"Fire In The Hole!"

So, the instructions for our history lesson said to label our map, then to soak it in tea to make it look old, and to finish it off by burning the edges. I was all aboard until I saw the word “burn”. My gripping fear of fire gave me reason to pause. So, we labeled and tea stained. As I washed the dishes after lunch I eyed those pretty little maps that were drying on the counter. The boys were sitting quietly on the couch doing their reading. They were so very good in school, and were doing and excellent job of sitting still during independent reading time. I reasoned they deserved something special. So I grabbed the lighter.

Max is methodical, and can be quite the perfectionist. He carefully ran the flame along an inch or two of his map, then blew gently to create just the right look. Wow, I thought to myself, this is going to take forever. So, I encouraged him to light up the entire edge and then blow hard. I was impatient, and not feeling very fun at all.

And just like that, Ancient Crete went up in smoke, and the Aegean Sea washed down the disposal.

History is now their very favorite subject, and I am apparently a map making pyromaniac.