Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
DIY Sesame Street Birthday Party
Have you entered my current giveaway?
My good friend's youngest son turned one last week. For his first birthday party she decided to do a Sesame Street themed party. She bought some decorations, but did much of it herself with some help from me and a few friends and her mom. She had the party at our church. She and her husband have large families, so there are a lot of people. She made some adorable tissue paper characters. They sat on the cake table. She got the idea here.
For decorations she had some Sesame Street tablecloths and bought a couple of decoration kits. Then she made favor bags. She had Cookie Monster, Elmo, Bert and Oscar. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the Cookie Monster ones. She got the idea here.
Then Hazel and I made a bowling game for the party. We were inspired by Sharing the Wealth: Sesame Street Birthday Party. They are very easy to make. We used empty plastic water bottles, construction paper and some printouts of the heads as well as Bert and Ernie's shirts. The heads are copyrighted, so I cannot share them, but I just googled the characters until I found what I wanted. I made them about 3.5 inches wide.
She also bought a pin the nose on Elmo game. This would be pretty easy to make yourself. The one nice thing of the bought one is the noses were stickers.
She wanted two crafts for the kids whose ages really varied (one to preteen). The first was to decorate a hat with foam stickers.
So that was the fun first birthday party we went to this weekend!! So many great DIY ideas!! We loved it!!
WordWorld: Kooky Spooky Halloween DVD Review and Giveaway
I am so excited to share this DVD with you today. Now before I share it I want to make sure you know a couple of things:
- I really do not like the scary part of Halloween. I like taking Hazel trick-or-treating, and seeing the young children in their cute costumes.
- Hazel is scared easily and does not like the scary parts of Halloween.
- Hazel is learning to read and sound out words at school this year.
Sharing Saturday 14-39
Hispanic Heritage Month
2) From All Done Monkey: Costa Rica Craft: Carretas
3) From Multicultural Kid Blogs (written by Becky at Kid World Citizen): Day of the Dead Crafts and Activities for Kids
Apples
(I had a hard time choosing from all the great apple ideas!)
2) From Pink Polka Dots & PreK: Edible Apple Sensory Play and Taste Test
3) From From ABCs to ACTs: Textured Apple Craft for Preschoolers
4) From The Classroom Creative: Apple Symmetry Craft for Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade
5) From Mama to 5 Blessings: Fall Apple Crafts for Toddlers/Preschoolers
6) From Tiny Tots Adventures: Playful Preschool DIY Farm
Some Fun Favorites
1) From An idea on Tuesday: Bark Painting
2) From Life with Moore Babies: Cave Painting
3) From Child Led Life: Child's Book List: Birds
4) From April's Homemaking: Easy Air Plant Terrariums
5) From Saving with Shellie: Candy Corn Popcorn Balls
6) From Happy Brown House: Christopher Colombus Activities
Featured Button Code:
Now for This Week's Party
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).
2) Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc. Remember to link to your actual post.
3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.
4) I would love it if you would follow me on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest
5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).
Book Review: Everyone Prays by Alexis York Lumbard
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| Source of Prayer for USA Photograph: By Harley Pebley (Flickr: Prayer for USA) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons |
Today is the Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Having many Jewish friends, my Facebook feed has been filled with Happy New Year comments the past couple of days. Happy New Year and best wishes for the new year to all who are celebrating! (The holiday started Wednesday night at sundown.) Hazel goes to a Christian school, and we are very active at our church. This summer she learned The Lord's Prayer and is pretty good at saying it without too much help. We talk about praying all the time as well as other religions. One of her good friends is half Jewish, so she always asks questions about Judaism.
With all of this on my mind I thought today was a great day to share this wonderful book, Everyone Prays: Celebrating Faith Around the World by Alexis York Lumbard and illustrated by Alizreza Sadeghian. This book is beautiful. It has colorful illustrations representing people all over the world. The text itself is simple and leads to discussion and questions. It is the perfect introduction for children to other religions and the fact that many of the world religions pray to the same God.
In the appendix is a few sentences about each religion mentioned in the book. It includes how long the religion has been practiced, where they worship, who they follow and who started it, etc.
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| Source: Wisdom Tales |
The book itself shows the many differences in the world and religions yet also shows how we are the same. In this day of violence claimed to be due to religion, it is important for us to realize how similar we all are and our religions are. This book does this in a basic way that is easy for young children to understand. The book is aimed at 4- to 8-year-olds and was released in March. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to help their child understand some connections between the religions and understand some differences.
Around the World In 12 Dishes: Vietnam Part 2: Grilled Lemon Grass Beef
We made one more Vietnamese dish last week. This one needed to marinate for at least four hours, so we did it on a different day. I found the recipe in Cooking the Vietnamese Way by Chi Nguyen and Judy Monroe.
Grilled Lemon Grass Beef or Bo Nuong Xa adapted from Cooking the Vietnamese Way
1 1/2 lb. sirloin tip, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 stems lemon grass, finely chopped (I would only use one next time)
Bamboo Skewers
Optional: 2 teaspoons chopped scallions or fresh mint for garnish
1) Mix the sirloin, sugar, soy sauce, pepper, garlic, sesame seeds, and lemon grass together. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2) Soak the bamboo skewers in water while the meat marinates.
3) Preheat oven to broil or start grill.
4) Thread beef slices onto skewers accordion-style. Broil or grill for 6 to 8 minutes, turning often so they are cooked evenly.
5) Serve hot and garnish with mint and/or scallions.
Steve and I liked it. Steve really seemed to like it. Hazel thought it was all right, but I think she would have liked it with less lemon grass.
Adventures In Mommydom, Afterschool for Smarty Pants, All Done Monkey, Crafty Moms Share, Glittering Muffins, Kid World Citizen, Mermaids' Makings, The Mommy Talks and The Usual Mayhem
I hope you will take the time to check them all out and check out everyone's great explorations of Vietnam. If you have a Vietnamese dish or craft or lesson, please share it here as well!! The Vietnamese placemat and passport pages are coming soon for help with extra learning about the country.
For more posts about Vietnam check out:
Lunar New Year and The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Cinderella, and Beef Pho and Banana Coconut Che
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrating with Music--Celia Cruz and Musical Crafts & Giveaway!!
As Hispanic Heritage Month continues on, we are sharing what we have been doing to learn more about Hispanic Music. A few years ago we made maracas, guiro, and a cajita based on Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou's tutorials. We also made zampoñas and a rainstick previously (thanks to Daria). This year we got a free copy of Daria's latest e-book: 10 Musical Crafts to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage. You can get a free copy this month on her Monthly Song Page (and scroll down to enter a great giveaway). After this month you can purchase a copy on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Sharing Saturday 14-38
Have you entered the amazing giveaway for Hispanic Heritage Month yet? There are multiple prizes packs and lots of chances!!
Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and to everyone who visited others posts. We did not have a most clicked so our features this week are based on Autumn, Child Activities and Crafts and a few of my Favorites.
Autumn Features
1) From MultiCraftingMummy: Autumn Owl Collages
2) From I Heart Crafty Things: Apple Tree Craft for Preschoolers
3) From Dabblingmomma: Acorn Cap Jewels
4) From Powerful Mothering: Easy Fall Tree Activity
5) From Every Star Is Different: Fall Kick-off Birthday Party (Pumpkin Bowling Shown)
Child Activities and Crafts
1) From Best Toys for Toddlers: Teddy Bear Race Game for Toddlers
2) From Super Duper Kids Blog: How to Make an American Girl Sleeping Bag
3) From Wesens-Art: Stamping with Kids/ How to Make Mini Ink Pads
4) From Planet Smarty Pants: Encouraging Our Kids to Tinker
A Few of My Favorites
1) From April's Homemaking: Simple Sunday School Creation Story
2) From Happy Whimsical Hearts: How to Make a Rainbow Peg Doll
3) From Wugs and Dooey: The Parable of the Sower Small World Play
4) From Moore Babies: Girly Pirate Party (Treasure Hunt Shown)
Featured Button Code:
Now for This Week's Party
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).
2) Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc. Remember to link to your actual post.
3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.
4) I would love it if you would follow me on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest
5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).
Korean Folk Songs --Book with CD Review
Have you entered the amazing giveaway for Hispanic Heritage Month yet? There are multiple prizes packs and lots of chances!!
Today we are continuing our Korean exploration. We explored Korea a bit with Around the World in 12 Dishes last year and with Kongi and Potgi: A Korean Cinderella. I am finding that although Hazel has an excellent memory in many ways, she does not always remember what we have done or learned. I know repetition is needed for this, so we are revisiting Korea. To kick it off again we are reviewing a wonderful book that comes with a CD. It is Korean Folk Songs by Rober Sang-Ung Choi and Samee Back. It is being released on October 14, 2014. Tuttle Publishing was kind enough to send me a review copy.
Now one of the things I love about this book is the little introduction to each song. The introductions teach a bit about Korea and what life is and was like there through the songs. We learn about the Korean's love of nature and their natural heritage. We also hear a bit about the wars, occupation and life during those. For example there is a sad song, "Thinking of Older Brother," or "Obba Saenggak," that has sad words but a very happy tune since the Japanese prohibited negative or depressings songs during their occupation. The words are about wondering what happened to a girl's older brother went to buy her shoes but never returned.
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| "Kikyo 06c1340sc". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. |
I highly recommend this book to explore the music of Korea and to learn more about the land and people of Korea. It is a perfect introduction to this culture. To see some of the pages and hear some parts of the songs check out the video above.
For more posts about Korea check out:
- Global Culture
- Korean Doll She is pictured to the right.
- Kongi and Potgi: A Korean Cinderella
- Chap ch'ae
- Lunar New Year
- Asian Crafts
- Asian Pacific Islander Book Round-Up
- Asian Kites (another great Tuttle Publishing book)
- My Multicultural Resources Pinterest Board
Around the World in 12 Dishes: Vietnam: Beef Pho and Banana Coconut Che
Have you entered the amazing giveaway for Hispanic Heritage Month yet?
This month we are exploring Vietnam with Around the World in 12 Dishes. Since I wrote the introduction post on the Around the World in 12 Dishes blog, I will not repeat myself here. However the past few days I have been thinking about what I really want Hazel to get out of these experiences. I review many multicultural books, participate in multicultural blog hops for the various heritage months and cook a dish from a different country each month. Hazel is five and a half. She is not ready for the capitals and history of the countries. She is not ready to hear about the governments and how they differ from ours. She barely understands what we tell her about ours. I want her to learn about other cultures now so it is ingrained in her throughout her life that people live in different ways, but that is all right. It is all right to be different and we are still all humans and should be treated with respect. Learning about another culture and how others live helps us understand one another and helps build that respect for others. This is why I focus so much on other cultures, countries, etc. This is why I try to find many books to share stories as well as some non-fiction ones to show her pictures of the countries. We may not travel much or far, but she will know something about the greater world out there from what we do at home. Now onto our Vietnam experience. Some of the books I found most helpful in sharing Vietnam with Hazel are the following.
I love reading her some of the legends and folktales as well as some books to give her an idea of what life is like there. For example we found out that many Vietnamese families in the cities buy their breakfast which is often soup like the one we made. They buy it since it takes so long to make and there is not enough time in the morning.
We decided to make Beef Pho and Banana Coconut Che. This was our Vietnamese dinner the other night. For the most part everyone liked both. We found the soup to be a bit bland and Hazel decided she liked fresh bananas better than the che.
Beef Pho or Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup adapted from A Kid's Guide to Asian American History
1 cup bean sprouts
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
3 scallions
8 ounces banh ho, rice sticks
1/2 inch slice peeled fresh ginger
1 pound eye round beef roast -- we used the beef already sliced for a stir fry
2 tablespoons oil
1 package of pho and 10 cups of water or 5 cups of low-sodium beef broth and 5 cups of water -- we used 8 cups of beef broth and 2 cups of water
Optional: Vietnamese fish sauce (we did not use this since I couldn't find any)
1) Place the banh ho in a pot of water to soften for 10 minutes.
2) Rinse the bean sprouts in a colander and set aside in a bowl.
2) Rinse the basil leaves and set aside. I actually found it was better to chop them a bit.
3) Rinse and chop the scallion into small pieces and place in a bowl.
4) Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the noodles and cook for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set a side.
5) Chop the ginger into very small pieces.
6) Slice the beef into very thin slices (or cut smaller if using presliced like us--I waited until after we cooked it to slice it.)
7) Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook the ginger and beef in the oil for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place in bowl.
8) Heat beef broth and water to a boil in pot. (If using pho mix, stir it in after water boils.)
9) Remove from heat and stir in bean sprouts, noodles and beef. I added the toppings of basil and scallions now as well instead of just topping bowls. I found the broth really needed some more flavor.
10) Enjoy!
Hazel loved cooking the ginger and meat!! She also asked to add the basil.
For dessert we had banana coconut che. Foods of Vietnam by Barbara Sheen describes che as somewhat thinner than soft ice cream and a thick liquid that can almost be sipped through a straw. It is sold in shops, markets and street vendors and can come in many different flavors.
Banana Coconut Che adapted from Foods of Vietnam
3 tablespoons tapioca pearls -- we used powder since we already had it
3 cups of water
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
pinch of salt
1 lb. bananas cut into thin, round slices (this was about 2 large bananas)
1) Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the tapioca and stir well. I used a whisk since we were using the powder. The tapioca will stick together. Cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes.
2) Mix the coconut milk, sugar and salt together in a separate bowl. This is also when we sliced the bananas.
3) Stir the coconut milk mixture into the tapioca mixture. Cook until the sugar dissolves. Add the banana slices and cook 3 minutes.
4) Let che cool to room temperature. Serve in individual bowls or glasses and top with crushed ice. We did not top it with ice.
Steve had several helpings and really liked it. Hazel only thought it was ok. That is our Vietnamese experience so far. Around the World in 12 Dishes is hosted by these lovely blogs: