December 27 – Visit a Zoo Day – The kids are  off school today, so visit the local Bridgeport Zoo!

December 31 – New Year’s Eve

If your working tonight,  after the kids go to bed, sit down and watch Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve and think about how to make 2013 even better!  Before the kids go to bed, you and the children can choose simple “New Year Resolutions.” Or create a keepsake of the year that is ending by making a time capsule or a scrapbook of memories. Include what are cool, popular activities, clothes, games, names of popular songs or games, and a picture of the hottest toy. If you are making a time capsule, put a date on it and decide when they will open it – in a year, 5 or even 10. Don’t forget to include a photo of you and the children! Tomorrow, the first day of the New Year, is a federal holiday.

December 30- Bicarbonate of Soda Day – Bicarbonate of soda, also known as baking powder, has many household uses including cooking, cleaning and medical uses. But it can also be used for a very simple and fun science experiment suitable for ages 7 and older.

Baking Soda Volcano

Create quite a fizzle by mixing baking soda/sodium bicarbonate with vinegar.
You need the following:
Baking Soda, Vinegar, a plastic container such as a milk jug, paper towels to clean up.

How to do the experiment: Place some of the baking soda in the container; pour in some vinegar and ….Watch what happens.

December 25 – Christmas Every family and culture has their own Christmas traditions. Embrace those of your host family and share some of your own – Merry Christmas!!!

Make your own play dough! –Play dough is the perfect modeling material for children. Their small hands can pat, poke, pinch, roll and knead it into many shapes. Keep it in an airtight container to use another day, or let it air dry into favorite shapes.

Measure 2 cups of flour, one cup of salt and 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of oil to one cup of water in a separate bowl then add the mixture to the dry ingredients. Squeeze 10-20 drops of food coloring into one cup of water and add it to the mixture. Mix well to make it smooth and to spread the color evenly. Cook the dough at low heat in a wide pan, stirring constantly until it becomes rubbery. Remove the dough from the heat and knead it for a few minutes. When it cools the kids can play too!

The aupairs of Weston & Wilton joined together for a festive holiday party at The Weston Field Club.  We sang Hanukkah and Christmas songs, shared each others holiday traditions and ate great food!      We even had violin music.   A very fun international evening!

Here is a simple explanation from Judaism 101:

Chanukah is the festival of lights, commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against the Seleucid Greeks. As part of the rededication, the victorious Jews needed to light the Temple’s menorah (candelabrum), but they had only enough oil to last one day and it would take eight days to prepare more oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days. The miracle of the oil is commemorated with this eight-day candle lighting holiday.

Chanukah begins between Thanksgiving and Christmas. About half of the time, it overlaps with Christmas, but there are many years when Chanukkah ends long before Christmas. In 2002, for example, Chanukkah began on Thanksgiving and ended in the first week of December, but that is unusual.

Almost all Jews light candles with their families for at least some nights of the holiday, so people like to be at home during this holiday. Although almost nobody takes off from work or school for this holiday, many may not want to work nights or travel during the holiday so they can light candles with the family, and accommodations should be made for this.

Here are some links for more info and children’s activities:

• APIA Pinterest Hanukkah Pinboard
• Chanukkah Info. & Activities for Kids
• Handmade Hanukkah Papercrafts
• Hanukkah Crafts & Coloring Sheets