Monday, November 15, 2010

Corps of Re-Discovery Review


"The Corps of Discovery was the name President Thomas Jefferson gave to Lewis and Clark’s party as he commissioned them to find an east-west water passage to the Pacific Ocean over 200 years ago.  Their goal was to explore what lies around the next river bend, to seek out new life and new cultures, to boldly discover what had never been discovered before."

From this came, Corps of Re-Discovery, a family-owned company, whose taken their homeschooling journey on the road to re-discover and explore what others have already.  After their journey across America, they created project kits to accompany studies of American Indians, Frontiersmen and Pioneer Americans so our children can also "re discover" America.

Our Homeschool Reviews received the Cornhusk Doll (Girl) Kit.  Cornhusk dolls (also known as faceless dolls) were introduced to the white man by the Iroquois Indians. Because the pioneers and colonists had limited materials, they were happy to find ways for the children to play. 

My Thoughts:  I knew our daughter was going to be excited when she found out she was going to receive this kit.  She loves making and playing with dolls!  I became worried when I read the directions though.  They were a little hard to understand at first and I had to re-read them several times.  When we started the craft, I quickly realized that she was not going to be able to complete this on her own.  As a matter of fact, I had to do most of the work, and it was almost impossible for one person to complete it, as you need help holding when tying the strings, etc.  

We started off by soaking the cornhusks in water for an hour to soften them up.  Then once we got started we had a fun time and could quickly see the doll taking shape.  The instructions call for sewing the apron but we did not do that and just tucked it in her waist.  I think it came our pretty good.  Below you can see our results.





I would definitely purchase more of their kits next year when we cover American History.

Thoughts of a 7-Year Old:  Some seven year olds might not be able to do it by themselves, however, maybe the few things that your seven year old children could do are the cutting, tying, peeling, etc. Moms would have to definitely help, sisters, brothers, or dads. What I did like about it, it was fun, crafty, and it turned out wonderful. I decided on a name for her: Charlotte! 

Find Out More:  This craft kit and others can be found at the Corps of Re-Discovery website.  At the time of this post, the Cornhusk Doll Kits are available for $4.95.

My Crewmates are also reviewing Corps of Re-Discovery, so you can check out what they think HERE.


Disclosure: This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.

4 comments:

Kim

Fun! Charlotte looks nice and cozy all tucked in.
:-) I'll be checking out this site and products for sure. I hadn't heard of them before. Thanks!

Nikki

I think these dolls look precious! We reviewed the tomahawk and my son liked it, but I believe my two girls would really enjoy making one of these dolls.

Our Homeschool Reviews

We had a good time making her. The time and attention it took to make the doll was perfect.

Sheri

Lovely review-and the dolly gets a sweet place to retire her head too-that is so sweet. Yes, this is definitely a 2 person project-but you all did a very nice job. :0)

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