Tu B’Shevat stuff: indoor gardening, edible bowls, sugar overload and birdfeeders

Posted on 01/17/2013 | 3 comments

Here’s a quick list of links to my earlier posts for Tu B’Shevat.  New ones coming soon…

pear seedlings from our snack

pear seedlings from our snack

Eat a Fruit, Plant the Seeds:  So easy.  Cut open a fruit with your kid. Eat it, plant the seed.  Of course, I mention a few Jewish-y choices of trees, but the important take-away is that THIS is where trees come from. Can’t get more thematic.

How (and Why) to Let Kids Plant Tu B’Shevat Parsley.  Detailed how-tos here. I’ve a method that works without compromising hands-on learning or enthusiasm.
Find out why the go-to Tu B’Shevat planting activity is not about planting trees. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Nature, Tu B'Shevat

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Meatloaf Menorah

Posted on 12/15/2012 | 6 comments

MeatloafMenorhcandles1 text
Mmmmmmm, a menorah made of meat, in honor of the Shabbat during Hanukkah.

Actually, I made two:
1) a free-standing meatloaf menorah, and
2) a flat, branched meatloaf menorah (see below). Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in Edible Craft, Hanukkah

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Tangram Dreidel Toast

Posted on 12/14/2012 | 3 comments
tangram dreidel toast

tangram dreidel toast

A tangram toast dreidel may prove to be my least popular post, but as I tell my children, you gotta be you, even if no one wants to be around the you you gotta be. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Edible Craft, Hanukkah

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A new SPIN on Edible Dreidels: Caramel Dreidel

Posted on 12/12/2012 | 9 comments
Carameldreidel1

caramel dreidel

I give you an edible dreidel that actually spins.  It shares the chief values of the marshmallow dreidel and my mini-marshmallow dreidels—values which lie in the building, the writing upon (with food-safe markers) and the eating.  To these attractions, the caramel dreidel adds the bonus of spin. Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in Activity, Edible Craft, Hanukkah

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Instant goodie bags for Hanukkah Classroom visits

Posted on 12/11/2012 | Comments Off on Instant goodie bags for Hanukkah Classroom visits
re-used gelt bags

re-used gelt bags

Here’s a quick, cheap way to make teeny goody bags for your Hanukkah classroom visit.  IF you do gelt.
These are very, very simple.  I could go all Target Dollar Spot and use fancy bags and woven ribbon and include more gelt and hand-lettered name tags, but this particular goody baglet is meant to be a token gift for a minor holiday: a good-will gesture from the token Jews in the room. Continue reading →

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Posted in Hanukkah, Jewish kids in nonJewish school

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Hanukkah Parent classroom visits

Posted on 12/07/2012 | 5 comments
Super cheap, in-your-face oil menorah

tin oil menorah with glass or plastic cups

Here’s a link to my buffet of options for Hanukkah Parent School Visits: what to bring, what to read, what might happen.  Please add your experiences below or on that page. We can learn from each other.

And here’s what I’ve chosen from the buffet for my own classroom visit this time:

After last year’s fizzle of a oil menorah demo (where none of the homemade wicks worked), Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Jewish kids in nonJewish school

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Printable Dreidel Rules (gift tags)

Posted on 12/06/2012 | 13 comments
Two-sided tags: dreidel rules and a 2 sentence explanation of Hanukkah

Two-sided tags: dreidel rules and a 2 sentence explanation of Hanukkah

I usually give out dreidels when I’m the Hanukkah Parent on a classroom visit. Dreidels are fun to spin, they (sort of) tell the story of Hanukkah in 4 letters, and they distract the children from the fact that I’m not giving them any gelt at all (long story).

Most of the kids aren’t Jewish, so they haven’t grown up playing dreidel.  They don’t know from dreidel rules, AT ALL. Granted, nowadays mum and dad can Google the rules on an iPhone right there in the school parking lot the minute the kid gets into the minivan, BUT… Continue reading →

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Posted in Hanukkah, Jewish kids in nonJewish school

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Hanukkah Carnival Stations

Posted on 12/06/2012 | 7 comments
Sufganiyah on a String

Sufganiyah on a String (the doughnuts aren’t here yet)

We set up for the big ol’ Chanukah Carnival today (my synagogue’s spelling, not mine), and I’m posting the pics below so you can see a few of the stations. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in Activity, Edible Craft, Hanukkah

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Glow in the Dark Dreidel and Glow Arena

Posted on 12/02/2012 | 3 comments
Instant DIY Glow Dreidel Arena

Instant DIY Glow Dreidel Arena

Of course a glow-in-the-dark Dreidel Arena needs a glow-in-the-dark dreidel.  Why didn’t I think of it before?  My friend Kathryn (at Joyful Jewish) put me up to it after she read about my arena idea last week.  And that’s when the stealth crafting began… Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Jewish Toys

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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 →

9 Comments

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 →

7 Comments

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 →

23 Comments

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 →

13 Comments

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 →

2 Comments

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 →

2 Comments

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 →

6 Comments

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 →

5 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts

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Easy Family Project: a Jewish Backyard

Posted on 07/10/2012 | 7 comments

through a Jewish lens

InterFaithFamily.com published my article about converting your own backyard (or school or synagogue) into a certified wildlife habitat via a Jewish lens.  My other kid-nature posts thus far haven’t been “Jewish” specifically, although we all know that everything is Jewish if you look through a Jewy “lens.” I put “lens” in quotes because I hear it ad nauseum.  A useful term, although overused. I’m pasting the article below, but do go over to the link at InterfaithFamily.com so they know someone is reading it.  My point is to show that the project is easy, fun, good for the earth, good for your family, and of course, gut fir di yidn:* Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Nature

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Turning a Schoolyard into Certified Wildlife Habitat: the Preschool edition

Posted on 06/19/2012 | 5 comments

Summary:  an account of how a suburban preschool got certified as a National Wildlife Federation “Backyard Wildlife Habitat.” 
– – – – – – – –

our new birdfeeders in the perennial bed

Look at the summer camp themes at my son’s preschool: organic gardening, healthy living, and nature work. Beautiful, right? No danger of Nature Deficit Disorder here. The themes, I noticed, overlap with my own studies in the Tennesssee Naturalist Program. Why not combine the two for a short, volunteer experiment? I could merge our respective curricula for a day or two, giving Montessori teaching philosophy and my work with habitat renewal some good, common ground. Just days before summer camp began, I discovered an ideal way to implement this plan: the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat program. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Nature