 Let's get colorful for some fall decorating fun with crayons! These pumpkins can be made into creative, rainbowy masterpieces with just three items: crayons, a hairdryer and a pumpkin. Don't you love crafts that don't require much prepping. I know I do!
Materials
Crayons
Pumpkin (look for a white one)
Hairdryer
Matches
Instructions
1. Read more » |
 I’m always trying to find ways to make Muslim holidays exciting for my kids. It’s tough to do when Christmas, more omnipresent in the U.S., is much more glitzy and enticing.
The upside is that Ramadan is free from the commercialization that sends many people into overdrive at Christmas time and makes holiday grouches out of the best of us. Read more » |
 Welcome to the July 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Learning About Diversity This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they teach their children to embrace and respect the variety of people and cultures that surround us. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants. Read more » |
 Tanabata is the Japanese star festival. It's a time when people make wishes for the year ahead. All wishes are written out and hung in bright colors on a bamboo branch. This festival is so colorful and vibrant, just have a look at some of these pictures from one person's home in Okinawa for Tanabata.
Materials:
Bamboo branch or any tree branch if bamboo is not available
Construction paper or other colored paper
Scissors
Hole punch
String or thin ribbon
Pens
Instructions:
1. Read more » |
 One thing you will likely notice upon arriving in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is that the majority of people are carrying around bright, woven bags called “bilums.” These bags are made all over the country, although in different styles and patterns, and are worn by men and women (and children!) alike.
Bilums come a variety of shapes and sizes, and can be made of traditional string (made from plants, and sometimes featuring some fur), yarn (probably the most popular), or synthetic string (great for fishing or carrying wet loads). Read more » |
 I love Earth Day. A secular holiday that doesn't require gift-giving or a grand meal is alright in my book. I especially love the time of year it falls on—the air is warm, the sun is shining and everyone has an idea of flowers and beauty of the world in their heads.
This year, I decided that our Earth Day craft was going to be different. Read more » |
 The first musical instruments on Earth were probably very simple but powerful creations made from natural materials. They might have been a drum made from a hollow log, a rasp made from a carved piece of bone or wood or a few corn kernels or pebbles placed inside a gourd to create a rattle. Early people were really inventive about making music with on-hand materials and we can do the same thing, in celebration of the Earth!
Since life is so different for modern people and we have so much more fabricated material, we can put two wonderful things together—recycling and creating instruments. Read more » |
 In Bulgaria, March 1 is Baba Marta Day. Baba Marta--Grandmother March--is the mythical personification of the change from winter to spring, and she is just as changeable as the weather can be at this time of year! To appease and honor her, Bulgarians wear a martenitsa, red-and-white talismans usually made of yarn, in the form of bracelets or of little dolls. Read more » |
 Materials
4 white paper plates
Paint—you definitely need some red
Streams or tissue paper
Pom poms for eyes
Pipe cleaners
Construction paper
Stapler, glue
Instructions
Let your kids paint each of the 4 papers plates in different colors. Make sure you have some red and gold (yellow) in there. Red symbolizes good luck and gold wealth. Read more » |
 Nirvana Day is a Mahayana Buddhist holiday commemorating the death of the Buddha. It is observed on February 8 or 15. Nirvana is the idyllic spiritual condition, the ultimate goal of a Buddhist. The day itself is spent in meditation, reflecting upon those who have more recently died, and special food preparations are made. Sometimes gifts of money or clothing are exchanged. Read more » |
 Inspired by this amazing photo of Chinese New Year decorations, we set out to make lanterns for the Lunar New Year. Ours is a faux lantern as it’s purely decorative and not made to house a candle.
Source: Flickr –zTransmissions
Materials:
Balloon (inflated and knotted; the color doesn’t matter as you will take the balloon out at the end)
Tissue paper (red is traditional)
Glue
Paint brushes
Red or yellow ribbon
Scissors
Instructions:
1. Read more » |
 Fukuwarai, roughly translated as lucky laugh, is a traditional Japanese game played during the New Year's celebration. It's both educational and fun and aren't those the best type of games?
One player is blindfolded and has to place the features on a blank face as the other players coach him/her. The object of the game is to place all the paper cutouts in the shape of the eyes, nose, and mouth on the face. Read more » |
 The Three Kings, also known as the three wise men, tres magos or tres reyes, historically walked to Bethlehem over 12 days. To commemorate the Three Kings, make some crowns. All kids like dressing up, especially as royalty, so indulge their pretend play aspirations.
Materials
Any color construction paper or poster board
Any shiny materials you have around the house and/or fake jewels
Ribbon
Glue
Instructions
1. Read more » |
 Materials:
Brightly colored tissue paper (in the spirit of Diwali)
Sequins or glitter
Glue and Q-tip to apply it
Scissors
Clear glass jar (transparent)
Craft wire (or even heavier string could work)
Beads
Small candle
Instructions:
Cut the tissue paper into small pieces--depending on your child's age, they could also do this step. Read more » |
 Papel picado (perforated paper) is a popular Mexican folk art crafted out of tissue paper. This delicate and colorful art decorates home and streets during the Day of the Dead celebration. While many of the designs can be very intricate, with skeletons, birds, angels, words, the sun, flowers and more, you can make simple ones at home with your children in much the same way you would make snowflakes. Read more » |
 One of the early things my husband and I realized in parenting our African-American daughter, was how regional and varied "African-American Studies" could be, from state to state and region to region. Here in historic Philadelphia, there are points of reference that are de rigeur for a Philadelphia school’s program, and they are usually related to this city’s history. Read more » |
 This year is the first I have gotten serious about Ramadan decorations. Now that my girls are three and five, they have a much greater understanding of holidays. My five-year-old gets excited by crafts and decorating and was eagerly looking forward to our Ramadan preparations.
My plan this year is to fill every window with stars and moons and decorate our doorways too. Read more » |
 Wesak, Buddha's birthday, is celebrated differently in various Asian and predominantly Buddhist countries. Wesak is tracked on the lunisolar calendar, and this year falls on the fifth of May, which is also Korean Children's Day.
Paper lanterns shaped like lotus flowers are a common component of the incredible lantern festivals on the Buddha's birthday in Korea, where the holiday is called 석가 탄신일 (Seokga tansinil) "Buddha's birthday" or sometimes 부처님 오신 날 (Bucheonim osin nal) "The Day When Buddha Came. Read more » |
My kids love their sogo drums and love watching groups of Korean preschoolers perform onstage for their families using these user-friendly “lollipop” drums.
When we decided to run a sogo workshop for kids at the community cultural exchange on South street in Philadelphia, our first challenge was: how can we MAKE a sogo with kids that they can then play right away? One that is not dripping with paint?
We also wanted a low price point for materials. Read more » |
 Celebrated on May 1st, Beltane is celebrated in Gaelic and pagan cultures as the beginning of the summer season. Flowers, fertility--and fire!--are motifs of Beltane, and a ribboned Maypole is one of the more recognizable elements of a Beltane festival. Woven ribbon headbands or flower wreaths are also easy, festive ways to acknowledge this ancient holiday. Read more » |
 In Poland, palms for Palm Sunday are made from pussy willows, and increasingly, colorfully painted straw flowers. These beautiful arrangements can be purchased from street vendors as well as in grocery stores. You can also dye and weave your own.
This colorful craft was adapted from a Polish Easter craft book* and uses another Polish tradition of cutting paper into intricate designs. Read more » |
 Passover is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the Israelites' exodus and freedom from slavery under the Egyptians. The Passover Seder is a ritual feast--full of ceremony and symbolism--that marks the beginning of Passover. It involves retelling the story of the exodus from Egypt together with dinner. The Seder plate contains symbolic foods, each with special significance to the story. Read more » |
 As the mom of two Turkish-American boys, I’m always on the lookout for ways to expose my kids to their Turkish heritage, especially the amazing arts and crafts. From miniature paintings to marbled paper, hand-woven kilims, carpets, ceramics and mosaics, Turkish artists have a long tradition of creating stunning art.
But living in rural Connecticut, we don’t often see real-life examples of arts and crafts from that part of the world. Read more » |
 Editors Note: One of the items found on the Haft Sin table for the Persian New Year is sprouted grains. There are many different types of sprouts you can make. What follows is a fun craft project with kids since these seeds germinate quickly so kids can watch the growth almost daily.
Materials:
12 eggs
Cotton dish towel
Sprayer or mister
Grains such as wheat, mung beans, or lentils (Depending on which you use, the resulting sprouts look different. Read more » |
 Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, commemorates the beginning of spring and religious traditions. Bonfires begin the festival, but the most popular and joyful aspect of the holiday comes the following day when people of all ages throw colored powders (gulal) and spray colored water (rang) at each other. If you would like an alternative to this messy (but awesome) tradition, there are a number of creative art options to try, such as splatter painting, finger painting and colored sand art. Read more » |
 St. David is the patron saint of Wales and his feast day falls on March 1 . This day is called Dydd Gŵyl Dewi in Welsh, and on it--as on a number of other days in the Welsh calendar--children take part in Eisteddfodau, festival days of music and performance, as well as what may well be a precursor to the poetry slam.
A traditional emblem of St. David's Day is the leek. Read more » |
 Ayyam-i-Ha is the Baha’i yearly four-day celebration from February 26 through March 1. The holiday means the “Days of Ha.” “Ha” is an Arabic word meaning “the essence of God” so it can be roughly translated as “honoring the essence of God.”
Because Ayyam-i-Ha does not have specific celebration rituals attached to it, there is no limit to the things you can do with your children to honor the essence of God. Read more » |
 No matter where you celebrate Carnival, be it Brazil or Trinidad, there will always be a street parade. Often these parades include not only costumed participants and music but elaborate floats. You can have your own parade by creating mini-floats at home. Each float can have a theme or just include carnival colors and decorations. Make one together or have each family member create their own and award each a ribbon for its design. Read more » |
 Originally a pagan holiday, Imbolc evolved from a celebration of the goddess Brigid (later Christianized as St. Brigid) in the Middle ages. Brigid is the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. Today it is celebrated across Ireland and Scotland and in some pagan communities globally.
One common craft for St. Brigid’s Day/Imbolc is to make St. Read more » |
 Snakes are an important symbol for the Hopi Indians and make an appearance during the winter solstice ceremony, called Soyal. Although information about many of the Hopi rituals is scarce and hard to verify since so many ritual dances are closed to the public, tribal chiefs are said to make offerings and prayers to an effigy of a black plumed snake during the winter solstice, (although the main Hopi snake celebration is in August). Read more » |
 Krampus, the "devil of Christmas,” is believed to accompany St. Nicholas/Nikolas in December in the Alpine regions. Krampus is depicted as a horned devil figure, often in chains, with black fur and a long red tongue. Krampus threatens to whip children who misbehave but can also take back their presents, throw them in a sack or carry them off into the woods to eat them. Read more » |
 By Carol Baicker-Mckee
Children across Europe leave their shoes out on St. Nicholas day for St. Nicholas to come and fill them with candy. This is a fun craft which can double as a neat decoration or gift "box" in the spirit of St. Nicholas Day.
Materials:
Printed copy of the template, which is available as a pdf here
Lightweight cardboard (I used some from an empty cereal box)
Scrap paper (I used the insides of security envelopes, which I am absolutely addicted to these days--I have fits if anyone rips the envelopes when opening bills)
Good glue, like Alene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue (and no, Alene's does not give me any kind of a kickback for mentioning their glues)
Scissors
Pencil for tracing the patterns
Instructions:
1. Read more » |
 Materials:
Construction paper- at least 2 different colors
Glitter
Scissors
Star and moon shapes
Glue
Pencil or pen
Instructions:
1. Use cookie cutters or draw and cut a master copy of a star and moon. Have the kids trace stars and moons onto a piece of construction paper.
2. Let the kids cut the shapes themselves or cut for them.
3. Glue the shapes to a piece of construction paper, folded in half to make a card. Read more » |
 Take your kids for a walk outside and collect some leaves in the spirit of fall!
Materials:
Newspaper
Paint and paintbrush
Paper
Leaves
Ruler or anything that can be used to draw a straight line
Instructions:
1. Collect some freshly fallen leaves, not yet too brittle.
2. Allow the leave to flatten overnight between the pages of a book.
3. Read more » |
 Geometric shapes in Ethiopian art trace back to 14th century Christian art, with geometric patterns found on crosses. The use of geometric patterns continues today appearing in popular forms like basket weaving. This craft takes inspiration from Ethiopian geometric patterns and encourages kids to make their own geometric art.
Materials:
Fruits or veggies like apples, limes, oranges, potatoes that can be cut into triangles
Any other household objects that have a geometric pattern (bottom of egg cartons, pencil tops, beads, cheerios, etc. Read more » |
 InCultureParent presents some of our favorite ideas from some very crafty Mamas for Ramadan crafting and decorating with our kids.
1. Moon Flashcards
Ramadan is a great time to introduce little ones to some basic ideas about science and for older ones to become more familiar with how our solar system functions. These flashcards are perfect for teaching kids about the different phases of the moon. Read more » |
 A mask is a must for celebrating the Virgen del Carmen. Make your own fun mask out of a plastic milk jug and other items you have around the house already. Crafts that use recycled materials get an A++ in our book.
Materials:
Plastic milk or water jug
Yarn or string
Masking tape
Paints, permanent marker, feathers, etc. to decorate
Paint brush
Scissors
Instructions:
Carefully cut off the handle section of the plastic jug. Read more » |
 Mongolian children have traditionally played many different games using animal bones. One common game is the first player gathers all the bones (usually ankle bones of goat, sheep and horses) and throws them on a flat surface. The player then looks for pairs of matching bones and flicks one of the matching bones to hit the other matching bone. If they touch any other bone, then they lose their turn. Read more » |
 What better way to celebrate Midsummer than making a sun-inspired craft. These sun catchers will look awesome on your windows and your kids will love watching the sun filter through them.
Materials:
Black poster board or construction paper
Wax paper
Scissors
Crayons
Grater
Glue
Instructions:
1. Trace a sun on a piece of paper, around a plate, onto black paper. Read more » |
 A popular symbol of Quebec is the snowy owl (the national bird). To celebrate St. Jean Baptiste day, let’s make something fun and representative of Quebec.
Materials:
1 regular-size paper plate
1 dessert-size paper plate
Cotton balls or white feathers (or even both)
Scraps of yellow and brown construction paper
Black pen
Glue
Scissors
Instructions:
1. Read more » |
 A popular craft for kids on Vesak is making a lantern. This is a craft for a simple one below but you can go more elaborate with different colored paper, ribbons and streamers if you desire!
Materials:
Popsicle sticks (or an easy alternative requiring no glue is bendy straws that fit together)
Glue (a hot glue gun works best)
Piece of cardboard
String
Tissue paper, any color (or another type of thin paper)
Instructions:
This craft is traditionally done using bamboo. Read more » |
 The Sam Taeguk symbol is found on traditional Korean fans. It is a variation of the Taeguk symbol found on the Korean national flag. The Taeguk is comprised of two colors, red and blue. The red represents heaven and the blue represents earth. The symbol represents harmony similar to a yin yang symbol. The Sam Taeguk includes yellow to represent humanity. Read more » |
 Dyeing Easter eggs is one of the most popular Easter traditions, found in many parts of the Christian world. Here's an American way to decorate eggs that I learned growing up, with the twist of using natural dyes.
Materials:
Candle and matches
Natural dyeing agents (red cabbage, turmeric, beets)
Pot
White vinegar
Salt
Strainer
Small bowls
Eggs
Large metal spoon
Paper towels
Drying rack
Instructions:
1 Read more » |
 One element of the celebration of Vaisakhi is a parade. A fun thing for kids to do is make their own Nishan Sahib, the Sikh holy flag, to carry in the parade. The Nishan Sahib has an Adi Shakti on it, which is the symbol of the Sikhs.
Materials:
A rectangle of white construction paper
Orange paper
A print out of an Adi Shakti (included below)
A stick or rod about 1 1/2 feet long
Scissors, glue and strong tape
Instructions:
Cut the white poster board into a rectangle, about the size of a piece of printer paper, to use as the base of your flag. Read more » |
 Let your kids get messy and colorful in the spirit of Holi. A large paint canvas or poster board will do. And let them go to town with their hands, brushes if they desire, and paints. We have created a couple paintings for our house like this.
Craft 1: Make a Painting
Materials:
Canvas or poster board (large!)
Paint
Instructions:
First, change the kids into old clothes that you don't mind getting ruined. Read more » |
 Ayyam-i-Ha is the time of the year for gift giving, celebrating and performing acts of charity. Here's an advent type banner with 4 pockets--1 for each day of Ayyam-i-Ha that one crafty mama created for Ayyam-i-Ha. Each morning her kids wake up to a surprise. This post has been reprinted with permission from Carrie over at Tao Of Craft.
Materials:
Felt in coordinating pieces
Rainbow strip of fabric (or make your own from different color felt strips)
Fabric glue
Pinking sheers (if you want a pinked edge)
Baha'i star template ~ You can download it HERE
Instructions:
1. Read more » |
 There were so many adorable and fun crafts for the Chinese New Year, it was impossible to pick only one to showcase this month. So InCultureParent has put together an overview of some of the best crafts we found for the Chinese New Year. They range from very easy (fingerprint cherry blossoms) to medium-difficulty (dragon mask) and many can be made with materials from around the house (e. Read more » |
 More than its rich history, artists or cuisine, Armenia is probably best known for its carpets. While carpets are not synonymous with Armenian Christmas, they do represent something typically Armenian, so this month's craft is to weave a carpet. This is a fun project for kids and also good for fine motor skills.
Materials
Scissors
Glue
Various types and colors of paper
Instructions
1. Read more » |
 By Carolyn Lanzkron
Here's a quick and easy Hanukkah craft for kids. We made Hanukkah candle magnets by painting a couple of those promotional business card magnets that seem to breed behind our refrigerator.
Materials:
2 junk mail magnets (you can always buy the magnets if your junk mail supply runs low)
Paint
Scissors
Instructions:
Cut one magnet horizontally into nine candles--8 Hanukkah candles + 1 for the shamash (the central candle on a Menorah used to light the other candles). Read more » |
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