WHEW!!!
Now that our Easter JM is finished I thought I’d run down my list of favorite crafts and the not so favorite as well. We only chose a few of the craft recommended by Group and I’ve listed how we did crafts in an earlier post, based on our Sunday school time frame. So keep that in mind. Also keep in mind that we did not have crews, but whole tribes all of the same basic age at a time. We cut JM into four days-or four Sundays with two crafts a day.
Day 1- Burlap Palm Leaf banners- idea from Sydnee, listed under the other Easter craft message. Only difference is for the ribbon, I bought printable iron on transfers and ironed on "Hosanna, Hosanna to the King" on them. Wonderful! Big Hit! Turned out beautiful!! Thank you Sydnee!!!
Day 1- Braided belt-also from Sydnee Big Hit for kid who could do it, but even those who needed it done for them, loved them. Each week, I see kids bringing theirs back and have seen a few wearing them as head bands during non JM hours!
Day 2- Bread- Unleavened of course! for Passover Due to time crunch we made biscuits and added cinnamon. They were wonderful and much easier, since we didn’t have the time to allow the dough to rise.
Day 2- Candles- I wrote about them in another post also. Patience is the key here. If the children waited until the wax was soft, they turned out beautiful and were a HUGE hit. We did have comments on the blow dryer we used to soften the wax!! But it was worth it. Maybe if this was done in a marketplace, as the curriculum suggests it would have been easier. I did cut a bunch for the kindergarten class to 8”X4” and pre-started the wic. They each got to make two and they turned out really nice as well. You could have a bunch done this way for any younger child.
Day 3-Baskets- different types ordered from OTC and Guildcraft. We used the reed baskets for the older kids and cardboard for the younger. Right off, I’d not waste money on the cardboard type, especially those from OTC. We used yarn and they were pretty much a flop. I wish we’d done the plastic ones for younger kids.
The reed baskets on the other hand were really great. I am glad we chose to do them. Here is what I did. For the 3rd and 4th grade kids, we pre-wove the spokes to get them started. Most did great with some extra help. The 5th and 6th grade kids, once they got the hang of it, did great also. The key is to make sure the reeds are soaked well and if they dry out, to re-soak them. The reeds are about impossible to work with dry, so make sure you put the entire roll into the water and then unwound it all together on the floor or somewhere appropriate. Another suggestion is while weaving the spoke at the beginning of making your basket. Make sure the end of each spoke (the part that’s tucked in) is long enough that when it dries it won’t come loose. The reed shrinks a tiny bit when dry, so if it’s barely tucked under and held in place, it will come out when it dries. I hope that’s clear enough. The older kids took a good 30 minutes to finish theirs, the younger 40.
Still to do-Day 4-Herb and spice satchel- from the shop keepers book- I bought potpourri, and the spices from Group. I divided up the potpourri in “like” shapes into different bowls. This is a cheap way to make these and they smell really nice. I plan to allow the kids to chose different “spices” add them to their bowls and then crush them with a thick wooded dowel, instead of buying a mortar and pestle. This has turned out to be another cheap craft, because most of the fabric we are using is scrap. We will tie them with ribbon. We plan to tell the boys they can make these for their mothers for Easter. Also, I’m considering tying this in with the spices Mary was taking to Jesus’ tomb.
Still to do Day 4- Tin necklace- From the shop keeper book. We thought the neat thing about the tin was that the hole reminded us of an empty tomb. That's what we'll emphasize with the kids. I just did the example with my first grader and it turned out beautiful! She loved doing it and my teenagers also thought they were very cool. To keep the cost down, I chose to buy colored hemp for the younger kids and earth colored pony beads for all the kids; very cheap at WM. We bought leather cord for the older kids who would like that instead, also at WM. To be safe and have enough, we bought about one yard per child. One thing about the leather cord is that you need to have the kids “work it or need it” before you string it, otherwise it’s just too stiff to lie nicely. Both look very cool!! LOVE THEM! You can get cheap hammers at any dollar store.
I hope this helps. I have gleaned so much information from these message boards that I felt like I had to take the time to “give back”!! Blessing to you all this summer!! If you have a question please email me directly as I probably won’t check back here- I’m on to Power Lab!!
Love, Pam in Oly