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Mexicans have a national holiday that is celebrated on the 5th of May, called Cinco De Mayo in memory of the battle fought between Mexico and France in 1862 when Mexico defended a fort in the town of Peubla and won this important battle. The battlefield is now a city park, with a statue of General Zaragoza on horseback.
Today, Cinco de Mayo continues to be celebrated with parades, dancing and specialty foods and is a fun holiday to celebrate with children to help teach diversity. We think these musical shakers are a great choice to tie in with this holiday while at the same time using a craft to help play music! The kids love to play music during their parade around the room.
You can make these shakers using and decorating empty toilet paper rolls, filling them with beans or macaroni, and shaking them to create music for your Cinco de Mayo classroom parade.
Supplies:
Instructions:
- Paint the empty toilet paper roll using the red, green, and yellow paint.
- Let dry.
- Print the Kraftykid Cinco De Mayo Pictures for the musical shaker.
- Cut out the pieces and glue to the painted toilet tissue roll.
- Fill with beans or macaroni.
- Tape or staple the ends of the roll.
No Seder is complete without a special plate highlighting all of the Passover symbols:
Charoset, a delicious mixture of apples, walnuts, red wine, cinnamon and sugar, symbolizing the mortar used to build Pyramids in ancient Egypt Bitter herbs, usually horseradish, reminding us of the difficulties endured by our ancestors Greens (can be parsley, lettuce or celery), representing spring and a time of new beginnings an Egg, symbolizing the circle of life a Shankbone or neck of poultry, reminding us of the mighty arm of God.
Supplies:
seder-plate-craft
- One round plastic or sturdy paper plate
- Five paper muffin cups
- Craft glue
- Glitter and stickers if desired
Instructions:
- Print the Kraftykid Seder template and cut out the circles to be used inside your muffins cups: Charoset, Bitter herbs, Greens, Egg and Shankbone.
- Glue the five cups around the perimeter of your plate using a small dab of white craft glue.
- Once the glue has set and the cups are securely fastened to the plate, glue your five circles inside the cups.
- Use glitter and stickers for decoration, if desired.
Tips:
- If your plate is small, glue the cups onto the rim of the plate to spread things out and leave you more surface to decorate.
- When you’re done with the glitter, shake the excess directly into the garbage can to avoid a big, sparkly mess
Children love to hear all about one of our favorite Presidents, George Washington. They enjoy hearing that he could not tell a lie when he chopped down the cherry tree. This is an easy mask to make and they’ll be able to act out some stories, too. You can let them color the mask, but you’ll have to cut out the eye holes for them.
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Trace your child’s handprint to create Lincoln’s beard and cut out and glue the pieces of the template to create your own Mr. Lincoln to celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday.
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Here’s a patriotic craft to make for National Freedom Day. This easy to make puppet from an empty toilet paper roll will let children create people puppets for the Navy and Army. It’s a great craft to celebrate our National Holidays. Instead of drawing a face, use a photo of your favorite person serving in the Navy or Army.
Supplies:
Instructions:
Here is a fun craft for the kids to make to celebrate Groundhog Day. Simple and easy, just the way we like it!
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This calendar is inspired by my son’s preschool class. It has been adapted for use here.
Supplies:
Instructions:
1. Print out the Kraftykid 2012 Handprint Calendar template
2. Using your child’s hands and paint – decorate each of the pages. You can make a Turkey for November, finger prints for the sheep, a handprint for a tree or flower, finger prints for rain, or anything you can imagine!
3. Punch holes and thread yarn through to bind.
Hang and use every day!
The Native American tribe, Ojibway, revered dreams. They saw good dreams as the source of infinite wisdom. They believed they could protect their young children from bad dreams by hanging woven webs or nets above their beds. Read the book, Dreamcatchers, by Audrey Osofsky to learn more about the Ojibway Native American custom of hanging dreamcatchers above baby’s bed.
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Decorate an Election Ballot Box
It’s not too early to teach your kids the importance of Election Day. Try holding your own election and turn an empty box into a ballot box! Hold an election for your class mascot. Bring in two stuffed animals and have your children vote for the animal they want for their classroom mascot. Let them write the name on a piece of paper and enter it into the box. At the end of the day count the votes. Have the runner up become the co-mascot so nobody has hurt feelings.
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Paper lanterns are a pretty craft to make and a great way for children to practice their cutting skills with scissors. Use brightly colored papers for a festive effect and hang on yarn to decorate the room. Adding glitter, sequins, and trim makes them look even more beautiful and the kids will love them. Consider, using pinking shears or decorative cutting scissors instead of rick rack if trim is hard to find.
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