A "When I Grow Up" Craft

Wanting to capitalize on the interest in possible future careers, brought on by our visit to the Museum of the Rockies, I was delighted to find our library had a copy of Jo S. Kittinger's When I Grow Up.

I was slightly less delighted, that it was the Spanish language version, Cuando Sea Grande. But, luckily for me, it's a Rookie Reader, which is about right for my Spanish language skills. And, the pictures are simple, and clear, so I was able to translate it into English, as I read it to the children.

I also printed, and cut out, a number of paper doll people, and career type outfits, from Making Friends, which I scattered on the table, for the children to sort out, and glue together.

Just for fun I threw in a couple, that weren't necessarily career uniforms, like a princess dress.

When the older children objected to "princess" as a career option, I threw a lab coat over the dress, and suggested she was a Renaissance Fair coordinator, on the weekends, and an X-ray technician during the week. Who we are, isn't always what we do.

And, since people tend to switch careers from time to time, I picked six of the dressed, paper dolls, and glued them down to a card stock circle (about dinner plate size).


Then, I used a paper fastener to loosely, attach a smaller circle (the size of a small saucer) in the middle...

...to which I glued cut out pictures of the children's faces (and, now you see why we left the paper dolls bald).

They can turn the circles, and see themselves, and their siblings change careers, at will.

If only it were that easy in real life!

It's great to be a homeschooler.