Holiday craft ideas offer hands-on lessons in different cultures

Singing “hello” with the help of puppet “Big Red,” Rolly Pollies art instructor Marcia Gutekanst kicked off the season with fun crafts, celebrating three distinctly different holidays.

“There’s so many different ways that people celebrate the holidays,” she told a group of children gathered around her on the carpet.

The first art project the children were set to tackle was a dreidel for Hanukkah.

“A dreidel is actually used to play a game,” Gutekanst explained. “Each side has special words in Hebrew.”

Hanukkah, as well as Christmas and Kwanzaa, will be explained more in-depth over the following weeks, with Gutekanst helping the children learn through books on the holidays and through more creative projects.

“Kwanzaa is another holiday that they celebrate in Africa,” she told the children. “We’re going to make a special candle holder called a Kinara that will hold red, black and green candles. Most countries in Africa have flags with those colors.”

To correspond with Kwanzaa, the eight children glued a brown Kinara-shaped piece of construction paper to the bottom of another paper, then pasted construction paper candles and flames in each of the “holders.”

Each looked a little different, depending on the child, but Gutekanst was unconcerned.

“It’s all about the process, not the project,” she said breezily. “We don’t show examples of our projects because we want the kids to be free to express the craft the way they see fit. We use guidance, not guidelines.“

The last craft for the day was a Christmas wreath. On green construction paper wreaths, each child placed their handprints using green paint and dipped their fingers in red paint to create berries.

As the children furrowed their brows in concentration and carefully completed each activity, Gutekanst and assistant Amy Syracuse rolled up their sleeves to help and praised the children for a job well done.

“I think it’s important for the kids to learn different traditions, because out of curiosity comes love, rather than apprehension, worry or fear,” Gutekanst said. “We need to celebrate the differences. It opens an avenue for discussion between parent and child, and through exploration comes understanding. Traditions make us who we are.”

Gutekanst said she hopes the art lessons will spark the students’ interest in other cultures.

“Maybe it will inspire the parents to take their children to the library and check out a book to learn more,” she said. “It’s wonderful that at this facility we can teach about all three and recognize all traditions; it’s nice to have that freedom.“

Hanukkah Dreidel
Supplies:
9“x12” white construction paper
Pattern of dreidel
Blue and white washable tempera paint
Small bowls
Small foam brushes
Silver and blue glitter

Instructions:
After an adult cuts out paper into the dreidel shape, pour the blue and white paints into a small bowl. Using the small foam brushes, allow the child to paint a design of their choice onto the dreidel. After the child is satisfied with their work, while the paint is still wet, pour glitter onto the creation.

Christmas Wreath
Supplies:
12“x8” light green construction paper
Wreath pattern
Washable tempera paint in red and green
Paint trays (for an easier option, pour the paint into the lid of a plastic shoe box for the perfect amount)
Foam rollers
Hole punch
Small bowl
White yarn

Instructions:
After an adult cuts the construction paper into a wreath pattern and punches a hole near the top, pour the green paint onto the top of the shoebox lid. Using a roller, coat the child’s hand in a layer of green paint and then place the hand onto the wreath, repeating the pattern around the entire wreath. Pouring the red paint in a small bowl, allow the child to dip their finger into it and dot “berries” around the handprint “holly.” After the wreath is dry, put a piece of white yarn through the hole at the top to hang.

Kwanza Kinara
Supplies:
12x18” white construction paper
Kinara pattern (a stair-step shape with three steps on each side and one step on top) in brown construction paper
Kinara candles (3 rectangles of green, 3 of red and one in black)
7 cut-out “flames” for the candles
Glue (watered down glue with a paint brush is recommended to thoroughly and easily coat the Kinara and the candles)

Instructions:
After an adult cuts out the Kinara, candles and flames, have the child brush glue onto the back of the Kinara and place it on the white construction paper. Paste the three green cut out candles and their corresponding flames on one side of the “stair-step” and the red candles on the other side. Glue the black candle on the top.

By Megan Sprague