FTC Disclosure: This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links.*
When I was young, my parents renovated our cozy little house to make it work better for a family of five. The renovation involved adding a second bathroom and rearranging the staircase so that the stairs were no longer death-defyingly steep. In the process, a closet was swallowed up whole. It was space that simply could not be incorporated into the design plans and so there is a closet floating in the middle of the house. My parents came up with the brilliant idea of making a time capsule to hide in the swallowed up closet. Together, we decided which photos and items to include, and then we sealed them all in a giant Chock Full O’Nuts coffee can. It’s still sitting there, in that swallowed up closet, in what is now my brother’s home.
When construction first started at our house, I remembered that old coffee can time capsule. I thought that making our very own time capsule would be a fun homeschool project. After all, what memory hoarder doesn’t love a good time capsule? We have been working on Story of the World, and we have been reading Joy Hakim’s A History of the US, and my little poppies are obsessed with watching Liberty’s Kids. I figured a time capsule would be a fun way to tie all of that history together. We could talk about what we think the Ancient Egyptians or Paul Revere might have included in their time capsules, had they made one, and then we could make our own history by burying a time capsule in one of the many construction-induced holes in our backyard. But then the kids got sick and the holidays hit and… well, it never happened.
And then something sort of amazing happened. Folks, it turns out Paul Revere did have a time capsule, and it was just unearthed in Boston. You can read about it here. It will be opened on January 6th- just a few days from now! While reading about Paul Revere’s time capsule, I learned of another time capsule that was discovered in the head of a lion statue in Boston in October. That time capsule wasn’t Paul Revere’s but it’s still cool. It seems as if the universe wants us to make a time capsule, folks!
And so, naturally, I did what any homeschooling mama does and I took to Pinterest and starting pinning some time capsule ideas.
Follow My Little Poppies’s board Family Time Capsule Project on Pinterest.
Right now, I’m thinking that we’ll include the following:
- Family photos,
- Interviews with each child- much like our New Year books but with some added Pin-spiration,
- Self-portraits drawn by each kiddo,
- A letter from each child to his or her future self,
- A note from each child to each of his or her siblings,
- A drawing from each child to his or her future self,
- Stats from each kiddo (height, weight, hand prints, etc.), and
- A letter to each child from Schizz and myself.
And now I’m going to do what any homeschooling blogger mom with three sick kids, one feverish husband, too much laundry, and a house under construction would do: I’m going to ask for help from the village.
Tell me, what would you add to our time capsule? Do you have any book recommendations for us? Any art project ideas? How can I make this project better? And, what about logistics? I was thinking we’d store it indoors for x-many years to prevent damage. Is this a good idea, or is it not as fun? How many years? Five? Ten? Did you guys make a time capsule when you were young? Has your family? Share here and help an over-tired mama out!
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My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.
~ Steve Jobs
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*FTC Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Basically, if you click on these links and make a purchase, I will receive small commission (we’re talking cents, not dollars). I would never endorse a product for a few cents. We recommend what we love here, folks.
