As we turn to a new calendar year we are making up craft show look forward to the things for the upcoming year and look back on how the past year. This is a really great crafts to do with kids because it helps them to set goals for the upcoming year. Teaching children to set goals in their lives at a young age is a very good habit to get into. I have each of the kids get 6 pieces of paper in different colors. We measure out the five pieces of paper making sure to leave an inch off each piece so that they will overlap. On the very top sheet we put It's 2017 and it's going to be a good year! Then on the next section the edge that has the inch that hangs out we put I want to try... On the next section we put on edge that hangs out I want to get better at... On the next section we put on the edge I want to help... On the last piece on the edge we put Looking back... I then have them go back and write the answers for each section on the top of each page. Discussing with them what they hope to accomplish in the next year and their thoughts on the last year. We then poke 4 holes on the top of the complete booklet and tie a ribbon streamer to complete the book. I also like to feel the ribbon so that it curls up so I kind of look like a noisemaker.
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Teaching our children not just about our religion, but others religious beliefs. December is a great month to do this, because there are multiple religions that celebrate during this month. From Kwanza, Christmas to Hannukah amonst others. We need to make the effort to let our children experiences these religions in a positive light. Tonight is the first night of Hannakuh I am going to be showing them a quick video to explain why the Jewish people celebrate Hannakuh. Unfortunatly there was a time when the Pagans were doing the attacking of other religions and they persecuted the Jewish people. The ancient Jewish, Maccabees wanted to burn ritual oil on the Temple's menorah for eight days. They were only able to find enough oil in the Temple to keep the menorah lit for one day, because the Greek Pagans had destroyed most of it. Miraculously, the menorah remained lit for the entire eight days, and the Jews have celebrated the successful rededication of the Temple ever since. Then we are going to be great a menura coloring page. Each night we are going to "light" a candle for every eight days.
Next year we are going to try to get an actual menora. For our night before Yule we are keeping with our tradition of creating a play that recreate the battle of the Oak King vs. the Holly King. This story tells of the battle between the two aspects of the God of the Forest; the Oak King who rules the land from the Winter Solsitice till Summer Solstice and the Holly King who rules the land from the Summer Solstice till the Winter Solstice.
On the night before the Solstice they battle to see who will be the Goddesses consort for the second half of the year. I have found that this is a great way to help children be able to understand the changing of the different aspects of the God from one Sabbat to another. The way that we prepare for this is by first telling the story again to the kids and then letting them decide their parts. You can find the full legend of the Oak King and Holly King here. http://www.throughyourbody.com/winter-solstice-holly-king-oak-king/ lAs Yule is quickly approaching we come to the time of legends, and lore. I gather the kiddos around and read them stories from a few different sources; Native America, Celtic, and Nordic to name a few. Tonight we are reading from Circle Round By: Starhawk I truly love this book I think it is a must for any Pagan family. It has information not just about the sabbats, esbat, but rites of passage as well. Another great book that I love is The Sabbats By: Edain McCoy. Here is a website that has links to other great books. http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/yulethelongestnight/tp/BooksForYule.htm
For the 18th day of year we actually created a little saying that lights up that says God Yul. Which is Norwegian for saying Good Yule, because many of the winter solstice traditions that we follow in modern times is from the ancient Vikings. My original intention was to make these with wood slices then use a permanent marker to write the letters on it. Since I don't have the proper tools as my husband says soak up the word synonym I used cardboard. He then traces the exact size of the cardboard on to the card stock we choose so that it matches perfectly. Now my advice when doing this try to keep your card stock with the paper that you cut. So when it comes time to gluing you don't have a puzzle trying to find the perfect matching piece. While my youngest son is doing the gluing I cut the paper that I would like to border the words I think it helps give it a little extra something. I measured the exact size that I wanted making sure that each letter was the same size and Phoenix cut them. Now it's time for the magical words remember you can choose any words you like Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hannukah etc. Use the glue to write your words now after each letter apply a large amount of glitter. Dont worry about the mess, because this is what is really going to make it sparkle! Once they are completely dry I put my fake candle lights behind them and it not only lights them up from behind it also helps them to stand up so that you are able to see them Once they are completely dry I put my fake candle lights behind them and it not only lights them up from behind it also helps them to stand up so that you are able to see them
For day number 16 of the countdown till Yule we are making bird seed ornaments for our Yule tree. These ornaments go perfect with our returning to the Earth theme. Once our Yule celebration is over weekend place these ornaments outside for the beautiful birds to enjoy at Imbolc. These ornaments are super easy all you need is some bird seed, flour and syrup. You can use gelatin as a substitute for the syrup which works great I just didn't have any. Each of the kids first pick their metal ornaments, it has to be metal because we are going to bake it. I then spray them with sun coconut oil and place them on the parchment paper. I then have them put 1/3 cup of flour & 2 cups of bird food into a large mixing bowl. Mix it up so that it is fully blended. While they are doing that I put 2 tablespoons of molasses into a very warm 3 cups of water I stir till it disolves. Now slowly pour some of the molasses liquid into the mixing bowl and slowly stir it. You want it to be a little bit liquidity but not super watery. For some of the harder shapes you will need to push the seed into the molds little crevices like the legs. Now bake it in the oven at 300 for 15 minutes then take it out and gently poke a whole with a straw where your ribbon is going to go. Then place it back in the oven and let it bake for another 15 minutes.
I then place it in the freezer and let it sit in the freezer for overnight. Then it's time to put your ribbon through it and put it on your tree. Today marks day 15 in our 21 days till Yule, and it is actually the one I've been looking forward to the most. My husband is going to help me create a Yule log to go on our family altar. The Yule log tradition dates back to the early Pagans where they would gather around the Yule Log on the longest night of the year to celebrate the returning of the light and the defeat of the night. We had log outside that was perfect for our log it was a little dirty but we cleaned it off. I brought it in the house and baked it in the oven at 200 for an hour to kill off any yucky critters that could be living in it. We then makes the indentations in the wood where the three candles are going to go. The candles are representative of the sunlight and bringing it it into our home. Also how many pagans they can also symbolize the oak King, the Great Goddess, and the Holly King. Now it's time to put the extra little adornments on it. For our adornments and we're going to use: scented pine cones that we made previously, some pine branches from the Yule tree and a fake flower from our wedding. The pine cones again symbolizing life, the piece of our tree connects the magick that we did on it together and the flower symbolze our love that created this home. I am also going to add some holly and some holly berries. The holly of course represents the Holly King who watches over us in the winter months.
For our 14th day of this amazing Yule countdown we are going to be making acorn candle holders. Candles have a long been a light in the darkness so it only makes sense that for Yule light the way on the longest night of the year. Starting the day after the winter solstice the day overshadows the night and stays longer. To make the candle holders we actually use recycled soda cans just make you rinse them out so you don't have any sticky candles. You then you cut the top off depending on how big you would like a candle holder and is depending on where you should cut. I used scissors to cut it be BECAREFUL BECAUSE THE EDGE OF THE SODA WILL BE VERY SHARP SO I ADVICE AN ADULT CUT IT. I then use some of my cinnamon dough mixture to created a little border on top of the soda can so that the edge is no longer sharp and also when the candle is burning it will heat the cinnamon which will smell amazing. I then bake it for 45 mins to an hour till it is hard at 300 degrees. As a place at on the border I say. May abundance flow through our home just as this scent flows through our home. We can use a nail to poke holes strategically into the can so that when the candles lit it will illuminate out. As I poke the holes into the can I say. May love and light flow not just threw our home but through our lives. Its now time to put acorns on we do this by gluing them to the can. A hot glue gun would be great for this but since I didn't have one we used regular glue. Acorns are a symbol strength as which is why before we glue them I say a blessing over them. May our family stay strong and united. This craft take a little long because you need to hold the acorns in place.
As we come to the 12th day of Yule we get ready to make cinnamon ornaments for our tree. Not only are they crazy easy to make they also make your house smell amazing as they are baking. These ornaments are a lot like the salt dough ornaments set they are made with cinnamon, allspice, dough and applesauce. Apple's representative the Sun and life because of the seed that is inside of it. Then for the cinnamon we are going to be focusing on the peace aspect of it. Luck and love are the allspice of life so may they flow through our lives. Phoenix puts the applesauce into a large mixing bowl. Rowan puts the cinnamon, and allspice into the large mixing bowl as well. I slowly put the flour in as I let Phoenix slowly mix until it forms a nice dough. While they're doing that I spread a generous amount of allspice on the parchment paper so that we can roll the dough on it. Make sure that your dough is at least 3/4 to 1 inch thick then pick your cookie cutter shape and now it's time to take turns cutting. Remember that when you are pushing down with the cookie cutter you want to push firmly so that it cut off of the extra dough yet still has a shape. Then place it on the parchment paper carefully. Don't forget to poke a hole in it for your ribbon to go through I used a straw it was the perfect size for the ribbon and it was hollow. Then bake it in the oven for 3 hour Directions
3 cup applesauce 2 1/2 cups flour 2 cups allspice 1 1/2 bottles ground cinnamon Cookie cutters Drinking straw Colorful ribbon Preheat oven to 200°F. Mix applesauce, allspice, cinnamon in small bowl slowly add flour until a smooth ball of dough is formed. Roll it out till 1 inch thick then cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Make a hole at top of ornament then place ornaments on baking sheet. Bake 2 1/2 hours. Cool ornaments then carefully insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang. For our eleventh day of the 21 days of Yule we are creating a tree bottom to surround our Yule tree. We gathered 12 branch long just long enough so that they are a little longer then our tree stand. We then stack them on top of each around the stand. As we are stacking we are focusing on the how important it is in life to have a good foundation. As I stack I say a blessing of May we always remain grounded
May our chooses always be solid May we always remember where we came from |
As a mom of three boys who go to public school I started to notice that some things were not being taught in detail so I decided to create lessons for them. Many of these lessons cover science, history and of information about Paganism. I share crafts for the all different holidays and cultures as ways that they can learn and have fun at the same time.
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