International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Arr! Ahoy! And Avast, ye land lubbers!*

I've said many times that, while spring is my favorite season in most regards, fall begins my favorite series of holidays - beginning with September 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Yesterday we celebrated all day long at the library, beginning with our preschool Playdate Picnic in the morning.

Ye could walk the plank,

or jump it!

Dress up in pirate garb,

Dig fer buried treasure,

Or try a number of crafts.

Of course, we had our pirate books on display,

along with some pirate trivia cards,

and some banned/challenged books - treasure indeed!

A hearty good time was had by all. And the corn cob from the treasure dig will eventually come out of the carpet. A great start to ye holidays!

*yes, we know: Pirates didn't really talk like that. Pirates were not good guys to emulate. There are still pirates today and they are Very Bad People. 

It's a fun day, guys: stop overthinking it.

Toddler STEM: Buried Treasure

This year we decided to intersperse our early literacy story times with some early science explorations. In other words, we decided to make some grand messes! 

Since today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, what better way to start off than with buried treasure? We had dirt:

Corn cob pellets:

Shredded paper:

Sliced pool noodles:

And cloud dough:

Before we began, I was actually a little nervous that it wasn't messy enough! I wanted the kids to have fun, and I guess I am so used to the disasters my own create, I wasn't sure this would be 'impressive' enough - but, at the same time, I needed to ease in to the really spectacular messes. 

They didn't seem to be disappointed!

We had magnifying glasses to check out the different types of dirt, or to decipher the print from the paper shredder.

The cloud dough was a huge hit - one parent even commented that she couldn't stop running her fingers through it, and many people asked for the 'recipe'.

The pool noodles were the first to be sat in.

Eventually kids were in every single pool, except the dirt one, which really surprised me!

 We found out that if you put dirt in water, some of it floats and some sinks, but all the corn cob pellets float.

Cloud dough packs really well.

It is also very slippery! Next time I think I will recommend removing shoes - no falls this time, but I know I will be the first to end up on my derrier.

I posted a few open-ended questions ("What would happen if you...") and tips ("Sometimes we learn more by finding out what WON'T work."), but mostly just let them 'have at it'. The kids really needed no instruction, and a few had to be bodily carried away when it was time to go. I promise we will do it again, guys!  Stay tuned for next month's pumpkin themed (and slightly gooier) fun!