Today IS Cinco de Mayo!

Last September I wrote this piece about Mexican Independence Day, but it is informative about what Cinco de Mayo is and some possible things to add to today.

Today is NOT Cinco de Mayo

I just wanted to make sure that point was clear. Today is Mexican Independence Day, however.

A lot of people think that Cinco de Mayo (May 5^th) is Mexican Independence Day because it is a big ta-doo here in the United States.

In Mexico, however, Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday not a national holiday. It commemorates the day a rag-tag group of Mexican farmers defeated the proud and professional French troops at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Today, in Mexico, it is celebrated in the state of Puebla. Here in the United States, it has become a day to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture.

That is why a lot of people get confused.

Get the rest of the information and ideas HERE.

Friday Funny--Playing Independently

It's always a good skill to teach your children to play independently! ;-)

May Day Flowers

Today our homeschool group is taking May Baskets to a nursing home our church has been ministering to. I thought I would share with you the two kinds of flowers we made!

One is the traditional tissue paper flower made with tissue paper and chenille stems.

Here is a video showing the basics of how we made them. The only difference is we only used 3 pieces of tissue and didn't trim the edges.

The other kind of flower was easier to make but not quite as attractive as when I saw it on Pinterest because I forgot to tell the kids to turn the paper the other way!

Here's the original pin I got the idea from in case you want to do it right!