Matzo Ball Soup

Transformation – stained glass tutorial

2011-12-18T11:34:28-08:00

I walked into Ori’s kindergarten a couple of days ago, and found that the room was transformed. All the windows were covered with stained glass for the holiday. It’s funny how every teacher has her trade secrets, and Eliza is no different. I immediately turned to her, asking for a quick how-to explanation. Laughing, she explained how easy this trick is (I needed an easy project after our BIG frustration fiasco from the day before).

If you want to decorate your windows with removable, easy, effective, kid friendly… stained glass, then this is
what you will need:
Translucent colored cellophane (they come in rolls, and are available in craft stores)
Liquid dish soap
Scissors
A window
How to:
Cut the cellophane into smaller pieces in different shapes
Mix about 2/3 soap with 1/3 water
Smear the window with the soapy water
Place pieces of cellophane on the wet part of the window
Repeat as needed

Experiment with overlapping colors to get new colors.

Happy and delicious Chanukah
tali

How-to: A Pomegranate Box for Rosh Hashanah

2011-09-20T01:39:39-07:00

I must be crazy for posting this, I have a huge dead line for the local community center the day before Rosh Hashanah, but I just had to share this great little pomegranate box template with you.

To make a box simply:
Print out the template (a jpg)

Place template on a color heavy weight paper or an empty cereal box
Cut along the solid lines of the template (outline) including the 2 lines in the pomegranate crown
Crease along the dashed lines a metal ruler is great for that
Fold

Insert one cut into the other to close

Tada
Happy New Year

tali

How-to make a Bow and Arrow

2011-05-19T03:07:28-07:00

I have started writing for a local magazine, offering craft tutorials every week (or so).
My first post is for “Lag Baomer”.
I have chosen a bow and arrow tutorial to commemorate the braveness of Bar Kochba and his courageous army the Maccabim; but mostly to share a fun project that involves parents and kids working together.

This is Zoe’s bow (that Ori borrowed), and this is how you can make your own:

You will need:
A nice thick branch (not too bandy not too stiff).
Straight branches for arrows
Utility knife
sand paper
Yarn
Fishing wire

How to:

Remove all leaves and small branches from your branch
Using a utility knife, carve away the bark
Smooth with sand paper
Wrap a portion of the branch with yarn; this is a great opportunity to get creative with the design
Notch a little wedge at the ends of the branch for the wire to rest
Tie the wire to one end, stretch as much as you can and tie to the other end.

TADA

Arrows:
Using a utility knife, sharpen one end of the sticks
Decorate with yarn or feathers

A game suggestions:
Mark lines with chalk on the side walk, give points to each line.
Stand back and shoot the arrow
Each player gets the points according to where their arrow lands.

Working with a utility knife can be dangerous, show your kids how to work with a knife safely (always carve away from your body). Make sure you supervise them.

Happy holiday
tali

Citrus are the fruits of splendor

2011-01-17T02:07:55-08:00

Tu Bishvat is when the citrus trees in Israel are filled with fruits, their braches are heavy with lemons and clementines, and the markets are painted with shades of orange and yellow. This is timed perfectly with the flue epidemic and can provide us with enough vitamin C to save us all.
The citrus family is called in Hebrew “Peirot Hadar” which means the fruits of splendor. And indeed they are. I was surprised to read at Wikipedia that Cultivated Citrus may be derived from as few as four ancestral species, can you try and guess which ones they are? (the answer will be posted with my next post). This is amazing considering the huge variety of citrus fruits in the markets, with new members joining the family every year.

^{our clementine tree}

I will be posting some activities and recipes for what to do with those fruits of splendor.
So get ready, and go get a full range of every citrus you can find.
I will be back (real soon).

tali

Fire

2010-12-02T13:17:56-08:00

On my way to pick up Ori from school today, I looked up to the sky to see a big gray cloud, not a rain cloud (I wish) but the smoke or dust kind; a thick mushroom like cloud that hovered over us and didn’t seem to be moving anywhere.
Later I found that there was a fire spreading through the hills of Mt. Carmel, about 15 kilometers from my house. When I looked up, I could actually see it (I still can). As the fire grew so did the devastation and sadness. The fire has already claimed lives and many acres of natural forest; hours later it is still out of control.
This is a national disaster.
I was going to write a post about “playing with fire” experimenting with candles, but I don’t think I can any more; all I can say is be safe.

^{Ori swinging at our friends secret picnic spot on Mt. Carmel (picture taken a year ago).}
tali

How-to: a dreidel from an Acorn

2010-11-29T01:03:50-08:00

When Zoe came home from school last Friday she was super exited. She rushed and opened her bag to show me a dreidel she made in class. Once she pulled it out I was as existed as she was. I am not sure what made me more existed the fact that Zoe understood the brilliance of this dreidel and wanted to share it with me so I can share it with you, or the simplicity, natural, easy to make, clean looking, and super spinning dreidel Zoe just showed me.
So here I am sharing this super easy tutorial with you.

You will need:

Acorn shells (smaller ones work better)
Modeling clay, you can find in any craft store. You could probably replace it with self hardening clay but I haven’t tried it.
Matches (the ones with the square section that come in a drawer box)

Yes, that’s it.

How to:

Break a small piece of the modeling clay and shape it to an elongated ball.
Stuff the clay into the acorn shell; give it a little shape at the top.
Place a match in the center of the modeling clay. Face down.
spin, spin, spin

What do you think?
I hope you have acorns in your area. Enjoy this.

tali

Spinning tops - Bits and pieces from around the web

2010-11-23T11:54:51-08:00

spinning tops made of skateboards

Japanese spinning tops via notcot

The biggest and finest selection of wodden tops I found at puccimanuli via elephantine

The drawing top

KleinReid for Herman Miller spinning set (for the designers in you)
optical mixer tops Designed by Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack

The Spinning Top & Yo-Yo Museum of Tops

Texas dreidel

I think I can see you smile...
Enjoy
tb

The Chanukah story animated - 'like'

2010-11-13T23:28:08-08:00

I found this via modern tribe.

G-dcast Spins Chanukah! from G-dcast.com

More Torah cartoons at www.g-dcast.com

tali

The Chanukah box

2010-11-10T02:42:49-08:00

Last week I pulled it out. A bit early I admit, 4 weeks before its time, I needed it for a post I was writing for kveller.com. On the outside its nothing fancy, a little beat-up shoe box, held together with a rubber band. But on the inside….a bundle of family memories. This will be the third year we have it, so I guess it is ok to call it a ritual - our Chanukah family box.

In this box I collect all the holiday chuchkes that we have been playing with or making over the 8 days of Chanukah (well…almost all of them).
Every year there is more going into the box, every year it is more exiting to open it.

2 clay menorahs
holiday cards
stained glass window decor
the dreidel game sack (a favorite) with some chocolate Gelt
the hovering experiment
the foil ornaments
paper strip dreidles

Chanukah is only 3 weeks away; you may click on any of the links above for a detailed tutorial.

tali

“The Dove Mobile” - the story behind the making…

2010-10-19T13:09:31-07:00

The same week I had Mika I was asked by a new Jewish parenting site (a very resourceful site) to be their guest blogger and write a couple of craft tutorials, featuring Jewish symbols. I was much exited to be doing them (even though all I could think of was - when can I take another nap?)
They gave me the freedom to choose the theme and the project, so I decided that the time has come to create a new mobile to hang over the new baby’s crib.
And what would be more suited for a hanging baby mobile then a dove and an olive branch as the symbols of peace.

The one thing I didn’t take into consideration was my bird phobia and my dislike of pigeons (dislike is a very kind word, and in Hebrew pigeons and dove are the same word – YONA). Yes, my phobia is severe - I will actually cross the street if I will see a pigeon poking in front of me. Something about them that I just cannot stand.
When I was designing the project I didn’t realize that this was going to be so hard. You should have seen me researching pigeon and dove pictures in order to come up with the right silhouette for Mika’s mobile. I literally had to walk away from the computer (more then once) feeling Nausea, but I was determent to get it done!
Once the “staring at pigeons” part was over, I could continue to enjoy making the mobile.

I did it and I think it looks GREAT.

Although I didn’t overcome my phobia, I did manage to draw up those silhouettes and finish up Mika’s mobile.

So Amy, this is probably why it took me so long….

I hope you all visit this great new site – www.kveller.com and make your own dove mobile because I am not giving Mika’s away.

tali

Dreams are maps

2010-09-16T02:31:23-07:00

There is a great Israeli stand-up comedian by the name of Adi Ashkenazi; I didn’t like her at first, I must say, but she really grew on me. She had one skit about birthdays where she said that birthday greetings turn very quickly to New Year wishes: “have a great year, a sweet year….blablabla”
This year I celebrated both the same day; Imagine, me and the world have the same birthday (and my x boss). My birthday wishes and the New Year wishes did end up being one. It felt very nice to get all the warm wishes for the New Year; I took them as my birthday wishes even if they were not meant to be.
Birthdays for me are similar to new years; I find myself looking back at what I have done the past year and what I am looking to accomplish in the next, you can call it New Year Birthday resolution. As the years go by (and I am not that old) I realize there are many dreams I once had that will never materialize; the ones that did, helped me set my path. Dreams are maps / Carl Sagan (could be a title for a great art installation).

I wish you all a happy new year
A year of dreams and accomplishments

And most importantly I wish you and your family a healthy year.

Tali

How-to make New Year cards ANYONE can make

2010-08-24T12:35:39-07:00

Sending a New Year card is a wonderful tradition. Regardless if it’s a hallmark card, a virtual card or a home made card, it is indeed a great way to catch-up with family and friends. I must say though, that there is something very special about a home-made Rosh Hashanah card. Although it takes a little extra effort to make them, and cleaning up is no fun either, the bonus of spending the time together as a family making the cards is priceless, not to mention the money you save and how much more personal your cards are.

Here is how we are making our cards this year;
It all begun with Ori who started painting with her entire body instead of using her brush to paint pomegranates….and we just followed her lead. This is a method that anyone can use, no matter how old or how skilled they are.

We are having fun making them, I hope you will too.

You will need:
Bristol board (heavy weight paper)
Tempera paint (washable)
Whole puncher in a shape of a dove, pomegranate, apple or any other Jewish motive that comes to mind
Scissors
Drawing tools
Envelopes
Glitter (for the brave ones)
Glue

This is how:

Part 1: Make the colored sheet of paper

Set up a table (preferably outside) covered with some newspaper.
Spread the sheets of heavy weight paper
Squirt some paint on the page
Smear
Add paint as your smearing progresses.
Set aside to dry.

Suggestion:
You may use a stick to draw in the paint while it is wet.

Part 2: Make the cards

Cut the sheet of paper so they fit the envelope size you chose. You can keep them one sided like a postcard, or fold them like a card.
Punch a shaped whole on the front of the card
Decorate with colored pencils or markers
Spread some glue and sprinkle some glitter
Add some blessing for the year to come

This is how you write Shana Tova (good year) in Hebrew:

Leak, stamp and send away…..

Happy New Year
tali

See more ways of making New Year cards here:
Shana Tova cards featuring the pomegranate

How to - apple stamps and glitter greeting cards

A book addiction

2010-06-13T12:33:17-07:00

Earlier this week a good friend of mine “accused” me of being a ‘compulsive book buyer’. I admit, it is an addiction and a weakness of mine, and that’s why I try and keep away from the book stores…

I am not sure when it all started, but I remember as a child, the excitement and the wait for the annual book week celebration. I can recall the crowds, the cotton candy, the tables at chest height, just tall enough for me to brows through the piles of books, ready to be taken home, and the smell of a brand new book that has never been opened before (I’m sure you know what I mean)

This week is the annual book week celebration in Israel, and I find that I’m far from being alone with that addiction. Everybody’s buying books and so am I!!
How can one resist a “buy one get 2 for free” deal!?

If you share my addiction, you may want to check out a friends blog - In Our Small Garden, she is doing a great job offering some children’s books and book store recommendations.

If you’re living in the LA area AND share my addiction….you can visit one of Israel’s most popular book stores – “Steimatzky” (located in the valley), but don’t say I didn’t worn you; the experience is a little bit different then shopping at “borders”. If you do end up going there, make sure to cross the street and get a cup of coffee (café hafuch) at the Aroma cafe for a complete Israeli experience.

If you're also a computer addict…you can find some Israeli literature translated to English at Amazon.

I am currently reading a book by Sami Michael – Aida. Unfortunately it hasn’t been translated to English yet, but you can find some of his other titles here:Sami Michael

what are you reading at the moment? anything good?

I am off to read my book now.
Night night

tali

#7 How-to make a newspaper basket (Teneh) for Shavuot

2010-05-15T22:46:29-07:00

One of the many great traditions of Shavuot is to make a Teneh (basket) filled with fruits and vegetables. I have never weaved a basket before (or at least I don’t remember so) but I was up for the challenge and so were the girls. A couple of months ago I visited a studio of a friend (Guy Lugashi) who weaved Huge baskets out of brown paper. Inspired by his work we started in a much smaller and manageable scale, using some left over newspaper that was lying around the house.

This is an easy tutorial and I think you will find wanting to make many more to use around the house for general storage purposes.

I found that weaving the basket is better for older children (7 and up), but if you have younger ones they will love helping out in the process and paint it at the end.

^{Zoe's Teneh}
You will need:

Newspaper
Scissors
Stapler or tape
Paints and brushes (optional)

How to:

Break the newspaper apart (take the center staples out)
Fold each sheet ,the long way, over till you get strips of about 1 1/2” wide. Folding the paper is important for making a strong and durable basket). the length is not that important, if your strips are too short, you may staple a couple of them together.
Start by weaving the base from the center out (we used 4 horizontal and 4 vertical strips). Stop when you think your basket is the right size.
Start to weave the vertical sides. Staple the first strip close to the base and go around the base lifting the strips up to a 90 degrees angle. Keep a consistent pattern of over and under. You may staple as you turn the corner (staples may be pulled out at the end).
Cut the access of newspaper strip
Repeat for multiple rows till you reach your desired height (our basket was 3 rows tall).
When you are done, fix the top row by stapling or gluing the ends. You may fold the edge inside or trim it into a pattern. Zoe cut it into triangles which I thought came out very nice.
Use another newspaper folded strip for a handle, weave it into the side of the basket and secure it.
You may paint it at the end, or decorate with flowers and other greens.
Use your Teneh to carry your lunch to school this week, or carry your Shavuot picnic supplies, Either way, Enjoy it.

I wish you a happy and delicious holiday.

Make sure you share some of your Teneh’s on the ecokids craft flickr pool.

linked on Craft Schooling Sunday

tali

Lag B’omer – kids craft activity

2010-04-28T05:25:03-07:00

Every child in Israel loves Lag B’omer (I don’t think I am overstating this). Besides the fact that it is a school holiday, it is also customary to have bonfires and play with bows and arrows.

Why? (your asking...)

I used to think it was to symbolize the victory of Bar Kokhba over the Roman’s (approximately 2000 years ago) but I have just been reading that there is a little more to it. The answer is wrapped with mysticism and mystery.
I’ll share the details with you on my next post. In the meantime you may want to take a look at the following craft activity. Be ware, you may get some dirt under your nails….

How to make a bonfire using modeling clay:

You will need:

Black construction paper (we didn’t have any so we painted some paper in black)
Modeling clay, make sure you have at least the following colors: orange, yellow, blue, and brown.
Oil pastels (optional)
Craft glue ( white glue)
Brush
Candle

How to:

Light the candle; watch the flame carefully and identify the colors it is made of, what is closest to the center of the flame and what is farthest.
smudge the modeling clay onto the paper in a way that will resemble flames. The modeling clay will stick to the paper.

^{Ori's(4) drawing}
Add layers of colors, slowly building up your bonfire.
Add some brown modeling clay for the wood
Complete the drawing with people around the fire, marshmallow on a stick, stars, sparks etc.
Using a brush, apply glue over the modeling clay, it will dry clear and protect your drawing.

^{Ori's (4) drawing}
^{Zoe's (7) drawing}

Variation:
we didn't have black paper so we used blue paper, and brushed around our clay with black water color. The clay is oil base and will repel the water based paint. If it gets too dark, you may wipe it off with a towel.

You may scrape the clay and oil pastels with a pointy object, to add more texture to your drawing.

I will be back with more, promise.

tali

linked on Craft Schooling Sunday

Israel Independence Day – double celebration

2010-04-21T13:02:04-07:00

Try to imagine, see if you can:
13 suitcases
4 carry-on laptops
1 over sized Bear that Oren won in Circus Circus in Vegas
1 long crowded security line
1 black cat, with no tail and 6 fingers, in an overpriced carry on
1 small (but loud) dog in a matching carry on
2 excited girls that are going to see their grandparents and cousins in approximately 16 hours
2 exhausted parents that are ready to take a long long nap, but know it is only a wishful thinking.

That was exactly a year ago, on Israel’s 61st Independence Day. The day we moved back to Israel after living in the US for many (many) years. It is very symbolic to move back on Independence Day, I know, but I will let you on a little secret – (whispering) El Al had some amazing fairs on that day, which we couldn’t refuse.

I can go on and on about the good and bad of living in Israel. I actually have, but I deleted it all. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter. I am here and so is my family - this is my home, and I feel good here (most of the times).

So now when we have a cake for Israel on her birthday (along lost tradition from my grandmother) the candles count our years of living here, and so far it is 1, many more to come (atleast 15 more)….

So here is Lechaim to Israel, and to us, and to you my dearest family, friends and readers, may this be a year of peace.

tali

How-to cut a Star of David

2010-04-14T12:20:44-07:00

5 paper folds, 4 cuts, that all it takes to make a Star of David. I found this great video tutorial via Kesem Hayetzira, the video is in Hebrew, so I made one in English.

Since Israel Independence Day is next week. Making flags is a nice way of celebrating; I hope you use this tutorial for making your flags.

I will let you in on a secret…I tried cutting the star few times before it came out right. So don’t give up. Its really easy once you get it. Watch the video few times if you need to.
I used blue copy paper which worked fine, if you can get thinner paper that would even be better.

tali

Our responsibility

2010-04-11T14:24:31-07:00

For over 10 years I have been finding excuses why not to read Erna’s book: The Survivor in Us All: Four Young Sisters in the Holocaust . Erna is Vivian’s mom my dearest second cousin who is like an aunt to me (she hates when I call her aunt… but she knows I only mean it because I love her so).
It is not easy to sit down and open a book about the holocaust, defiantly not one about your family. But I finally did.
I finished both books (she has 2) a couple of months ago. I couldn’t stop the tears, I couldn’t put them down. I only regret for not reading them while Erna was still alive so I could tell her how much her books meant to me. And how much I admire her strength to sit down and do it all over again in writing, so we - the future generation- will have some clue of what it was like.

We all have a responsibility of remembering the past as hard as it is sometimes, but we also have an even bigger responsibility of accepting the different and teach our children to do the same. Yes we are all different and that is why we need to try and find ways of celebrating those differences and enjoy each others' culture instead of fearing traditions we don’t know. We need to plant seeds of tolerance and acceptance instead of prejudice and narrow-mindedness.

SO...
Take your kids to cultural festivals (they are everywhere),
Try different foods
Listen to world music such as Putumayo Presents Series, one of our favorite CD's from that series is Dreamland: World Lullabies & Soothing Songs
Read to your kids books that celebrate tolerance such as It's Okay To Be Different . Or Let's Get Along!: Kids Talk About Tolerance
The Crafty Crow has recently featured a world craft series which you may enjoy also. This is the link: crafts from around the world

I would love to hear any other suggestions
Tali

What to do with your left over matzo…

2010-04-09T12:57:20-07:00

I love matzo, but I had enough for this year. Only one thing comes to mind when I look at the somewhat square panels – an opportunity for building something. And so we did.

You will need:
Left over matzo
Chocolate spread such as Nutella or Hashachar
Left over candy, marshmallow
Toothpicks - for making little people
A tray - use it as the base

How to:

Think of what you want to make
Cut the matzo along the breaking lines (below is a great short video of how to neatly break a matzo. To bad I found it after we were done)
Glue the panels using chocolate spread, you should apply a generous amount to hold it well.
Decorate with candy, make small people, play, eat.

Note:
this is not a ‘healthy choice’ project, but from our experience, building it became more important than eating it
This project can get a little messy, that’s why we did it outside.

After we were done, Ori decided it was her birth day and the castle was her birthday cake, so we played along.

There are more ideas of what to do with your left over matzo in the following video clip. Enjoy it.

tali

The taste of Passover

2010-04-05T14:04:44-07:00

This Passover was a vey special Passover for me. It was not about going to places, or traveling abroad (which could have been nice - a spring vacation in Paris -); it was not even about the Seder. It was simply about family and spending time together.
Try and imagine my parents, finally, see their 3 kids, 7 grandchildren, dogs and cats, come together after too many years of not being under one roof. We had so much catching up to do. We found our selves do nothing but eat, drink, admire the kids, and talk and talk and talk and do loads of dishes.
Looking at the future generation, I found my self enduring the past while drinking my sweet cup of instant coffee with broken matzo, just like I used to with my grandfather during the many breakfasts I had in my grandparent’s house over Passover.

Or making matzo brie for breakfast, using my grandmother’s secret recipe, and watch my girls eat it with piles of sugar just like I used to do.

Funny how I don’t remember even one present that I received for Passover, but the flavors - flood me with memories and a nice warm feeling.

What is the flavor of your Passover as a child? I would love to here your comments.

And with this sentimental note, I don’t think I can look at another matzo for another year.

tali