A Week on Pirates - Arrrgh!

Arrrgh!  Friday is "National Talk Like a Pirate" Day so we're celebrating all week!

Pirate Eye Patches - I found these eye patches at Target in the party section.  A pack of 10 for $2 or $3.  Sweet!  I didn't have to make any and the kiddos loved them!


Pirate Boxes - The kiddos created pirate ships from boxes and they LOVED the world map.

Treasure Tins - The kiddos decorated their Altoid tins to use for treasure boxes. 

Backyard Treasure Hunt - The pirates hid treasure for the kiddos to find in the backyard.  They looked and looked...

 In the treasure box, the kiddos found coins, swords and an envelope with their name on it.

The kiddos wanted to find more treasure, so we found some nature treasure that would fit in our tins.  Then I hid the treasure chest again (a few times).

Science Experiment - Cleaning Our Treasure - Inside each envelope the kiddos found 5 dirty pennies.  First we counted them, then we talked about shiny treasure and wondered how we could clean our pennies.

We decided to try three solutions:  water, lemon juice and vinegar (1/4 cup) with salt (3 tsp.).  The kiddos decided where to put their pennies, then we set the timer for 15 minutes.

We enjoyed snack while our pennies were cleaning.  When it was time, we took a peek.  The water didn't do much at all, the vinegar with salt was pretty good, but the lemon juice worked the best!   I gave each kiddo a toothbrush to scrub their pennies with (not necessary, just for fun).

Spy Glasses and Pirate Hats - We needed a few more piratey items....

I created spy glasses from a plastic cup and a tp tube.  Pretty quick and easy.  The pirates enjoyed decorating their spy glasses with electrical tape.  The pirate hats were simple too.  I just cut out the basic shape, glued a skull and cross bone on the front and then taped it to a headband made from discarded bulletin board boarders.  Easy peasy.

 

Maps! - Our pirates needed a map to sail with.  This summer when we cleaned out our map file I saved them for pirate week.  I also grabbed a few here and there on our summer adventures.  

Globe - The kiddos enjoyed using the globe to help chart their course while sailing in their pirate box boats.

Backyard Treasure - The pirates wanted to hide some more treasure, so they scoured the yard for bit of emeralds, diamonds and rubies.  They found some impressive jewels - oh, and a few swords as well.

 The pirates also found gold in the sandbox!

Juice Box Boats - Aha!  I finally found a boat craft that actually floats!  Yippee!  The kiddos were quite happy to empty their juice boxes (slurp!).  Then we put a sail and flag on each ship and they were ready to set sail.  We added a shark, dolphin, sting ray, and sea turtle to our mini ocean.

Pirate Tatoos - I was so excited when I found these this summer at World Market of all places.  So dang cute!  I mean, "Arrrgh!"

 

Coffee Cozy Pirate Ship - These were cute to put together.  The kiddos insisted on a shark in the water (I had to agree with them) so we added a shark fin.