Category Archives: Crafts

Printable how-to for simple LEGO dreidel

Posted on 11/29/2012 | 9 comments

print it, show it to your kid.

Beloved LEGO nerds and LEGO enablers: print this pdf, show it to your kid and let her rummage through the LEGO bins to find the seven, particular pieces.  (Rummaging is part of the fun. Match the part to the pic: how many studs across and down?  Brick or plate?)  She can assemble the seven pieces as per the illustration.  She can then add the letters.  Voila: a LEGO dreidel.

Should your bins not produce all these parts, just substitute.  Four 2×2 bricks are Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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Dreidel Arenas: easy, instant

Posted on 11/28/2012 | 7 comments
giant Hot Wheels track dreidel arena

giant Hot Wheels track dreidel arena

If you get crabby when dreidels fall off the table or roll under the sofa, a dreidel arena is key to a happy Hanukkah.  An arena corrals the dreidels and defines the play space. And, if your dreidel play includes battles, an arena is a must: the sides keep dreidels in action longer and coax them back toward each other. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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LEGO dreidel kit: giveaway

Posted on 11/24/2012 | 23 comments

LEGO dreidel kit giveaway

Would you like to win a LEGO dreidel kit?  Ideally, you’ve all got enough parts at home to make a whole battalion of unique, custom dreidel models, but in case you don’t, take some of mine.  The more LEGO dreidels in the world, the better. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Jewish Toys

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DIY LEGO dreidel kits

Posted on 11/20/2012 | 13 comments

DIY LEGO dreidels in progress

I am in search of the perfect LEGO dreidel. In this case, perfection means cheap, easy and fun. The model will need to attract Chanukah carnival go-ers between the ages of four and eleven, each of whom will be offered a chance to make and take said ideal dreidel.  Thus, above all, it’s going to have to spin.  Really spin.

My search might benefit you, too: you, the grownup with a LEGO lover at home or in the classroom. The act of building a LEGO dreidel is chock full o’ educational benefits.  So many elements to consider: you’ve got to have four balanced sides; a low center of gravity; a minimum of friction; a smooth, wide contact point and a design that doesn’t fling itself to bits when it bashes into another dreidel. Figuring all this out with your kid is more than half the fun. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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Swim Noodle Dreidel

Posted on 11/16/2012 | 2 comments
Swim Noodle Dreidel, spins

spinning Swim Noodle Dreidel

I couldn’t resist.  What better accompaniment to a Swim Noodle Menorah than a Swim Noodle Dreidel?  Besides, I had noodle waste.

When one trims a swim noodle to the appropriate Menorah candle length, one generates noodle waste.

How I made it:
As a complete afterthought, believe me. It ain’t pretty, but it SPINS. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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Swim Noodle Menorah

Posted on 11/13/2012 | 26 comments

Swim Noodle Menorah

The Swim Noodle Menorah.  Google all you want, but it won’t be there unless it’s here, because I’ve just invented it.   Continue reading →

26 Comments

Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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Instant Edible Sukkah: step by step photos

Posted on 10/07/2012 | 2 comments

dsc08198

Apparently, I have more to say about the Edible Sukkah. The big thing is that most folks skip the first and crucial step: to “glue” (with frosting, Nutella, whatever) a floor cracker to the plate. This anchors the whole structure, it gives the walls something to stick to, and it significantly reduces the frustration factor for little kids.  Building a sukkah should be a treat, not a trial. Continue reading →

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Posted in Edible Craft, Sukkot

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Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur posts

Posted on 09/13/2012 | 6 comments

polymer clay accoutrements for the HH

Whew.  Been sick,  getting better.  Just so you know I’m still alive, and that I used to expend energy pondering and puttering about the holidays, here are some earlier posts.

Shanah tova!

Make an apple bowl for Rosh Hashanah honey

Make a Pantyhose Challah Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Jewish Origami: What Not to Make

Posted on 07/12/2012 | 5 comments

No.

You’ve heard of Jewish Origami.  I’m a fan. You may have heard of Dollar Bill Origami, in which dollar bills replace traditional, square paper.  I’ve made dollar models—animals, a ring, wee clothing— but there is one famous origami dollar pattern I will never make in public: the Jewish Star.  Come on, a Jewish Star made out of CASH?  It looks like clipart from Origami of the Elders of Zion. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts

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LEGO Moses on the Mountain

Posted on 05/25/2012 | Comments Off on LEGO Moses on the Mountain

Moses and the Lego Tablets

Google “Lego Moses” and you’ll get beaucoup hits. But just because he’s been done, doesn’t mean I can’t have a go. This one is in honor of Shavuot.

My Moses wears a do-rag because it is not cool to meet an omnipotent Divinity atop a mountain with your head uncovered. Nowadays, you can’t walk into a synagogue without putting something modest on your keppe, and the tradition had to start somewhere.  Besides, it was sunny in the Wilderness.

What I really wanted was a Lego way to incorporate the famous rays of light Moses radiated after the Big Meeting (Exodus 34:29). Thanks to a glitch in translation from Hebrew to Latin (#Saint Jerome) those rays are depicted as horns in countless artworks, and are, in part, the root of the persistent idea that all Jews have actual horns. Continue reading →

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Posted in Shavuot, Simchat Torah

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Shavuot Snack-tivity: Ice-Cream in a bag

Posted on 05/22/2012 | 4 comments

Duplo dairy

Who wants to make messy, homemade ice cream for Shavuot?  I do.  It’s the one time a year my family makes ice cream, so right there it’s a highlight of the Jewish calendar. “The Giving of the Torah,”of course, is at the core of Shavuot, but “The Making of the Ice Cream” is a bit more memorable if you are five.

If you don’t have a proper ice cream maker—and I don’t—the kids can make it with Ziploc bags.  Even if you do have a machine, the low-tech baggie way is a good, gloppy group activity. Continue reading →

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Posted in Shavuot

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Lag B’Omer LEGO

Posted on 05/10/2012 | 6 comments

Katniss for Lag B’Omer

Happy Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, those 49 days between Passover and Shavuot.  In honor of the day, my family will be as thematic as is convenient: one of us will get a haircut (the one who is  satisfied with a quickie trip to the walk-in salon), we’ll burn some brush in the crumbling barbecue pit, roast stale Passover marshmallows and shoot a few arrows.  The arrows will be made of foam, after an incident that once put a hole through a solidly-built garden chair and very nearly put a hole through me. Continue reading →

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Blood Buddy: the drop o’ blood sleep lovey

Posted on 04/04/2012 | 4 comments

“I love you, Blood Buddy,” came a sweet croon from the back of the car, “I looooove blood!”

Way to perpetuate a stereotype, kid.

And at Passover, too.  As my friend Joanna P. would say, “and that is how you make a blood libel joke, Sarah Palin.”  Although, maybe she wouldn’t.  Joanna P. is right this moment trying to remove an entire jar of Mod Podge from her carpet, so I can’t know for sure.

All I do know for sure is that blood and Jews and Passover are a tricky trinity, and that my Jewish child is in a booster seat singing love songs to a plush blood drop clutched to his cheek. Continue reading →

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Posted in Jewish kids in nonJewish school, Passover

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LEGO Seder Table: minifig Passover

Posted on 04/03/2012 | 15 comments

legosedertableJust for fun: two LEGO seder plates and a table, sized for a minifig Passover.

Now, I’ve got to get busy making the real thing….

Have a happy Passover!

See below for the bits we used.  If you make your own, please post pics to my Facebook page. Continue reading →

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Posted in Passover

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Toys for the 10th Plague: from cuddly to creepy

Posted on 04/02/2012 | 1 comment

if you think a LEGO coffin is creepy, stop reading now.

DIY death toys….

I already wrote about how to assemble a collection of plague toys for the seder, and how to refashion a matzah box to house them. Each guest can use a box during the Maggid section of the haggadah.

I’m rather fond of plague toys and their power to make the Exodus story more hands-on, real and memorable. Continue reading →

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Posted in Passover

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Action figures: the winners

Posted on 03/28/2012 | 1 comment

Random.org tells me that Marjorie and Ellen are the big winners of the Moses and Pharaoh giveaway.  I’ll alert Chai Kids right this minute and they will ship forthwith.

Thank you to everyone who left a Passover suggestion/idea in a comment.  If you have a moment Continue reading →

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Posted in Passover

Recognizing Moses

Posted on 03/28/2012 | 2 comments

"Who is this Moses?" (name that quote)

Right about the time I posted the Moses and Pharaoh giveaway, I updated my iPhoto software. It has a face-recognition feature that freaks me out a little.  I played around with it last night, what with being awake at 2:30am and feeling generous with my time. It automatically scrolled through my pictures asking me to name and then confirm whom was whom. Until I did so, all faces were tagged “unnamed.”

And then, up popped Moses. Pictures of Continue reading →

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LEGO Chametz: #Exodusgram 2

Posted on 03/25/2012 | Comments Off on LEGO Chametz: #Exodusgram 2



This did not happen to me, but it sure could have….

Continue reading →

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LEGO Mitzrayim: #Exodusgram 1

Posted on 03/24/2012 | 1 comment

LEGO Israelite minifig caught in a narrow place.  (The oppressive sandal is supposed to look all ancient Egyptian.) Continue reading →

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“Why We Celebrate Passover:” book review

Posted on 03/22/2012 | 1 comment

Looking for one Passover picture book that tells the story of Passover without scaring the Underoos off a kid?  One book that describes basic Passover customs and assumes no prior knowledge?  And a book with attractive artwork, rhythmic text and not too many words on a page?

Here it is: Why We Celebrate Passover, written and illustrated by Howard M. Kurtz (Pigment & Hue, Ages 3-8, paperback, 24 pages).  Not sold at Continue reading →

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Posted in Jewish kids in nonJewish school, Passover

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