simple Analogy

Multicultural Crafts For Kids: Fiji

Today's craft makes me want to head west to the Pacific Ocean!

FIJI

Known as a hotspot for snorklers and divers, Fiji has some of the best diving in the world.  Jacques Cousteau called it "the soft coral capital of the world".  It is the pinks, purples, oranges, reds, and yellows of the soft coral that make the waters of Fiji so beautiful.

source

Supplies: 

picture of Fiji soft coral (above) or google "fiji soft coral" for more images

watercolor paper

WASHABLE markers (very important that they are washable)

spray bottle

pencil

paper towels

Directions:

Using a picture of Fiji soft coral, lightly pencil in the outline of the coral onto your watercolor paper.

Shade in your drawing with markers.

Lightly mist the drawing with a spray bottle and watch the colors blend and run together.  The more water you use, the more the colors will run together and the longer it will take to dry.  So use the water sparingly. 

Let dry completely.  It should only take about 10 minutes or so for it to dry if you only did a light mist of water.  If you used more water, it will take longer to dry.   

You will get brighter colors if you let the painting air dry completely, but if you're crunched for time you can remedy a too wet painting by dabbing it gently with paper towels to remove excess water.  Doing this will pull some of the color off, and the colors of the painting will not be quite as bright as in this example.

Options:

If you want to take it a step further, cut small fish out of bright orange paper, and glue them to your painting.

Extra Activity:

Color a Fiji flag.

Multicultural Crafts for Kids: Orkney Islands

The Orkney Islands are located just to the northeast off the mainland of Scotland.  One of the most interesting things about the Orkney Islands is the weather, particularly the wind.  

 wind speed for an average summer 8 - 18 MPH

wind speed for an average winter 25 - 45 MPH

occasionally they receive gale bursts of over 90 MPH

That's a lot of wind!  Just to give you a comparison, here in Houston, Texas, our average wind speed for the entire year is only 6 - 9 MPH.

Orkney Islands

In tribute to the Scottish heritage of the Orkney Islands and their mighty winds, let's make a Scottish tartan pinwheel.

Supplies:

6 x 6 inch square of scrapbook paper (one side white, one side a solid color)

thumbtack

washi tape (colorful paper tape)

pencil

markers

Directions:

Wrap a small piece of washi tape over the top of your thumbtack and press to the back.

Wrap a pencil with washi tape.

On the white side of your paper, make a tartan pattern following the numbered pictures.

1.  Thin red vertical lines

2.  Thick green vertical lines

3.  Two thin red horizontal lines close together

4.  Medium lime green horizontal lines

5.  Thick red horizontal lines

Draw an x from corner to corner on the colored side of your paper square.

Cut each line of the x  until you are about 1/2 inch from the middle of the x.

Fold the right corner of each edge into the center making sure the pieces overlap each other a little.

Insert the thumbtack into the center of all the overlapped corners.

Press the pinwheel into the eraser of your pencil leaving a little space between the eraser and the back of the pinwheel so that it will be able to spin.

Go find some wind (or make your own) and have some pinwheel fun!

Options:

I wanted the children to make their own tartan pattern, but to save time buy tartan scrapbook paper.

Extra Activity:

Color the Scottish flag.

Multicultural Crafts for Kids: The Netherlands (Part 2)

Of course we couldn't pass The Netherlands by just eating chocolate.  We must talk tulips!

source

Just look at those fields!  Could you even imagine how many tulips that is? Tulips grow well in The Netherlands because of the mild climate and because their soil provides good drainage so the bulbs do not rot.  Before we let The Netherlands go, let's make some tulips!

Supplies:

paper egg carton

exacto knife

watercolors

green chenille sticks (pipe cleaners)

Adult Pre-prep:

  

Cut the egg carton into individual cups with an exacto knife. 

All of the cups will have a side that is solid and has no groove cut into it.  You'll want to cut a groove similar to the other sides to form our tulip shape.

On the bottom of the cup, cut a tiny x with the exacto knife.

Directions:

Have children paint the tulip cup inside and out with watercolors.

Spiral one end of a chenille stick around a pencil three times.

Separate and bend the three spirals to make a triangle shape.  This will be the pistil of our tulip.

Insert the straight end of the chenille stick into the middle of the x on the inside of the cup.

Pull almost all the way through to make the stem.  Do not let the pistil touch the bottom of the cup.  You want it to stand a little bit away from the bottom.

Make several and gather into a posy or arrange in a small vase.

Options:

I used watercolors so that they would dry quickly.  The egg carton sucks up the watercolors super fast. However, you can use whatever kind of paint you want... tempera, acrylic, etc.  This just adds more to the mess factor, not to mention the drying time factor, but it will give your tulips more vibrant colors.

Want to make your tulips even quicker and not have to paint at all?  Try using markers!

Multicultural Crafts for Kids: The Netherlands (Part 1)

During the week I always like to include at least one night where we can taste that country.  When I heard that we would be including The Netherlands, I immediately knew that this would be the tasting craft...

The Netherlands 

I'm sure you've heard of Dutch process cocoa.  It is the cocoa powder that results from pressing the fat (or the "butter") out of the cacao beans.  The process was developed by a Dutch chocolatier.  So let's make some chocolate truffles!

Ingredients: 

8 oz chocolate (I used Baker's semisweet)

1/2 c heavy whipping cream

cocoa powder (If you want to be really authentic, use Dutch process cocoa powder)

spoon or small cookie scoop

Approximate cost:  $7-10 (will make about 20 large or 40 small truffles)

Directions:

Finely chop chocolate - the finer the better.  Place in a bowl.

Heat cream on a stove (or in the microwave) until just bubbling around the edges.  This happens pretty fast, so keep an eye on it. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for a minute.  The chocolate will start to melt from the heat of the cream.  Gently stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the cream is totally combined.  (If chocolate is not quite melted, pop it into the microwave for about 10 seconds and then stir again.)

Press plastic wrap over the surface of the chocolate and let sit on the counter for one hour to cool and become firm.

***If you're going to do this with a classroom, do all of the above ahead of time, then let the children start from here.***

Scoop a small amount of firm chocolate into your hands and roll into a ball.  This is messy, but it's worth it!  Just make sure you have a sink nearby for hand washing.  I made large truffles, but you can use less chocolate for smaller ones.

Plop the chocolate ball into a plate full of cocoa powder and roll it around to coat the truffle.

Eat them right away or place in a sealed container in the refrigerator to save for later.

***This recipe is adapted from Giver's Log.  Please read AmberLee's directions for detailed instructions and more fun ideas.

Options:

Use a variety of coatings to roll the truffles in:  chopped nuts, sprinkles, crushed peppermints, coconut.

Extra Activity:

Color the Netherlands flag!

Multicultural Crafts for Kids: Egypt

Welcome to Multicultural Crafts for Kids 2013!  We'll be spending the whole week learning hands on about other cultures.  We've got a great line up and some great projects to do, so let's get started!

Egypt

Just saying the word "Egypt" brings to mind sandy deserts, mummies, and pyramids.  It's amazing that the ancient Egyptians made the pyramids without modern heavy equipment.  They were architecture geniuses, but it must have taken them forever to finish one!

Thankfully we'll be making our pyramid in about ten minutes...

Supplies:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup water

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 piece of cardboard

small piece of scrap cardboard

toothpick

Directions:

Mix the flour, salt, and water together to form a salt dough.  If it's too crumbly add a little more water.  If it's too sticky, add more flour.  This amount of dough will make about four pyramids.

Tear off a small amount of dough and form a ball about the size of your palm.

Place on the 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 cardboard. 

Work the lump of dough down to the edges of your cardboard with your fingers.

Now, pinch some of the dough at the top to make a point, and start flattening the sides of your pyramid with your hands.  You will need to pinch the edges to make they more distinct.

Use the extra scrap of cardboard to press the sides so they are even more flat and straight.

Now we'll add some texture to out pyramid.  Starting a little way up from the bottom, press and gently pull your toothpick across one side of the pyramid.  Then turn to the next side and do the same.

Do this all the way around the pyramid to give it the first layer.

Now move up a little from the first layer and do the same thing all the way around to give it a second layer.

And again for the third layer.

Use the toothpick to make vertical lines to form bricks on all four sides of the pyramid.

Your pyramid is done!  Now just leave it out to dry for several weeks.  When it's completely dry it will have a nice sandy feel to it.

Extra Activities:

Color an Egyptian flag.

Make a cornish hen mummy.  My boys and I did this when they were younger.  It was a lot of fun. The mummification process takes about 70 days. If you have a longer time frame to work with and would like to give it a go, here are the directions. 

Invitation: Multicultural Crafts for Kids 2013

This year's Multicultural Crafts for Kids week starts Monday, April 22.  

This fun week of crafts grew out of a crafting session I did with the children of my church during our annual missions conference.  You can read more about it HERE.  This year the program was shortened, which means that I will only be crafting one project with the children during AWANA instead of one craft each evening of the conference.  But since I already had all the crafts picked out, I decided we'd just craft through all the countries for this year here on the blog.

I am busy taking pictures and writing the final posts.  Hope you'll come and join me on Monday for some fun global crafting!  Feel free to grab the badge and spread the word.

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To The Moon and Back

I've been researching and experimenting for our annual Multicultural Crafts for Kids week (April 22-26).  If you've never joined me for this event, I'd like to invite you!  I craft with about 40 children at my church over the course of a week to help them learn a little more about countries where we have missionaries that share the Gospel.  You can read a little bit more about it HERE.  Then the week after, I post all our multicultural fun here on the blog for you to enjoy with your kids or your classroom.

I was planning to use moon sand as a component of one of our crafts but sadly had to nix it.  I say sadly because it would have been a great option if it had done what I needed it to do.  If you'll remember, I have several criteria for my craft projects for this session...

1.  Able to be done by ages 2-5 with parent's help AND 6 or older on their own

2.  Able to be completed in about 10 minutes

3.  Above all it must be CHEAP!

Moon sand meets all those criteria!  Little ones can play with it just as well as older children.  Time is not even a factor.  And cheap!  Oh ho ho!  So cheap if you make it yourself...

1 cup flour + 1/4 cup vegetable oil  

You can use baby oil, but since my baby days are long gone I used the cheapest thing I had in the kitchen for a substitute.  With just a few turns of my hand, it came together quickly.

The texture is very light.  Not sticky like dough, but it does lightly stick together if you pack it into a mold or squeeze it with your hand.  So what was the problem?

1.  Too crumbly!  The feel of the moon sand was perfect for my purpose, but the crumbliness just won't work.  I need something with a little more stick.  (Don't worry, I found it!)

2.  Too messy!  I am an adult and was trying NOT to make a mess, but look at my table.  Can you imagine what it would look like with 40 children who don't care if they make a mess or not?!  I'd be sweeping up for an hour after they were done.  No thanks!

While I won't be able to use it for our project, I would highly recommend it for tactile play.  Just save yourself some cleaning time, and send the kids OUTSIDE to play with it!  Wondering what kind of a project I was hoping to use this moon sand for?  You'll have to wait until April 22-26 to find out!

Multicultural Crafts for Kids: The Universal Language

No matter which continent you live on or what culture you are a part of, there is one language that can be communicated without words...

LOVE!

All it takes is kindness, time, and genuine caring to "speak" this language to children all around the world!  We took some time to communicate love and friendship specifically to children whose parents have recently gone through a divorce.  Many times these children just need a little bit of extra love and to know that someone cares.  We did this by making small gifts for them.

Supplies:

pony bead assortment

stretchy cord (can be found by the pony beads or in the jewelry making aisle)

foam sheets

geometric foam stickers

sharpie pens

cello bag

candy

Approximate cost:  less than a dollar per gift

Directions: 

First, the children made friendship bracelets.  We chose to make simple beaded bracelets with pony beads.  

Cut the cord into 11-12 inch lengths to give plenty of room for tying off at the end.

Tape one end of the cord to the table so that the beads do not fall off. 

String on the beads. 

Tie an overhand knot. 

There are hundreds of options for making friendship bracelets.  I chose this way because of the variety of ages I was working with and my time constraint.  If you have more time or want a little more of a challenge check here (embroidery floss version), here (fabric version), and here (finger knit version) for a few more ideas.

We then used foam sheets (3 1/2 x 5 in) and foam stickers to make cards to go along with the bracelets, letting the children know that Jesus loves them.  I put a ton of stickers and some sharpie markers on the table and let the kid's be creative in the design.  Some looked like robots, some looked like this one, some looked like a pile o' stickers.

Insert the card, bracelet, and a few pieces of candy (which is a universal language of its own) into a cello bag and you have a simple, inexpensive gift that speaks volumes to a hurting child.

Whether they live in America, Africa, or the Islands, whether their parents have gone through a divorce or not, children of every culture need to know that they are loved.

As always, I couldn't have done it without my partner in crime!  Thanks, Megan, for willing subjecting yourself to crowds of kids, multiple repetitions of directions, late nights, and the general chaos that comes with crafting with children.  You are a gem! 

That wraps up this year's Multicultural Crafts for Kids session!  I hope you've enjoyed it.  For more multicultural craft projects to do with children, check out the archives.  Happy crafting!

Multicultural Crafts for Kids: Zambia, Africa Tasting

Zambia Food Tasting Menu

sugared peanuts

sugar cane

Zambians like to much sugared nuts.  Make your own, or if you run out of time just buy honey roasted peanuts as a quick fill in.

They are also really trying to get a foothold on the sugarcane market.  Most children have never tasted sugarcane, so this is a new experience for them.  Now while you can buy the actual cane and shuck and cut it up yourself, I opted for the already prepared kind.  Bought mine here!  As you can see in the picture above, the sugarcane is very woody, so make sure the children just bite it to taste the sweetness, but do not chew and swallow it.  We had good success, but the very young children were supervised to make sure we didn't have any issues.  Some liked it; some said it was "like chewing splinters".

Multicultural Crafts For Kids: Zambia, Africa

Ready for another culture?  Introducing...

Zambia, Africa

The Zambians craft a cloth made from the bark of mulberry and other varieties of trees.  This tapa cloth is then designed with geometric patterns and ink.  It is used as clothing or decorations in their homes.

Supplies:

brown paper grocery bag or craft paper

pencil

ruler

tempera paint (or markers)

Approximate cost:  $.10 (or free if you already have a paper grocery bag)

Directions:

Cut your bag or craft paper to measure about 9 x 10 inches.

Wad up into a ball.

Wet with water; squeeze out excess.  Gently open paper so that it does not tear and set on a counter overnight to dry.  This will give it a nice texture.

When dried completely, draw several vertical lines with a pencil.  I drew mine with a sharpie so you could see it better, but pencil is the way to go!  They should be slanted in different directions!

Draw several slanted horizontal lines through the vertical ones.

Using black tempera paint, paint your design like a checkerboard.  The result is a very authentic looking tapa cloth design.

Another design option is to draw alternating half circles on the horizontal lines.

A different result entirely!

Options:

Younger children-  Draw the designs on the paper beforehand, and have them paint it.

Older children-  Give them a blank sheet of paper, some examples, and have them draw and paint their own design.

Quicker Option-  Don't have time for the paint to dry?  Color the design with markers instead!

Extra Activity:

Color a map of Zambia!

Stay tuned for Zambia tasting!