Tag Archives: crafts

DECEMBER HOLIDAYS


Hanukkah (December 6 at sundown to December 14) ,Christmas (December 25) and Kwanza (December 26 TO January 1) are the major Holidays this month!

These holidays are a time of celebrating,giving and sharing. Our Arlington/Falls Church cluster is going to celebrate these holidays by attending a performance of the Nutcracker at the Warner Theatre and sharing some  Holiday Cheers at their community counselor’s home .

If you are looking to get into the holiday spirit,here are some crafts ideas,no matter what holiday you celebrate,but you can find more under seasonal crafts or under the seasonal calendar on the au pair resources site.

Pencil Can Gift For Mom Or Dad. Wash out a soup can or a juice can. Children can decorate can with paint, glue and noodles, buttons, yarn, etc. Let dry and wrap as a gift.

Make Wrapping Paper: Need plain brown wrapping paper or white tissue paper, paint, pan, and cookie cutters, apples or potatoes. Pour paint into pan. Dip cookie cutter shapes (or apples cut in half, or potatoes cut in half with a design cut into them) into paint and make prints on the paper.

Traditions: Tell the children how you celebrate special holidays in your country.

Holiday Cards: Need construction paper, markers, stickers, glitter, crayons, paint. Fold construction paper in half to create a card. Decorate. Help children write a message inside.

Chanukah

Hanukkah1

Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah), a Jewish holiday, is known as the Festival of Lights. It is a celebration of religious freedom based on historical events that occurred more than 2100 years ago. It commemorates rebellion against oppression, the first serious attempt in history for a nation to accept religious and cultural diversity.

Chanukah is celebrated for 8 days during the winter with the lighting of candles in a special lamp called a menorah or hanukiah. It is also traditional to exchange gifts or gelt (Yiddish for money), in the form of real coins or chocolate wrapped in gold foil, and to play a game of put-and-take with a four-sided top called a dreidel. The Hebrew letters on the sides of the top stand for words which mean a great miracle happened there.

The traditional legend of the miracle of Chanukah is that a single day’s supply of oil burned for eight days in the Temple in Jerusalem. Because of this Jews eat foods fried in oil on Chanukah, most often fried potato pancakes, known at latkes, and doughnuts, called sufganiyot in Hebrew.

As the essence of Chanukah is about the acceptance of cultural diversity, it is particularly appropriate for au pairs to join in the celebration. Helping children make simple gifts for each other and for their parents, or making Chanukah decorations for the house can add to everyone’s enjoyment of the holiday.

Christmas :

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Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday observed generally on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The date is not known to be the actual birthday of Jesus, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, the date of the winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar, or one of various ancient winter festivals. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.

Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several similar mythological figures, known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and Santa Claus among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.

Kwanzaa:images


Kwanzaa, or “First Fruits of the Harvest,” is an African-American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates and strengthens community, family and culture over a period of seven days. Kwanzaa begins December 26th. Each day, a principle of Kwanzaa is celebrated.

In order to appropriately cite these principles, the officialkwanzaawebsite.org describes these 7 Kwanzaa Principles, authored by Maulana Karenga, in this way:

Umoja or Unity: To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia or Self-Determination: To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima or Collective Work and Responsibility: To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa or Cooperative Economics: To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia or Purpose: To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba or Creativity: To do always as much as we can, in any way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani or Faith: To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness will victory of our struggle.

Note that the 7 Principles incorporate the words first in Swahili and then English.

Mother’s Day

happy_mothers_day-300x222Mother’s Day is being celebrated on May 12th all over the United States.

It is an annual holiday that recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society. In the United States it is celebrated on the second Sunday in May but in other parts of the world,Mother’s Day is celebrated at various dates.

July 4- Independence Day

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Independence Day was first celebrated on July 8, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was read to the public in Philadelphia. By the 1880’s, the Fourth of July had become the most significant patriotic occasion in the United States. The holiday is presently celebrated with parades, fireworks, picnics, sporting events, and music. An estimated 150 million hot dogs are eaten in the U.S. on Independence Day!

Check out your local newspaper to find out what activities are planned in your cluster!

Craft ideas:

Paintings of fireworks:

Idea #1Use a large piece of paper. Let children drop small amounts of paint (different colors works well, or just use blue and red for a patriotic look. If you can, get black paper and use red, white and blue for fireworks in the night sky). Have the children swirl the paint out with a spoon, let them keep swirling from the center, in all directions around the drop of paint. Some of them may overlap, and that is fine, too. When it is finished it looks like fireworks bursting in the sky.

Idea #2 Give the child a straw and have them blow into the pools of paint to make their own free form painting of fireworks.

GET YOUR LITTLE HELPERS ORGANIZED:DESIGN A JOB CHART

Martha Stewart Kids, Volume 8 2003

Tired of nagging your kids about chores — and hearing the same excuses? A magnetic job chart keeps track of who has done what. The entire thing is designed on a computer, then printed on inkjet magnet sheets, which are thin and easy to cut.

Job Chart How-To
Design colored rectangles with the names of chores typed inside them. If you like, color-code magnets according to level of difficulty or frequency (every day, once a week, and so on). Kids’ photos can be scanned in or downloaded from a digital camera. Assemble chore names and photos on one computer page, then print onto a magnet sheet; cut out. To make the chart, design a column for each child, with areas labeled “chores to do” and “chores completed.” Print onto a magnetic sheet, and post it on the refrigerator, adding kids’ photos and chore magnets.

Valentine’s Day!

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Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, dates back to ancient Rome.

Sending a valentine in the United States is not a serious declaration of love as in some other countries. Children usually send valentines to the other children in their class and to the teacher. Friends and relatives exchange valentines. For that we can thank Esther Howland, a young woman from Massachusetts, who in 1848 started the first mass production of valentines.Now valentine cards and candy are a fun way of keeping in touch with those we care about.

ACTIVITIES:

Make your own valentines: Although many store-bough valentines are designed for children, come in large packs and are quite inexpensive, it is lots of fun to make your own. Pink, red and white paper, crayons or markers and a little bit of imagination are all you need. Dress up the cards with glitter, doilies ,laces ,stickers, or feather if you wish.

Valentine Collage(ages 18 months and older): Prepare hearts of different colors and sizes, ribbon, feathers, etc. Older children can use glue on paper. For younger children tape a piece of contact paper sticky side up securely onto a table. Paper shapes will stick easily to the contact paper.

Heart rubbings( ages 3 years and older):First cut hearts of different sizes from heavy paper. Place those hearts under a blank piece of paper and rub over the shapes using the side of a crayon. The hearts will magically appear.

Valentine’s day Post Office ( ages 5 years and up): Set up your own post office at home. Decorate mailboxes for every member of the family. Use a rubber stamp to show that the valentines have been properly mailed. Deliver to the boxes.

HALLOWEEN GUIDE FOR AU PAIRS….

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Halloween is the day children dress up in costumes and, in many communities, go door-to-door to ask for candy.It is celebrated every year on October 31st.

Here are some interesting facts about Halloween:

How did trick-or-treating begin?
The modern practice of trick-or-treating appears to have originated from a combination of the Celtic new year celebration called Samhain celebrated on October 31st and the early Christian ritual related to All Saints Day, celebrated on November 2nd.

The Celts believed that on Samhain, spirits of the dead would come back and try to posses the bodies of the living. So to avoid being possessed by a ghost, living Celts would dress up in scary costumes and parade around the town making a lot of noise, so as to scare the spirits away. This is where the modern tradition of wearing costumes seems to have derived from.

As for the collection of treats, most scholars credit early Christians’ ritual of “souling” to the development of this festive activity. In connection with their All Saints Day celebration, Christians would walk door to door collecting square pieces of currant bread called “soul cakes”. The person who collected the cakes would say prayers on behalf of a deceased relative. The more cakes collected, the more prayers were said and the quicker the soul of the deceased would find heaven.
The combination of these two early activities has evolved into the modern practice of trick-or-treating.


How did “bobbing for apples” become a popular Halloween activity?
The apple has historically been associated with immortality and fertility because when cut down its center it has a five point star. This five pointed star was a common goddess symbol in many ancient religions and believed to help determine marriages, especially during the magical, spiritual season of Samhain. During early celebrations, apples would be hung either from a string or placed in a tub of water and young, unmarried people would try to take a bite. The first one to successfully bite the apple was believed to be the next one married.

Why are bats associated with Halloween?
In early Halloween celebrations, people often gathered around giant bonfires to ward off evil spirits. Night-flying insects were attracted to the flames, which made bonfires the perfect feeding ground for bats. Thus, bats became quickly synonymous with Halloween celebrations. Additionally, during the Middle Ages, people began to link bats to witches because the both seemed to mystically fly throughout the dark night and disappear during the day.

Have people always carved pumpkins for Halloween?
Jack-o-lanterns are an Irish tradition brought to America by early Irish immigrants. But early jack-o-lanterns were not pumpkins, they were turnips, rutabagas or gourds that were hollowed out. Lights were placed in them to ward off evil spirits and to keep “Stingy Jack” (the legendary Irish drunkard and prankster, believed to have made a deal with the devil and condemned to walk the earth upon death, whose namesake has been given to modern day, carved pumpkins) away. It was not until the 1800’s when Irish immigrants came to America and found pumpkins to be so plentiful and easier to carve, that the tradition was altered.

And now, are you ready for some Hallloween crafts and costume ideas?

This link will help you find some fun things to do with the kids:

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/316-halloween-crafts

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/254-homemade-halloween-costumes

MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATION

0509Mother’s Day

Many countries celebrate a special day for mothers. In the U.S, it started as a day of peace; now it is more a day to celebrate and pamper Mom. Help the children make cards or gifts or plan a special meal or other surprise for Mom. Read picture books to young children about mothers such as Are You My Mother by PD Eastman, Little Bear (an I Can Read Book) by Else Holmelund Minarik, or Just Me and My Mom by Mercer Mayer. You’ll find many other choices in your local library. For ideas of activities and surprises, visit www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/mom/.

Pasta Heart Plate for Mompasta-heart-plate-craft-mom-photo-350-aformaro-485_rdax_65

Even little ones can make one of these fun plates of love for Mom! All you will need is some glue, a plate, and some noodles.

Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to create beautiful crafts and homemade cards just for Mom! Treat her to special recipes and bond with printable activities as well.

What you’ll need:

  • Colorful disposable plate
  • White craft glue
  • Dried macaroni noodles
  • Yellow and green split peas

How to make it:

  1. Use white craft glue to draw a heart shape on the plate. (See photo.)
  2. Place macaroni shapes onto the white craft glue heart. (See photo.)
  3. Use white craft glue to write “mom” in the center of the heart. Place flat side of split peas onto the craft glue, using yellow peas for both letter “m’s” and green for the “o.” (See photo.)
  4. Let dry completely.

Tips:

  1. For younger children, use dried beans instead of peas, as they are larger and easier to grasp.
  2. Check the party aisle of your grocer or discount department store for colorful disposable plates.
  3. You can paint a plain paper plate instead of using a coated plate.

flower-card-mom-craft-photo-160-aformaro-492Flower Card for Mom

A pretty flower takes center stage in this adorable Mother’s Day card that Mom is sure to love receiving.

Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to create beautiful crafts and homemade cards just for Mom! Treat her to special recipes and bond with printable activities as well.

What you’ll need:

  • 1 sheet of card stock
  • Patterned paper
  • Orange construction paper
  • Glue stick
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • White craft glue
  • ½” wide ribbon in two complementary colors
  • Pattern

How to make it:

  1. Fold card stock in half to create the greeting card. (See photo.)
  2. Print and cut out flower pattern. Trace pattern onto the back of the patterned paper. Cut the flower shape out of the patterned paper, but do not cut the center circle. (See photo.)
  3. Trace the center circle onto orange construction paper. (See photo.)
  4. Cut out construction paper circle and glue it to the center of the patterned paper flower. (See photo.)
  5. Glue the paper flower onto the center of the card.
  6. Cut ribbon into pieces to create the letter “M”. Use white craft glue to “write” the letter “M” onto the card, and then place the ribbon onto the glue. Use glue to tack the ends that overlap. (See photo.)

Tips:

  1. Look for pretty ribbons to go on sale, usually immediately following a holiday.
  2. Your favorite craft supply store often includes coupons on your local newspaper, or you can sign up to receive them online.
  3. Card stock is much sturdier, but construction paper is a suitable and less expensive option.