Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah is just around the corner! To get everyone into the spirit of the festival of light, here are some songs, books, crafts and recipes!

Maoz Tzur

Maoz tzur y'shuati l'cha naeh l'shabeach
Tikon beit t'filati v'sham todah n'zabeach.
L'eit tachin matbeach mitzar hamnabeach
Az egmor b'shir mizmor chanukat hamizbeach.

Eight Little Candles

(To the tune of “10 Little Indians”)

One little, two little, three little candles,

Four little, five little, six little candles

Seven little, eight little pretty candles,

Burning, oh so bright!

How Many Candles?

How many candles,

How many candles,

How many candles do we light.

On our chanukiah,

On our chanukiah

The first Hanukkah night?

One, one, one, one, one, one

One candle burning,

One candle burning

The first Hanukkah night.

(Continue with 2-8)

The Dreidel Song

I have a little dreidel,
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready,
Oh dreidel, I shall play!

Oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
I made you out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready,
Oh Dreidel I shall play!

Sevivon Sov Sov Sov

Sevivon Sov Sov Sov
Chanukah Hu Chag Tov
Chanukah Hu Chag Tov
Sevivon Sov Sov Sov

Chag Simcha hu la'am
Nes Gadol Haya Sham
Nes Gadol Haya Sham
Chag Simcha hu la'am

Al Hanisim

Al hanissim, v'al hapurkan, v'al hag'vurot v'al hat'tshuot v'al hamilchamot sh'asita lavoteinu bayamim hahem baz'man hazeh.

  

Some Chanukah Books you may enjoy:

The Night Before Chanukah – Natasha Wing

Biscuits Hannukah – Alyssa Capucilli

Hannukah – Priddy Books

I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Dreidel – Caryn Yacowitz

How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? – Jane Yolen

The Story of Hanukkah – David A. Adler

 

Some links to Chanukah activities and crafts:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/jewish/hanukah.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/hanukkah/

http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog/2012/11/ideas-for-making-a-lego-hanukkah-menorah/ (Instructions for making a LEGO Menorah!)

  

And let’s wrap up this post with links to some great Chanukah recipes!

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/454611/jewish/Chanukah-Recipes.htm

http://www.marthastewart.com/318045/edible-chocolate-marshmallow-dreidels

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/hanukkah-sugar-cookies-50093.aspx

Chag Sameach Everyone!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

    

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Some of the best family memories were made at my grandparent’s house on Thanksgiving, while playing pool or watching the Cowboys play football on one of the oldest televisions in history with my cousins. I am extremely sentimental and try to instill a love of family time in my children which is why I make a big deal out of every holiday. We do crafts and bake and if my kids let me I teach them random songs I remember from my childhood.

To kick off Thanksgiving arts and crafts I got this really cute Activity Book with some great ideas for center pieces, place cards, food labels and stickers. A lot of similar activities are also online and here a few links to some of my favorite Thanksgiving crafts to create with your little (and big) ones.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/

http://happythanksgivingdaywishes.com/thanksgiving-arts-and-crafts.html

http://www.freekidscrafts.com/holidays/thanksgiving-crafts/ (I am all about the printable turkey hat!)

http://www.first-school.ws/THEME/h_thanksgiving.

  

If you are interested in a few holiday themed books:

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie – Alison Jackson

10 Fat Turkeys – Tony Johnston

My First Thanksgiving – Tomie dePaola

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade – Melissa Sweet

Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving – Kimberly and James Dean

Molly’s Pilgrim – Barbara Cohen (did anyone NOT have to read this in elementary school?)

Ready for a Thanksgiving sing-a-long?  

The Turkey Ran Away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_F8XSsd5OM

(If you know the school/children in this video PLEASE tell me so I can credit them for this amazing performance!)

The turkey ran away,
Upon Thanksgiving day.
He said "They will make a roast of me!
If I should stay."

The pumpkin rolled away,
Upon Thanksgiving day.
She said "They will make a pie of me!
If I should stay."

The cranberry rolled away,
Upon Thanksgiving day.
He said "They will make a sauce of me!
If I should stay."

Ten Little Turkeys – The Learning Station

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_F8XSsd5OM

Ten Little Turkeys sat in their pen,

“Hide, turkeys, hide!” Said the little red hen!

One little turkey flew far away,

The other nine decided to stay.

(counts down and all the lyrics are in the video)

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Soup's On!

  

When the clocks change every year I am always that person that assumes it is 9:45 when it is really only 5:15 pm. Since it gets dark earlier I also assume it is now cold outside so daylight savings ending also kicks off soup season (and boots season) in our home.

Every fall at the library I hosted a story time with a Soup theme. I loved hearing from the children their favorite and most hated types of soups and since it was always an ethnically diverse crowd I was always learning varied ingredients cultures stick into those giant pots. While I never rushed home to recreate the soup recipes I heard about, I did often Google image those delicacies (which is basically the same thing).

Since I have a pot of chicken soup on the stove right now, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite Soup books, a song and a craft so you can host your own Soup themed story time in your home. A Soup theme also motivates children to create their own recipes, grocery lists and get cooking in the kitchen (with a parent’s permission and supervision). I highly recommend you try this with your young one. After all, the families that cook, eat and read together stay together!

Books:

Stone Soup – Marcia Brown (Or any other version)

Alvie Eats Soup – Ross Collins

Growing Vegetable Soup – Lois Ehlert

Chicken Soup with Rice – Maurice Sendak

Pretend Soup – Mollie Katzen

   

The Soup Song:

(Tune of London Bridge)

Put some _____ (name ingredient) in the pot, stir it up nice and hot! Get it ready for dinner, ready for dinner.

(OR: Put some _____ (ingredient) in the pot, stir it up, nice and hot! Get it ready for Shabbat, for Shabbat.)

Soup Craft –

I used to print these out and have the children pick what they wanted to add to their own pot of soup. There would also always be plain paper for them to draw anything they did not see on the template but wanted to add to their soup pot.

http://www.dltk-teach.com/t.asp?t=http://www.dltk-teach.com/fables/stonesoup/bfelt1.gif

http://www.dltk-teach.com/t.asp?t=http://www.dltk-teach.com/fables/stonesoup/bfelt2.gif

http://www.dltk-teach.com/t.asp?t=http://www.dltk-teach.com/fables/stonesoup/bfelt3.gif

http://www.dltk-teach.com/t.asp?t=http://www.dltk-teach.com/fables/stonesoup/bfelt4.gif

Bon Appetit!