Paper Bonfire

Stuck at home? Make a paper bonfire this Lag Ba’Omer!

I am very proud that my 9 year old daughter is here this week as a “guest columnist.” She dreamed up this project and executed it all by herself. In her own words: “Hi! I have never been to a real bonfire, so I was thinking about a way to make one in my own house. I love making things out of paper (I recently made a dollhouse from a cardboard box and a whole castle out of paper!) so this was a fun way for me to have a bonfire on Lag Ba’Omer. I hope you will try it yourself, so you can have fun too.”

Time:
Active: 15-20 minutes

Age: 5-9

Materials:
Red, orange, yellow and brown construction paper
Scissors
Tape or glue
Index cards or cardstock
Pencils
Cotton balls

Processs:
Starting with the red construction paper, draw a flame shape. I used 6 flames. Cut them out. Then, using the orange construction paper, draw 6 smaller flames and cut them out. Use the yellow construction paper to make 6 even smaller flames and cut them out. Layer the flames with the largest flame on the bottom of the stack. Tape or glue them together.

Cut the index card or cardstock into small strips. Bend them in half. Tape or glue one end of the strip to the back of the flame stack. Repeat for all flames.

Cut a large circle from the brown construction paper. Tape or glue the other end of the index card strip to the edges of the brown circle.

To make logs, wrap a pencil in brown construction paper. Use the cotton balls as pretend marshmallows.

Did you do this project? Share your pictures on our facebook page!

Edible Menorah

Have your menorah and eat it too!

During our carpool Chanukah project brainstorming session, we also came up with this edible menorah idea. This would be fun for a Chanukah party or Shabbat Chanukah dessert. I took advantage of the opportunity of having my whole family over on Thanksgiving to try it out, so pardon my “fine china” and the picture quality – these are literally taken from people’s plates.

I cut up honeydew, pineapple, strawberries, and clementines and arranged them on a platter. I cut the pineapple to mimic the shape of a rounded menorah and the honeydew a rectangular one. I cut smaller pieces of honeydew to be candles, and the strawberries and clementines were for the flames. I also put out the honeydew seeds (with a caveat not to eat them!) because they looked like flames but no one used them, I would recommend an edible seed instead.

Should you want to go a different route, you could include vegetables, or the less healthy candy option. Set out a variety of shapes, sizes and colors and see what people create!

Looking for more Chanukah projects?
Pipe Cleaners and Straws Menorah
Menorah and Dreidel Snowflakes
“Light” a Paper Menorah
Nature Menorahs
“Spinning” Paper Dreidel
Decorate a Dreidel…with a Dreidel!

Time:
Active: 5-10 minutes

Age: 3-adult

Materials:
Fruits, vegetables, candy…whatever works for you!
Big enough plates to hold the menorah, based on the sizes of your food pieces
(our plates were a little too small!)

Processs:
Use the food to create a menorah however you want!

Did you do this project? Share your pictures on our facebook page!

Pipe Cleaners and Straws Menorah

Make a (not for lighting) menorah with simple materials!

My kids were talking about doing a Chanukah project and we were brainstorming ideas in the car on the way home from school. We tossed around all kinds of ideas and we came up with more than one viable ideas! Here is the first one, more to follow as Chanukah gets closer!

We started with the idea of poking pipe cleaner through a piece of paper and then making loops with the pipe cleaners to hold straws as candles. We got started, marking spots on paper to poke holes and once we inserted the pipe cleaners, we could see right away that they weren’t standing up very well. So we went to the recycle bin and pulled out a box of noodles and pasted a piece of cardboard behind the construction paper and it really helped the pipe cleaners stand up nicely.

Then, my younger daughter picked up the straws and slipped one right on to the pipe cleaner. It fit perfectly! So much better than what I planned! So it took a group effort, but we got some very cute menorahs in the end!

Looking for more Chanukah projects?
Menorah and Dreidel Snowflakes
“Light” a Paper Menorah
Nature Menorahs
“Spinning” Paper Dreidel
Decorate a Dreidel…with a Dreidel!

Pipe Cleaner and Straws Menorah

Time:
Active: 15-20 minutes

Age: 4-7

Materials:
Construction paper
Thin cardboard (cereal box works great)
3 pipe cleaners
3 straight straws
Scissors
Glue

Process:
Cut out a piece of cardboard and glue construction paper on top. Mark and poke 9 holes across the length of the paper. I used a utility knife but I always wish I had a compass to poke holes with.

Cut 2 pipe cleaners into 4 sections each, for a total of 8 sections. Cut the last pipe cleaner in half, to create a taller shamash. Do the same with the straws.

Poke the pipe cleaners through the holes you created. You can put the tall one at the end or in the center. Fold the end of the pipe cleaner underneath the cardboard to hold in in place.

Slip straws over the pipe cleaners. The pipe cleaner should stick out the top of the straw just a bit. Fold it over the edge of the straw to create a flame effect and help with balance.

Did you do this project? Share your pictures on our facebook page!

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Cheshvan Rain Scene with Fall Finds

Fall leaves “fall” from the sky like rain!

Walking down the street outside of daycare, I just could not resist picking up the amazing bright red leaves that were on the sidewalk. I figured they must be good for a project, right? (Err…does this happen to other people?!). Anyway, once I got them home, I put them aside for this project. But then life intervened and by the time I was ready to do the project a week later, the leaves had shriveled and dried up. So I had to take a return trip to the tree to collect more.  I went home with my prizes and right away did the project so I could photograph it for you. But on further reflection, I realized that I didn’t have enough leaves left for the kids to do the project as well. So before I picked up the baby, I made a third return trip to the tree. But alas! Between the morning and afternoon, the gardeners had visited and the sidewalk was almost empty of leaves! I managed to find enough but the moral here is: grab the leaves when you see them and do the project right away!

I wanted to combine the rainy season in Israel that begins in Cheshvan with the beautiful fall foliage here in America. I happened to have a wide variety of leaves available but if your neighborhood is less varied, you can still make it work. Crumble dried leaves and sprinkle them over glue in the sky for rain. And really any type could work for clouds and ground. Share a photo if you do this!

Time:
Active: Nature walk: 10-30 minutes, Project: 15-20 minutes
Drying: 15 minutes+

Age: 3-6

Materials:
Paper
Glue
Fall leaves, acorns, etc.

Process:
Go out on a fall nature walk. Bring along a bucket or bowl to collect leaves. Look for different shapes and colors, with an eye towards what might work to create this scene.

Arrange your leaves to approximate rain falling from the sky. There is no wrong way to do it!

Did you do this project? Share your pictures on our facebook page!