The Belt of Deltora

So.... Brian said no to the drum set. At least no for now. I personally believe that he is hoping that Noah will want to play some type of horn. (He, Noah, already plays piano. Brian is a trumpet player and really wants SOMEONE to play it too. Bekah tried violin for a few years but decided it wasn't for her. Katie plays piano. Caleb might be the kid who plays trumpet. He can already buzz a mouthpiece.) I, however, have promised Noah that he can be in band starting in Jr. High. He is very excited about this. (My devious parenting here is to keep him in band and NOT in football!!) He is SURE he wants to play drums and I told him that is okay. (As long as he keeps up his piano). So... crisis averted for a time.

As for the wii..... good grief! They really ARE expensive.. and Noah doesn't want to purchase the whole thing by himself. He is trying to convince the other kids to save their money with him. This could be a good plan if they will go along with it.

So.. after all of this excitement and discussion last night I found myself home alone with the boys. Brian was at band practice. The girls were helping a friend run the nursery at her church for a Bible study. So... the boys and I started to make the Belt of Deltora.

If you have boys and you need a good series for them to read, I recommend The Deltora Quest. This is a series of eight books that take Lief, Barda and Jasmine on a quest to find the seven gems and return them to the belt of Deltora. Noah first found this series at least a year and a half ago. I think they are published by Scholastic. We were at the bookstore.. (my favorite place) and at the age of 8he found this huge 400+ page book and said, "Can I have this?" (Don't panic here. The books are NOT 400 pages each. The book he found was the first 4 books in the series published together in one volume.) I said sure.

He didn't start the book immediately... but once he did get into it.. he devoured it. I had to read it too so we could discuss. We then found 3 of the other books and borrowed number 6 which I couldn't find until this year for some reason. We now have the whole set and Noah is reading them OUT LOUD to Caleb! They are definitely boy books. There are monsters and challenges and some fighting. It is fantasy.. but all done age appropriately. The individual books are just the right size for chapter books.

So... last night we started work on the belt. My challenge... making it so it will fit either boy. The boys are 4 years apart and built differently. I am using felt (although it is supposed to be made of metal. Since I am not up on my metalworking skills these days... felt will have to do.)
Caleb made the gems We took very smooth stones and heated them in the oven. Then he used pearly and glittery crayons to color on them. When the stones are hot the crayons melt and coat the stones. (This is a great activity.. heat the stones on 200 or 250.. but be very careful. The kids can't touch the stones. If you hold a crayon on the surface it will pool and melt. This works with all crayons but we have found that the pearly, silver and gold and glitter ones are the best.) Next he used glitter glue on the other side of each stone. They are quite magnificent.
My biggest boy.. helped me do a bit of bead work (not fancy) on a couple of the pockets. We are not quite finished yet.. but I will post a picture when we are. The younger boy wants to have a REAL quest and asked if we can hide the gems. So.. know that is what we will be working on today. Turning the bedrooms into The Forest of Silence, and The Shifting Sands etc. (at least with a sign on the doors).

As I lay in bed last night I thought... Wow.. this is so much fun. What a great story extension. I didn't plan this as a school activity we just did it. They don't think it is a chore or even that it "counts" as school they are just having fun. They are truly making the story come alive. Today we get to "play" and read some more. Homeschooling is REALLY, REALLY cool.