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Isn’t this adorable! It’s an advent Calendar made from mini hats and mittens. Now, before you say, “Duh, Terrye, isn’t that a bit obvious”, let me say this.
No. To me it wasn’t. I had to read the description. Ok, due to all of the recent snowfall, my mind may be a bit frozen.

But before you dismiss this as the “I don’t do an Advent Calendar” person I am, er, I mean you may be, think garlands, tree trimming, wrap arounds for stuff (thinking the vertical beams in my log cabin), gift packages… I loved it!

This time of year there are so many cool things to blog about, new patterns, tried and true recipes, don’t even get me started on the mulled wine issue!

So much knitting to do, so little time. As the Harlot says “You tempt the Christmas knitting fates and you get smacked!” She’s a stitch!

And, finally, because I have 2 new grand-dogs (pomeranians) this year and more time than brains), how about this? A Free Cat Hoodie Pattern! (These poms are way smaller than a lot of cats, work with me here). http://www.craftleftovers.com/blog/archives/774

That’s all I have to ramble on and on about today. Hope I’ve given you lots of knitting ideas!

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Hanukkah Unit Studies for Kids

Learning about Hanukkah is important for people of all faiths as a reminder that December isn’t just about Christmas and that their are many other important holidays that happen during this time. Hanukkah unit studies can give you ideas for incorporating the holiday into your holiday studies that happen in December, or to use at home for learning about people of different faiths.

Homeschool Superfreak has a lot of basic ideas for how to build a Hanukkah unit study, as well as FAQs about what Hanukkah is and why it is celebrated. This list is a good stargint point but doesn’t include all the details you’ll need. For example it says you can play the dreidel game but doesn’t explain how to do that or why it’s important. (If you need that information, this post from Mama Smiles is a good source.)

Teachers Pay Teachers has lots of great lesson plans and activities if you’re willing to pay a little bit to get some good content. Two I really like are this Hanukkah PowerPoint presentation from Shelia Melton, which provides a good overview of traditions, food and the history of Hanukkah; and a virtual field trip to Jerusalem from MagiCore, which includes lots of videos showing the city and activities like playing dreidel, drawing a menorah and making latkes. It’s a Google Drive folder and also includes writing activities and more for kids in second to fifth grade.

Kids Activities Blog has some simple printables with facts about Hanukkah and things kids can color in like a Star of David, sufganiyots (jelly doughnuts) and a menorah. These are great for learning the basics.

Homeschool Giveaways has a printable ebook about Hanukkah complete with questions kids can answer after they read. This would be a good one for older kids with good reading comprehension.

NurtureStore’s Hanukkah unit study includes a printable mini book, tons of crafts, as well as math and writing activities. I love the dominoes game that’s part of the unit.

And check out our previous posts for more Hanukkah crafts and learning activities!