Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
Ages: 24 months and up
Make the Festival of Lights more toddler-inclusive with a magical menorah your child can help make - and then "light" all by herself.
Materials
- Washable paints and brushes
- Paper plate
- 10 small empty matchboxes (10-packs are available at many supermarkets for around $1)
- White glue and glitter (optional)
- Glue dots
- Foam board or poster board
- Decorative ribbon
Instructions
1. Squeeze the paint onto a paper plate (we used two shades of blue, swirled together) and hand your child one matchbox at a time to paint. (Tip: If your toddler is too young to brush on the paint fairly evenly, you may want to apply a base coat yourself before letting her take over.) Once the paint is dry, use white glue to add a sprinkling of glitter, if you like.
2. Paint a teardrop-shaped flame inside 9 of the matchbox drawers, as shown at right.
3. With glue dots, attach the matchboxes to the foam or poster board as shown. Trim the board's edges and fashion a hanger with ribbon. Then your child can "light" one candle each day by opening a drawer to reveal the flame inside.
Crafts