LEGO minifig lulav and etrog
Our LEGO minifigs now have an appropriately-scaled lulav and etrog for their LEGO sukkah. For a few years, they’ve heard rumours that our Playmobil folk had a set, but now, both populations can shake and wave and sniff and try not to poke out each other’s eyeballs. Continue reading
One piece of paper, folded. Add herbs for fragrant roof.
Kids can make a quick, mini sukkah from a single piece of construction paper. Quick doesn’t mean without context: you can teach the rules of sukkah-building (how many walls, type of roof, schach, etc.) and give an overview of the holiday while kids work. Continue reading
setting the Seder Plate
Playmobil says “Schultute,” I say Mishloach Manot
Yes, I go to great lengths to make tiny, Jewy accessories for my Playmobil and LEGO folk. But you don’t have to make a single thing in order to make toys Jewish. Sometimes, all it takes is a name change.
Look at this little Playmobil set ripe for conversion: #4686 Child’s First Day at School. See the parcels? Playmobil is German, and the set represents the German tradition of Schultute (school bags): big cones of goodies and school supplies for the first day of school. When I saw the box at a local toy store, I didn’t think Schultute, I thought Mishloach Manot. I saw two kids exchanging Mishloach Manot bags on Purim. For $3.29, I got a Jewish holiday scene and a mitzvah tableau, even though Playmobil doesn’t “do” Jewish.* Continue reading
Comments Off on Purim Playmobil straight from the box
Posted in Jewish Toys, Purim
Tagged Playmobil, polymer clay, toys
It’s hard to make a triangle from a circle. It’s hard for little kids and for lots of older ones, too. And, even if a kid manages it one year, it’s a long time from one Purim to the next.
To transform a flat circle into a filled triangle requires skill and patience, and the last thing I want is for my bakers to have a perfectionist freak-out. So, I like to program a bit of Hamantaschen-folding Practice at Purim classes and parties, even with kids who think they are too old for PlayDo. No one is too old for PlayDo, not ever. Continue reading
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!
Posted in Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur
Tagged Apples, challah, polymer clay, shofar
lulav lesson with Playmobil folk
Our action figures now have a model sukkah well-appointed for hospitable gatherings. Actually, we have several, because it’s hard to stop once we start. Yesterday’s post tried to outline a classic craft, a tabletop or model sukkah made from tissue boxes and shoe boxes, and also some ideas for free-builds using Legos, Lincoln Logs and other construction toys.
Lulav and etrog, polymer clay. The pitom is a broom straw
Playmobil Rosh Hashanah: clay Yemenite kudu shofar, ram shofar, round raisin challah, apple slices
This site is about kids and parents spending Jewish time together making stuff that is fun, cute (kitschy counts as cute), cheap, and most of the time, functional. I aim for kid-centric. I like to help even toddlers participate in holiday prep.
But making Jewish holiday accoutrements for Lego and Playmobil figures out of polymer clay, I admit, comes close to crossing a line. My preschooler can do little more than make freeform shapes and blobby ovoids, and when presented with more than one color of clay will gleefully end up with gradations of grey. Still, because scale and verisimilitude have not really occurred to him yet, he has a great time “making useful things” for his figurines.
Relativity: Playmobil, Duplo and Lego
Scale and verisimilitude is my dealie. Whilst the child next to me has fun rolling and smashing and pinching and blending, I get to make miniature accessories to outfit three communities of toys in our home: Duplo, Lego and Playmobil. And of course, they all celebrate the Jewish holidays.
One more note in my defense: this stuff is fun for older kids, too. Even surly preteens Continue reading
Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur
Tagged Apples, challah, Duplo, Lego, Playmobil, polymer clay, Rosh Hashanah
Swim Noodle Menorah
LEGO Gragger
Altoids tin travel menorah
Spin it, Eat it: The Caramel Dreidel
Edible dreidels, regular and mini
Jonah and the Whale Cracker
DIY Lego Mezuzah
PEZ + Mezuzah = PEZuzah
Menurkey (repurposed figurine)
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DIY LEGO dreidel
LEGO minifig Passover seder table
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