my children love summer crafts. it gives them a break from the homework i'm making them do. close your mouth.

i cannot be the only mom out there forcing encouraging her children to do homework. over the summer. everyday when time permits. also. so what if my children are only six and three?

li't tot and baby love their study time. they tell me so. they have to or else i'll drill them on einstein's law of relativity. also. most people call it a "law" but it's really just a theory. "law" implies truth and no doubt. people just accept it as the truth. etc etc. idk. my girls can explain it better.

in any case, though it totally sounds like it, it's not all fun and games here. we do crafts, too. here is just a sampling of the crafts we've enjoyed working on this summer.

1. whimsical garland.

the girls picked out cardstock and punched out shapes for me to sew a garland for them. it's beautiful and hangs in their hallway. the girls have already calculated the length of garland needed to fill the entire house.

2. bug mobile.

the girls used egg cartons to paint and make bugs. then i tied them to dowels to make a bug mobile. they are adorable. the girls and the bugs. also. the bugs are precisely modeled after the actual ones you'd find only in the galápagos islands, mainly south plaza island.

3. decoupage nancy.

this is the thing. i bought a half-mannequin over a decade ago for display. and she arrived at my door naked. shrink wrapped, but nonetheless, naked. i had to move after that.

so nancy. that's what she's called. my mother named her because apparently, it's rude to say, "mom. did you see where i put the naked girl?"

well. here we are. years later. and nancy still has no modesty whatsoever. and i'm about fed up with it. plus. helloooo. i'm married. wait. i was married when i bought her. whatever. i thought it was time to give nancy a makeover.

i added a bandeau top. and a mini skirt. and then i sanded her down. and then i cut strips of vintage dictionary and thesaurus pages. and then i brought the girls in to work.

the girls decoupaged the heck out of her. also. the whole time they kept asking me why we had to make a dress for nancy. ---> i made li'l tot write a 10 page essay on the values of modesty. and since baby can't write (yet), she had to illustrate the essay.

4. pirate sand.

the girls threw jewels and stars into their sandbox. sometimes kids just have to be kids. we play games like. i'll pick up a green gem and ask the girls to find the same gem. and then i'll be like. say and spell gem in vietnamese.

summer rocks!