy when free food is involved!








Chick-fil-A hands out a free meal to anyone who comes in dressed like a cow. We keep telling the kids that you don't also have to act like a cow, but they do it anyway. Except I don't think cows actually eat chicken...

We meet with a bunch of our friends at a nearby park to decorate our shirts.  Each year we have decorated them a little different, and this year we decided to try spray paint!   Some of the shirts ended up more paint than shirt. My daughter even asked me if she could spray paint her legs. I was so proud of her as I told her no. I couldn't believe she asked first! 

This is one of my daughter's friends.  She made a matching cow shirt for her American Girl doll, too.  How cute (and creative) is that? 

Some other friends brought hats to paint, too!  Chick-fil-A has costume and mask downloads on their website, but what I really like about this event is the creativity the kids show!  They come up with some of the cutest things.  It's like Halloween use to be when I was a kid, before the reign of the store bought costume. 

As we left the park, and were driving to Chick-fil-A, we spotted a couple of coyotes in a field.  My son exclaimed that they thought we were cows, and were hunting us.  The remaining short drive was spent with a car of screaming kids!  My four year doesn't need to worry, he would wear the coyote out, too.  To see more of the Chick-fil-A costumes, visit their website; http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Cows/Appreciation-Day

Afterwards, we drove down to Historic Mansfield to see the newest addition there.  It's a very stylishly painted piano sitting out in front of the Chamber of Commerce.  Their mission is "To bring awareness to Historic Downtown Mansfield by creating public displays of interactive art."  How cool is that? 

Mansfield Music Mentors is just two doors down from the chamber.  The hope is that the piano will inspire pianist and other musicians for spontaneous concerts on the street. 

Of course, some not so skilled pianist will take their turns at "tickling the ivories"too.  I headed into the chamber as my junior Van Cliburn's banged away of the keys.  Thankfully, the sound is a little muffled in there. It just makes me giggle to see the kids in their cow shirts, playing on this colorful piano. 

 I love summer!

This plaque is on the piano.  For more information visit www.Mansfield88.com . 

Another log cabin, and homemade lincoln logs

I have a fascination for old log cabins, and found another one to share with you.  We were driving through Midlothian, looking for a place to have dinner, when I saw this old cabin, and braved the rain to run take a few pictures.  Of course, the pictures in the rain were terrible, so after dinner I went over and took some more. 

"THE NEWTON CABIN

IN THE SPRING OF 1848 THE LARKIN NEWTON FAMILY ARRIVED IN THIS AREA FROM NEOSHO MISSOURI IN RESPONSE TO A 640 ACRE LAND GRANT GIVEN THEM THROUGH THE PETERS COLONY.  THEIR CONTRACT REQUIRED THEM TO BE ON THEIR LAND WITH A HOME CONSTRUCTED BY jULY 1 OF THAT YEAR.  MR NEWTON FOUND SUITABLE TIMBER IN THE CEDAR BREAKS OF DALLAS COUNTY TO THE NORTH.  HE BUILT THIS CABIN ON A SITE APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THIS LOCATION BY THE REQUIRED DATE.  THE CABIN FEATURES A MIXTURE OF CORNER NOTCHINGS COMMONLY SEEN ON  CABINS THROUGHOUT NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS. PROMINENT IS THE HALF DOVETAIL NOTCH.  THOUGH DIFFICULT TO FORM, PROVIDES A SUPERIOR INTERLOCKING JOINT.  THE NOTCHING AND THE CAREFULLY HEWN LOGS ARE BOTH PRIME EXAMPLES OF QUALITY CONSTRUCTION AND CRAFTSMANSHIP.  THE CITIZENS OF MIDLOTHIAN ARE PROUD TO DISPLAY THE LARKIN NEWTON CABIN, ONE OF THE LAST SURVIVING PETERS COLONY STRUCTURES. "

  We just happened to be visiting on the 1st Saturday of the month.  But it was after 11am, and the weather was not permitting, anyway. 

This sign stands just a few feet away from the cabin, and it gave me a little laugh.  For more information about Midlothian, visit their website;

http://tx-midlothian.civicplus.com/index.aspx

We had dinner at one of my favorites, Campuzano's, just a short walk down from the cabin in  historic downtown.  The restaurant is located in one of the beautiful, old buildings.  It's also family owned.  The Mexican Shrimp Cocktail is worth the short trip off Hwy 287 or Hwy 67.   http://www.campuzanomexicanfood.com/

Do you love old cabins, too?  Please read my other post about log cabin in Texas; http://havingfuninthetexassun.blogspot.com/2011/08/discovering-texas-past-log-cabins-of.html

Homemade Lincoln Logs

Lincoln logs, which were created in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, have been a favorite toy of kids for almost 100 years.  My kids really enjoy playing with their Lincoln Logs, of which we have A BUNCH, and I'm always searching garage sales, etc. for more.  But as soon as my son got his first pocket knife, at about 10 years old, he started making his own homemade ones.  The trick is to get sticks of similar size and shape.  It's important that the sticks are not dead and brittle, as they will break when being "notched".  He is quick to rummage through our branches after we prune our trees, and the neighbors will often let him know when they are pruning theirs, as well.  When I see how much work he puts into it, I have a whole new appreciation for the people who built these cabins with their crude tools.    

collecting and painting animal skulls

Okay, I know that this probably made some of you shuddder, but my daughter loves to hunt for animal skulls, collect them and she eveb paints some of them.  Since the animals skulls are my daughter's, I though I would ask her some questions and let her answer them for you. 

Q.  Why do you collect animal skulls?

A.  I think they are cool.  You can learn alot about different animals from seeing their skulls.   

Q.  How long have you been collecting animal skulls?

A. I got my first skull about four years ago, and have been adding to my collection ever since.  

Q.  How did you get started?

A.  I found a small animal skull in our neighborhood, and took it to a naturalist who identified it as a possum and showed me how to clean it. 

Q.  Where do you get the skulls? 

A.  I find some on nature walks in the parks around our house, or in the forest around our farm.  We also look along the highway near wooded or rural areas. 

Q.  How do you clean them? 

A.  I soak them in a bucket filled with cold water and 1 cup of bleach overnight.  Then I dry them in the sun, which helps to whiten them. 

Q.  Why do you paint them? 

A.  I just like to paint, and I like the way they look. 

Q.  What type of paint do you use? 

A.  Any type of paint is fine, but use a sealer when the paint is dry to help protect the skulls.  I prefer a spray sealer. 

Q.  What do you do with them after they are cleaned and painted? 

A.  I keep some in my room, and some in our garden and landscaping.  I also like to give them to my friends who are interested.  And some I trade.

Texas Mother Goose by David Davis

My children don't know that Mary, Mary was contrary.  In fact, they think she is from Granbury.  Because that is how the rhyme goes in one of their favorite books, Texas Mother Goose. 

The book is filled with all the ones you remember from reading Mother Goose, but each one has been changed to reflect their love of the Lone Star State. 

Almost every night we read, "Sleepy Little Buckaroo"

Sleepy little buckaroo,

You had a busy day.

On your stick horse,

You rode the range

And watched the dogies play.

Close your eyes

And rest tonight;

There's no need for sorrow.

You'll wake to greet the Texas sun

And ride the trail tomorrow.

I had, and loved a stick horse as a child.  My children have all had stick horses, too.  My oldest son's was a store bought, plastic one that made all sorts of horsey sounds.  My daughter's was made from an actual sock, a more boutiquey version we purchased for her in the Fort Worth Stockyards. 

My four year old has a stick horse, but he never rides it.

After reading Sleepy Little Buckaroo at bedtime, I asked him why - it's amazing the things you have time to think about during summer, when your mind isn't racing to make sure clothes are washed and lunches made for school the next day.

He answered that he liked it, but it didn't like him. 

So, I suggested that we make him a stick horse, filled with love so that we knew it would love him!

Items Needed:

• We went to home depot to purchase the dowel rod, because we don't have the traditional broom stick.  I chose the 1" x 3' dowel.
• A sock.  You can use any color or style of sock.  This one is an anklet, but it's really thick.  I tried one of my husbands socks, but the horse's face seemed a little too long.  I saw some tutorials which used fabrics, jean legs, etc. but I like the classic sock look best. 
• Stuffing for the sock, I used a polyester fiberfill, you can purchase at any art store (or Walmart).
• buttons for eyes, or you can use google eyes, or make them from material or paint them on your sock.
• needle and thread - I can't sew, but if I could do this, than so can you!
• hot glue gun - what I didn't sew, I glued! 
• ribbon for bridle and reins
• yarn for forelock and mane
• nylon cord for securing the sock to the stick. 

Steps:

1. Fill the sock with stuffing.  You want to be certain the heel of the sock is very thick, since that is where the stick will go.  We added a little red felt heart, similar to Build A Bear, so we could be certain the horse would love him!
2. Insert stick, making sure there is plenty of stuffing between rod and sock, for child's safety.
3. Wrap nylon cord around sock to secure it to the stick.  
4. Sew on or glue on eyes.  This is something you MUST do after stuffing the sock.  It would be much easier to sew them on before stuffing, but the stuffing is different each time, and never looks just right.
5. Add on the ribbon for the bridle and reins.  You might be able to get away with glueing on the bridle, but you need to sew on the reins, since your child is going to be pulling on these. 
6. I like the look of the loops for the forelock and mane.  I made lots of loops with the yarn and tied them together for the forelock.  For the mane, I used a piece of yarn and sewed down the back of the sock, then tied more loops of yarn onto this. 

From start to finish, it took me about an hour and a half, minus potty breaks and playing breaks.  Of course, I had a four year old helping me, so I also had to search for the supplies alot, and constantly gather up the yarn, because he would run around the house with it, making a "spider web".  If you aren't getting this kind of "help", it will probably go faster for you. 

Why the long face on my four year old? 
Because I made him stop playing so
I could take a picture!

And, he loves it, and the horse loves him. 

We are going to do a follow up activity, and ask his friends to meet us at the park with THEIR stick horses, for a real rompin' stompin' rodeo!  

 
 

                          

                                                                            





homemade sidewalk chalk

Ingredients for homemade sidewalk
chalk, just add water!

Imagine a warm afternoon.  My son and daughter, 12 and 10, are sitting in our living room with friends.  Their friends are whispering "Why won't your mom let you turn on the TV? "  My children just shrug their shoulders and say, "She thinks we should go play outside.".  Then they all just sit back on the couch, and stare at the ceiling, until my 4 year old and I walk through, carrying a bucket a sidewalk chalk. 




They look at each other and roll their eyes.  Sidewalk chalk is so preschool.

But curiosity overcomes them, and they eventually come outside to see what we have drawn.  A Texas Flag, the sun, my four year old's hand, flowers and a river, an unrecognizable animal, pink hearts... you get the idea. 

Slowly they sit down in the driveway, cool thanks to the shade of our oak tree, and begin drawing.  At first, it's their names, and more flowers, then birds and trees, and soon cars fill a newly created road, that winds up and down past the pastel lake and purple houses.  A lazy afternoon has been transformed.   But when the the last piece of chalk crumbles down to dust is when I really get their attention. 
"Would you like to make some sidewalk chalk?" I ask. 
They stare at me... "Really?" they ask "What color?"
I explain we can make any color they like.  I have LOTS of paint.  And they can mix colors to make what we don't have.  And we can make, dare I say it, ......... shapes! 
And now I have 4 preteens, 2 of which are boys, engrossed in an art activity. 
It's magical!

Here's how we did it.... 

A bowl you are willing to throw away (ice cream container, maybe?)
2 cups plaster of paris
1 cup water
paint
molds - fun or fancy.  I prefer sand or playdough molds, lined with plastic wrap.  But you can use candy molds, ice cube trays, or cup cake tins. 

1.  Mix the plaster and water. 
2.  Add paint to desired color (if you are mixing colors, mix seperately before you add).
3.  Pour into molds
4.  Allow to dry, about 24 - 48 hours, depending on the size of the mold. 

For more fun:
Add glitter.  Everything is more fun with glitter! 
Wrap to give as a gift, with a recipe card so they can make their own!

preschool field journal

My co-teacher and I made these cute little "field journals" for our preschool class as a last day of school gift.  They are adorable, and the idea was totally that of my co-teacher, Holley.  My only contribution was purchasing the natural looking pencils from Amazon, $2.67 a dozen.  They are made from sticks, and I love them!  But the pencils were even Holley's idea, she just told me what to buy.  She used paper bags for the cover, and recycled paper inside.  Raffia was used to tie the pages together.  The little note reads:

Parents:  We invite you to take your little ones on a "nature walk" and ask them to draw in their field journals what they find or see.  At their age, you may get a few scribbles or even a torn book by the end of your adventure.  But, the ideas of observing the world around and using their own ideas to record what they have found will be planted and hopefully, one day, blossom into a great love of nature and self-expression.   

where the wild things are

Where The Wild Things Are was one of my favorite books as a child, and one of my favorites to read to my children.  I heard of the book's author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak's recent passing, I was saddened and thought of a way to honor him and his book in our home.  When the kids arrived home from school, we read the book together while eating their after school snack, then I suprised them with some new art supplies; construction paper, glue, crayons and markers.  My older kids helped my little one (and humored him a little), as we drew pictures of the wild things, with their terrible teeth and terrible eyes and terrible claws.  They cut them out and then my four year old put on his dinosaur costume, we didn't have a wolf costume, and he "tamed" them.  We then put on him a construction paper crown, and we all danced a "wild rumpus" with the paper cutouts!  We finished the evening by eating dinner together in my boy's room, "and it was still hot.".

My daughter and I took the art of Where The Wild Things Are a little further, and painted the colorful flowers found at the beginning and end of the book on a window screen.  The texture of the screen resembles the unique drawing in the book.

My Mommy Tips:

• Instead of free handing the pictures, use coloring pages found online; http://www.coloring-book.info/coloring/coloring_page.php?id=224
• If you have more money or time than I did, or if you want to celebrate this book at Halloween, there are Where The Wild Things Are costumes available.  I think a Where The Wild Things Are Halloween Party would be adorable! http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=366713&catid=185837&aid=333971&aparam=rubies_costumes_where_th&CAID=878d9fc1-21f3-46ff-9b8b-f756fa1fff04

melting crayons

I love any art project involving melted crayons!  We have made the melted crayon bottles, and melted crayons in muffin tins, but this was something completely new!  I heard about it yesterday from a friend, melting crayons with a hair dryer!  My daughter made this picture, she said it reminds her of a Spring meadow filled with wildflowers! The splatter is my favorite, I imagine it is how Jackson Pollock used crayons in preschool. 

As we got into playing with it, we tried other techniques. She colored while the crayon melted, giving it a look like thick paint.  We also colored very heavily, then heated it and watched the colors run.  We then hot glued all the crayons at the top of a poster board, and heated the crayons and let them run!   A few words of warning, to melt the crayon the blow dryer has to be HOT!  We tried several different tools, for big splatters you can hold the crayon with tongs.  For smaller areas, you can either hold a long crayon above the hair dryer, or bend out a paper clip and heat it, then slide it into the crayon.  Crayola crayons work best for a thicker look, RoseArt crayons give a more watercolor appearance.

paint by numbers

When I was a little girl, I loved the paint by number sets sold at our local craft store.  It was such a huge treat when my mom would surprise me with one!  I would immediately run outside and sit under the huge oak tree in our backyard, and paint until dinner!  I remember always trying to be very careful, and occassionally painting the wrong the space, and getting angry with myself, because I wanted it to be as perfect as the picture on the box, which was usually my favorite thing in the whole world... a horse! 

Yesterday, I decided to surprise my daughter with a paint by numbers kit, also of a horse.  I had given her one a few years before, but she didn't have the patience to complete it.  Under the barren limbs of our Bradford Pear, she and I painted for about an hour and a half, until it was time to come in and for me to fix dinner.  For a little while, I was a young girl again, painting with a friend.  It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, and a quality project for us.  I want to frame it for her, not because it's great art, but to remind us of our time together.

Dinosaur Puppets

Meet Lenny the Longneck.  My kids and I had a blast making these cute little lunch bag puppets, then they put on a show for my husband and me. 
Thanks to Texas Parks and Wildlife for the idea and tutorial on their web site.  I may or may not have needed the tutorial, but it's a nice place to start.  Because what we sometimes need is a little inspiration.  Inspiration to turn off the tv, or quit folding the laundry, sit down with your children and make something....





http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/fun_stuff/arts_and_crafts/make_trex.phtml

I gathered paper lunch bags, construction paper, glue sticks, crayons and scissors.  You could use hot glue or liquid glue, but with a 3 year old I "stuck" with the glue sticks.  I also used regular scissors and the ones that make jagged edges for different looks for the dinosaurs.

I purchased both the white and the brown paper lunch bags, but we only used the white. 

For this T-Rex puppet, my son colored the the bag green, then cut out the head and lower jaw shapes.  He used the jagged scissors to create a scaley look. 

This one was my little guys, and his sister helped on the face. 














My daughter cut out horns for her Stegosaurus puppet.  She also added a tail to him. 

This is my long neck.  I cut out a long neck, and glued it onto the bag.  I think the large googly eyes would be so cute on these, but we didn't have any. 

 This is my daughter's Brachiosaurus.  She added a pencil on the back for support, and then taped it down using left over masking tape from when we painted her room. 

 My son balled up a piece of black construction paper for their show, End of the Dinosaur Days. I probably should have labeled this with a Spoiler Alert! You can probably guess how it ends.

 I added a tree branch to my long necked dinosaur, using construction paper. 

 Here is a close up of my tree branch, because I thought it was really cute. 

My daughter added some red and orange construction paper flames to a mountain they already had for the volcano scene of their puppet show.

 During the show, my daughter's Brachiosaurus with the engineered neck support.  I'm glad I kept my mouth shut, because I really didn't think it would work. 

Don't you love the legs! Unfortunantly, the cute little dinosaurs were bound for extinction.  We had so much fun, I bet they get brought to life again.  Maybe there will be a sequel.