super special activities

[supprazz]

Have any of you actually tried the activities in the back of the six Super Specials? Which activities do you remember trying that took place in the books and would you say you learned good life skills or enhanced your creativity from them? If you haven't done it, have you tried them with other kids be it younger siblings, or kids you've worked with such as students?

I'm already familiar with books that were listed that were karen's favourites to read while on her trip, nancy drew, roald dahl and BSC ones
I'm pretty sure I made my mom a gift certificate one year, something I wanted her to take off from was "no sleeping" cause she used to work night shifts when I was young and I missed her
I made christmas ornaments, I remember making a paper chain one year at school, and though I never made the bell out of an egg carton, I did make a tulip in a similar way before reading thebook

Activities I wanted to try but didn't get around to doing were making the magnifying glass, planting vegetables indoors, trying the salad and cookies recipes, trying to make potato print paper, making the shimmery snow card

[Honeybee]

^ I remember making paper chain from school, as well. It was around Christmas time.

[msstock87]

I think I remember doing some of the crafts when I was younger. They always seemed like fun.

[virgoscorpio]

I don't actually remember doing any of those crafts. Then again, I didn't get terribly into the LS series until I was an adult.

[wanderingfrog]

I did things like making paper chains and bell ornaments out of an egg carton at school, and I made potato print wrapping paper with my mom, but I didn't do any of that because it was in the LS books. It was fun, though.

[zoar3]

^This is sort of off topic but are paper chains strips of construction paper stapled together so they form a circle (with no middle, like a donut) attached to many of the same circles? I'm asking because I've always also wanted clarification on what Mal and Jessi's constant gum chains were and am thinking they are the same as paper chains.

[sparklymouse]

Paper chains are just paper circles looped together, like a chain necklace. With gum chains the gum wrappers are folded into little rectangles that sort of slip into each other and form a solid zigzag pattern. I'm describing that terribly, but if you Google paper chains and gum chains you can see the difference.

[zoar3]

Thanks Sparklymouse. I did Google and paper chains like as I expected. Gum chains look much more complicated--almost puzzle piece-like-- and I admit I never really thought about Mal and Jessi using actually gum wrappers to make them; they must chew a lot of gum! I remember in one BSC book Mal tells us that the two of them are trying to make the world's longest gum chain.

[supprazz]

Well no wonder Mallory's braces haven't come off for 15 years!

[supprazz]

I also thought Karen's felt ornament with the glitter and polka dots sounded really cute and wanted to try that. I used to stitch felt stuffed animals often through kits, but didn't really make ornaments

Did anyone bake or prepare salads or tend to gardens at 7 like Karen?

[booboobrewer]

I wish I remembered more of the activities. I think popsicle stick houses was in the Three Musketeers SS? I tried doing that, and ended up with just little boxes I didn't need, haha. I think I also colored them with markers.

I definitely started making friendship bracelets because of that SS too.

There was also a banana split-like recipe...mixing up bananas or cookies with your favorite ice cream into a big gooey mess (in a bowl) I HOPE I'm not making that up. But I seem to recall it because my mom would do the same thing for a special dessert and I thought, wow, Karen does as well!