Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

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May 1st-May Baskets

Friday, April 29th, 2011

May basket

May 1st

When I was a little girl growing up in the Midwest, I looked forward to May Day (May 1st, an international holiday) with great anticipation. After a cold snowy winter, the days were warmer and the plants were starting to bloom. But best of all, my brother and I got to make May baskets and deliver them to our friends.

A May basket is a small basket that is filled with flowers or treats. On May 1st, children hang them on friends’ doorknobs, then ring the bell and run away. The recipient of the May basket chases after the giver and tries to give them a kiss. My friends and I never actually caught each other because we didn’t want anything to do with that kissing business, but we had a lot of fun chasing each other and sharing the treats in the May baskets.

Since I’ve grown up and moved to the West coast, I’ve learned that the May basket tradition is localized primarily to the Midwest and East coast. I think giving the baskets has become less common over the last few decades as well, but in my opinion, it is a tradition (more…)

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Posted in Holidays, Wendy Copley, arts and crafts | 6 Comments »

Family Tree Craft

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Family Tree Craft

Tomorrow is Arbor Day,  which is is a day dedicated to caring for and celebrating trees. Trees are not just pretty; we need them to keep our planet healthy. Young kids are self centered, and while that “me first” view of the world shifts as they age, a great way to explain caring for trees is to relate it to something they already care about, like their family.

This craft does just that . It can be used to relate how we take care of/and are taken care of by our family the same way we need to care for trees so they can take care of us.

You will need some stiff paper or (more…)

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Posted in Allison McDonald, Holidays, arts and crafts | 7 Comments »

Easter Around the World

Sunday, April 24th, 2011

Easter

Easter is literally a celebration of a miracle. In the year 33 AD, on what is now called Good Friday, a man named Jesus Christ was executed and buried by the Roman government. Three days later, on what is now called Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead. For Christians, people who believe Jesus was the Son of God and Messiah, Easter is a celebration of life over death; a time to reflect on Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Easter is broadly celebrated among the Christian communities around the world. Some countries celebrate primarily the religious aspect, but in many other countries, it has become more of a secular celebration. It is one of the most popular holidays celebrated all over the world and especially loved by children.

Easter in Mexico

The holy week leading up to Easter is important in Catholicism. Since the majority of Mexicans are Catholic, Mexico’s celebration lasts the entire week. It begins on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter when Jesus went to the city of Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Jesus rode a donkey and many people greeted Jesus by laying down cloaks and small tree branches, and reciting Old Testament bible verses. In many towns in Mexico, there is a reenactment of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Woven palm leaves are sold at churches within the towns.

Thursday it is a day of reflection. On that day, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (his closest followers),attended a seder dinner that would be His Last Supper and was arrested by the Roman police late in the evening in the Garden of Gethsemane. Some traditions include visiting churches to reflect the vigil the apostles kept in the garden, feet washing ceremonies and Mass with Holy Communion.

Good Friday is a (more…)

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Posted in Christi Grab, Guest, Holidays | 3 Comments »

Celebrating Our Environment

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Tomorrow is Earth Day! In honor of Mother Earth, here is a compilation of posts Parentella has done about the environment.

  • In Our Schools:

The Science Club at Bloom High School in Illinois is doing amazing things in terms of teaching students to be leaders in environmentally friendly science.

Parents and teachers communicating online helps protect the environment while simultaneously increasing learning time.

The Alliance for Climate Change offers free seminars to schools teaching about global warming and how to stop it.

Teachers may want to consider a “school supplies closet” where kids can donate leftover supplies for the next class coming in.

  • Food

Bento box lunches are not only fun for kids, they are good for the environment, too!

  • Fundraisers:

Recycling programs at schools not only bring in money, the kids that run them learn important leadership skills.

Fundraisers at schools should reflect our values, and one of our values should be protecting the environment.

At one school, re-selling used prom dresses made the school a lot of money while saving the girls a lot of money, too.

At another school, re-selling used Halloween costumes also brings a lot of money to the school, while simultaneously saving parents money on new costumes.

  • Crafts & Books for Kids:

Earth Day flower craft & “Let’s Celebrate Earth Day” book

Spring Sun Flower Craft & “One Little Seed” book

Recycle used strawberry baskets into fun and useful baskets.

For back to school, make your own book covers out of grocery bags.

Make your own Halloween costume rather than buying pre-made.

At Christmas time, recycle old boxes into fun crafts.

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Compiled by Christi Grab, Parentella’s Editorial Director and author of  The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People Part 1 – San Diego to Australia.

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Posted in Ainslie Hunter, Allison McDonald, Aparna Vashisht, April McCaffery, Back to School, Christi Grab, Dawn Huntington, Food, Guest, Holidays, Learning Activites, PTA, Parent teacher communication, Parentella Social Networking, Sarah Auerswald, Schools, Steve Franklin, Teacher Perspectives, Technology, Wendy Copley, arts and crafts, extracurricular activities | 4 Comments »

Recycling Strawberry Baskets for Easter

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

recycling, crafts, reuse, craft ideas

Things to make with Strawberry Baskets

Now that strawberry season is once again upon us, I have been brainstorming ways to reuse those green plastic strawberry baskets.  Here’s a quick little project just in time for Easter: woven Easter baskets!

I cut thin strips of scrapbook paper to decorate my baskets, but you could also use ribbon.  These make perfect little baskets to give to friends, nieces/nephews and family.  You’ll see in the basket pictured above a beautiful box of Barnum’s Animal Crackers decorated by Lilly Pulitzer.  So cute!  (Sales of this special box will support tiger conservation through the World Wildlife Fund.)  But I can also imagine a basket filled with decorated sugar cookies, chocolate eggs or a chocolate bunny.

[ s u p p l i e s ]

Plastic strawberry baskets
Ribbon or strips of paper cut to fit in the slots of your baskets
Glue stick
Optional: dried flowers, decorative eggs or other adornments

recycling, crafts, reuse, craft ideas

[ i n s t r u c t i o n s ]

This is so simple!  Weave the ribbon or strips of paper in and out of the openings in the strawberry basket.  If using paper, use a glue stick to connect additional pieces of paper to weave around the entire perimeter of the basket.  Use the glue stick to secure the ends with each other.

recycling, crafts, reuse, craft ideas

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Dawn Huntington is a stay-at-home mom by way of architecture school. Projects, stories, whimsical designs and more can be found on her blog: Out of the Box – California.

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Posted in Dawn Huntington, Holidays, arts and crafts | 8 Comments »

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