creative jewish mom

Rebuilding The Beit HaMikdash Recycling Craft For Kids

I have pulled this post from the archives, as it is one of my favorites for The Three Weeks.

Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a solemn fast day on the Jewish calender, and certainly a perfect time to work on my "Rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash" recycling craft with kids of all ages! Of course one could certainly use this idea to also learn about the Kotel (The Wailing Wall) which stands today and was one of the outer walls of the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash.

Starting today, we enter a period of mourning for the next three weeks— mourning for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that was taken from us in 70 CE, (namely 1,943 years ago!) on the 9th of Av, the day which marks the end of this three week period of mourning. Of course our mourning has many facets, one of which is thinking about how each one of us can do his part to rebuild the temple.

DIY Paper Top Is The Perfect Hanukkah Craft!

 This evening we lit the 7th cup of oil on our Hanukkah menorah, and that means that there are still two full days of Hanukkah, and certainly time to squeeze in one last activity that everyone is sure to enjoy: DIY spinning tops made from strips of paper and toothpicks! These tops might be little, but they sure do spin, and if made correctly, they can spin for quite a long time. And whether of not they spin well, they sure are great looking! So get out the simple supplies and have a little crafting fest to end Hanukkah on a creative note! Ready, let's get spinning!

A Beautiful Garden Grows In Central Israel......

Can anybody out there identify this lovely tree with lilac-like blooms? No luck with Dr. Google......

Last week my husband and I happened to drive by a wedding hall with a fabulous garden, and we just had to take a peek. Here in Israel weddings tend to be very large and so there are many many wedding halls of all kinds to accomodate all budgets and styles. In the city, wedding hall usually have very little outdoor space, but here on the highway between Hadera and Emek Hefer there was plenty of room for this wedding hall to spread way way out, and so they did, with a gorgeous green garden. Take a look for yourself!

Science Experiment For Kids: Ice and Kosher Salt Sculptures

Here's a fun and simple science experiment for kids that's artful, cool (literally) and requires only some very basic supplies. And the results are downright gorgeous, or at least intriguing, depending on the colors one uses! Infact, I hesitate to call this a simple science experiment for kids, since anyone of any age who appreciates colors and the beauty of ice crystals will certainly enjoy this one! I was inspired by a post over on The Artful Parent, where an ice block made in a milk carton is used, but I decided to make a smaller castle like shape by filling the bottom half of a recycled plastic bottle with water. Ours melted leaving lovely holes on the inside, and it really looked like a crystal palace of sorts!

You'll Need:

• kosher salt (use can mix in some regular salt too, but I think the large salt crystals are more beautiful)
• food coloring or liquid water colors
• a block of ice, we made ours in the bottom portion of recycled plastic bottles
• a plate or preferable a deep tray to catch all the liquid as it melts
• an eye dropper (optional)

How To:

Cut open plastic bottle to release ice and place on plate with the bottom flower-like side up. Dump salt crystals onto the top of the ice and then with an eye dropper start placing drops of color on top. We didn't have an eye dropper, so we actually used tiny shot glasses to just pour the color over our block of ice which worked too, but it's preferable to do this in smaller quantities to at least prolong the activitity a bit!

As the ice melted we looked closed at how the salt was melting the ice and discussed how in some cold areas of the world, salt is often used on the streets during the winter to melt ice. And that's it! Enjoy. This could be a nice project to do with a group of kids at a summer get together, and come back tomorrow for another great project that you can do at the same time to use up your little pots of food coloring!

 

My First Castle Model Was A Great Learning Experience

I am seven years old and this is the first model I've ever built. I love my model castle and I'm really proud of it too. My mom didn't realize what a great present the model kit was until she saw the floor plans which helped me built the model brick by brick, and the fact that I actually worked on it for a few nights in a row.

I learned about how stone buildings are built, and now when I look at some of the old stone buildings in my neighborhood I can even begin to understand how those were built too. I have to be honest, I don't always enjoy the craft projects that my mom would love me to do, but this one really appealed to me, and I hope I'll get another chance to do another model soon.

And now, my mom would like to get a few words in too:

There you have it my friends! Just because your child isn't interested in sitting and doing the projects you present to him, doesn't mean that with just a bit of trial and error that you won't find something he'll actually complete and feel proud of. An invaluable experience for every child and well worth the effort on your behalf. Okay, you're right, I got lucky, we received this model as a gift, and I in turn am giving you this blog post as a gift, which you can in turn pass on to your child! Happy creative parenting!

Sprouting Sunflower Seeds Plus A Fun Scarecrow Craft!

Here's a fun indoor gardening project for the kids. Ever tried growing your own sprouts? And to make it even more interesting, you can craft your own scarecrows, fences, or sprout your sprouts in a recycled container that the kids have decorated. How about half a milk carton?

The sprouting method we used here doesn't necessarily produce the highest yield, when compared to other techniques, but it's simple and the kids can take care of it themselves.

You'll Need:

• raw sunflower seeds (in their shell) or anything else that sprouts, like whole dried beans
• a little bit of dirt, enough to cover your "garden" with about 1/4" deep of soil
• a container to hold the above
• or if you live in Israel you can buy a kit at Shufersol in the veggies section!

How To:

Spread soil in container. Pour enough water over soil such that it is very moist but not muddy. Spread seeds or beans over the soil. Keep moist and wait. Ours took a week to start sprouting. But it was worth the wait, and with our scarecrow (made by my 8 year old daughter) watching over the crop, well it's just too adorable!

And by the way, you could also do something similar with grass seed for a longer lasting, non-edible project!