Matzo Ball Soup

#03 Recycled egg carton hand-held mask

In the spirit of Purim we have crafted some imaginary birds hand-held masks using recycled egg carton. A great activity appropriate for any age group.
This post is part of an ‘Eco kids craft’ series I feature on my other blog Growing Up Creative. ‘Eco kids craft’ is a series of craft tutorials using recycled materials. My goal with this series is to guide parents and educators through the phases of some easy craft activities that encourage recycling, creativity and making with what you have. I have decided to combine this series in both blogs. I hope you will find it useful.

You will need:
Egg cartons (free range eggs carton is preferred…just kidding)
Scissors
Washable tempera paint and brushes
Feathers
Embellishments: feathers, fabric scraps, paper scraps, glitter etc.
Popsicle stick (craft sticks)
Masking tape
Craft glue
Please note, since I have more egg carton than I can handle and give to preschool, I have I been using them as disposable paint palette, it works great.

How to:

1. Cut a pair of egg carton cups with the “beak” for each mask
   
2. Make holes at the bottom of the egg cups
   
   
3. Paint
   
   
   
4. Embellish
5. set aside to dry
6. Tape or glue craft stick to the side of the mask
   
   
   
    
   
7. play

linked with Craft Schooling Sunday

Enjoy and have a happy Purim

tali

Our dreidel factory

Yes, we have opened a dreidel factory. We have been using Martha Stewart’s tutorial to make those SUPER FAST spinners.

This is how:
Ori was cutting ¼” wide strips of colorful construction paper. I happen to have a paper cutter I have borrowed from Phil and “forgot” to give it back. You may also cut them with a utility knife or a pair of scissors, or buy some ready made strips at the craft store they are called quilling paper. 

I was gluing the edge of the paper to the toothpicks a little bit above the tapered edge, and realized that we must wait patiently for the paper and toothpick to dry before starting the next step (probably the most difficult part of the process).
Zoe was putting color patterns together and doing a great job at wounding the paper. Oren was assisting Zoe with attaching more paper strips Once we had an approximately 1” disc on the toothpick, we glued the end and gave it a little push with our thumbs inwards, creating a tiny bowl shape. (Reminds me of the movie ticket bowls)




I was providing with nibbles and general assistance When you create the bowl shape, Try different silhouettes, see which spins better.
 
Those spinners look like candies and they are so much fun too make and spin (of course).

Have fun
tali

The dreidel/ hovering craft experiment

For some odd reason I hoped this CD + balloon hovering experiment would lead us to a new and revolutionary dreidel…It didn’t turn out so, but (there is always a but) we had a great time doing it, and still going.



You will need:



a CD, one that you don’t need any more
a balloon
a sports plastic bottle cap
glue gun
stickers
sharpies (permanent markers)
good lungs or balloon pump

How to:


Start by decorating the CD. We have used colorful dot stickers creating our own pattern.
 

Worm up the glue gun {(keep away from children) (I am half polish, therefore, I cannot hold back this comment, sorry)}
Apply glue around the edge of the cap (the end that screws to the bottle)
Immediately place cap centered onto the CD, make sure it is attached to the decorated side.


Close the cap



Blow air into the balloon
Slip the balloon onto the cap (make sure it is closed)
Place on a smooth flat surface and release the cap (just like you would before drinking)
 

Talk to your kids before letting the air out:
can they predict what is about to happen?

Variations:
try different surfaces
Different balloon sizes
Try and release the cap just a little bit
Try and release the cap all the way, letting as much air out.


Note:
If your float device/ dreidel has a hard time moving, give it a little push, (some times we need it).

Thank you my dear sister for this great activity.
Have lots of fun
tali

Our little pot of clay

Our little pot of clay is finally set aside to dry.
It was part of my 8 nights of Chanukah 8 crafty ideas post from last year; we never got to do it then, no good reason, maybe it was too many donuts that made us too   l  a  z  y.

but let me tell you, this is one relaxing project you may want to try. if you are over 21, you may just want to pour that glass of red wine for yourself and join in with your kids. Zoe got a little carried a way, after finishing her little pot of clay, she started ‘fabricating’ some menorahs for Ori and herself, her plan is to paint them after they are dry (kind of like "color me mine", only much cheaper and more fun).




I like working with this ancient material that feels so good and so right for this holiday. Please follow this link for the TUTORIAL.

tali

Star of David foil ornament

My mom has the habit of bringing at list 2 cakes when ever she comes to visit: one cake is usually the girl’s favorite and the other is Oren’s (I am insignificant at that matter…I think she takes me for granted…or that she knows I like any cake, period.). After a couple of days I am left with 2 empty disposable aluminum pans that I cant reuse and I hate seeing them go to waste.

So this is my solution, inspired from some great traditional Mexican tin work I got from my dear friend Karen. I hope you will try this at home.

^{Mexican tin art}

^{our Chanukah tin art}

You will need:

• 1 mom that bakes 2 cakes every other week or any other disposable foil pans (could be take-out containers or baking pans)
• A pen/ pencil with out the tip/ or a thick nail
• Colorful permanent markers (such as sharpies and ArtLine)
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Hole puncher
• Newspaper
• Star of David template

How to:

• flatten the aluminum pan, using your hands and a towel. you may cut out the corners if necessary
  
  
• Draw firmly a Star of David using a dull pencil or a tip less pen. You may trace this template to do so.
• Using scissors cutout the Star of David. The edges may be a little sharp, younger kids may need some assistance.
• Place the Star of David on a thick pile of newspaper, this is key to get nice texture.
• Use your drawing tool to deboss your design. if you turn the star over to the other side you will get the pattern embossed, the image you have drawn will be raised.
• the project gets even more exiting when you deboss areas in your drawing instead of just drawing a line, similar to filling-in shapes in a coloring book. only instead of using color, you are creating rich texture of raised and indented material. 

• Use sharpie markers (equivalent to ArtLine in Europe) to add color to your star. 
• Punch a hole at the top of your star, tie a ribbon and hang somewhere special. 

 
The sharpie markers over the aluminum are vividly luminous.

variation:

Try different holiday elements such as a menorah, an oil pot, a dradle etc.

Drawing the Torah

A year long project…ready…set…go…

This post is inspired by my good friend Natasha, whom last year has taken on herself to tell her son the stories of the Torah in the most creative way. she got 2 rolling pins from Target's dollar bin, a roll of paper from Michaels'.

while She was pulling down her paints and brushes and a whole lot of resources from the shelves, her son was rolling out a long stretch of the paper, ready to start with a year long project of drawing the Torah stories. She was telling the stories and her son was painting, scribing, and asking questions, unveiling the Torah, one story at a time.

This project has just ended with the celebration of Simchat Torah, while OUR project is about to begin.

^{story of creation (by Josh)}

^{Cain and Abel (by Josh)}




Noah's Ark (by Josh)
 
How to:

Pick a DAY:
The first thing we did after committing to do this project was to schedule a regular day. We have decided on Friday afternoon.

Get your SUPPLIES:
Unfortunately I will not be able to stop by and get supplies at Michaels’, but I will pull out a roll of trace paper left over from my architecture days, I still need to get rolling pins, paints and brushes are no problem.

• A roll of paper could be trace (semi translucent) or white paper can easily be found at arts and crafts stores.
• Assortment of drawing tools
• 2 rolling pins or wooden dowels. Glue one end of the paper to the rolling pin to create a scroll.

Get your RESOURCES:
Telling the stories should probably be a mixed of reading from the Torah, reading stories of  the Torah written by different authors, poetry, and Midrashim which are stories that have been developed by rabbis throughout history to answer the often puzzling questions raised by the Bible in a form of a folktale.
Many times I read the stories to my self and later tell the girls the stories from my head, adding some hand gesture and a change of my tone of voice to emphasize and create drama.

I have had long discussions with Natasha about resources. Reading straight from the bible seems like not such a great idea for kids. We both felt that it is hard to find well written stories of the bible both in English and in Hebrew.

I have compiled a list of books that was recommended by Natasha and some I found my self in my MATZO SOUP AMAZON BOOK STORE.

If you have any other books to suggest, I will be very happy to hear about them.

Here are some websites that post a weekly parsha for kids you may find helpful:
www.akhlah.com (English)
www.mibereshit.org (Hebrew and English)
www.myim.co.il  (Hebrew)
www.aish.com (English)

One last thought before you let me go:
There is something very poetic and old fashioned about parents telling the stories of the Torah to their kids. Drawing in response to stories is a great way to have kids engage with the story while practicing their drawing skills (I wrote more about this in growing up creative). And spending time together as a family is a great Jewish value.

We are now ready to dive in. I invite you to join us on this adventure.

Thank you Natasha for helping and coming up with this great activity.
I am sure she is reading this, so if you have any questions for her or myself feel free to ask.


tali

How to keep a moon journal on the month of Tishrei

I have recently read a great post by mommy coddle titled: 10 Ways To Get Outside--Even After School Starts. The 10th item on the list linked to a how-to keep a moon journal.  Since this Friday is the first of the month of Tishrei,  I thought it would be great to start a moon journal with my girls, weave it into our night routine, and make a simple connection between religion and nature.

You and I will need:

A note book (at list 30 pages)
A pencil
A large coin or a lid

How to:

• Go outside with your child observe the sky. try and be consistent ,more or less, with the time you make your observation.

• Find the moon

• Trace a coin at the corner of the page

• Fill in the shape of the moon as you see it, you may also leave the moon white and shade around it.

• Record the time and date, weather conditions maybe even its location in the sky. If the sky is cloudy and the moon is not visible make a note of that too.

• Try and make as many observations over a month as you can.

Variation:
If you draw the moon on the same corner of every page you may turn the journal into a flip book.

If your child wants to learn more:
Model the phases of the moon
The surface of the moon - crater blasting (last paragraph of the article)

Book list:
The Moon
The Moon Seems to Change (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Kitten's First Full Moon
Goodnight Moon

I hope we are all going to be looking at the moon together this month.

tali