Conversations with Craft Wars Judge & Michaels’ Crafting Expert Jo Pearson!

It’s no secret that I spent the last few days in Dallas representing Craft Gossip at a blogger event. Check out my daily roundups from yesterday and the day before for a taste of what I got up to, the crafts all of us bloggers got to make, and some of the new products Michaels will be carrying this year.

Not unimportantly, however, was getting to meet and craft with Jo Pearson, known most recently for being a judge on TLC’s Craft Wars, and longtime creative force behind Michaels Stores’ craft inspiration sheets, online videos, craft cruises and more. She has a total dream job!

After breakfast on Monday, Jo answered some questions we all submitted before the event. I passed on the questions you guys submitted in the comments on this post, but wasn’t able to get answers to all of them since there were 15 of us asking just one person tons of stuff.

All about Craft Wars

A lot of the bloggers wanted to know about Craft Wars (even though one of us, Beckie of Infarrantly Creative, will be competing on an upcoming episode!). The scoop on Craft Wars is that it’s completely produced and owned by TLC. When they hadd the idea for the show, they approached Jo individually to be a judge. Since she also works for Michaels, she talkedd to the Michaels team about the opportunity. Long story short, Jo ended up being hired to judge Craft Wars, and Michaels seccured a spot as the supply sponsor for the whole thing.

Jo talked about the craziness of the Craft Wars TV set, and she had a couplle things to share right away. TLC does not decide who wins each episode, it’s completely up to the three judges. Jo also said that if it were up to her, she’d have picked out different supplies for the contestants to work with.

Members of Michaels’ PR firm were there for our group chat with Jo and helped answer a few questions too. Most notably, they said that Michaels doesn’t currently know if TLC is planning a second season of the show.

The Michaels Crafting Team

Jo heads up Michaels’ team of about 6 crafters who design the projects you see in stores, ads, classes, etc. Every day in Jo’s life is a little different, and she loves what she does. She said that she and her team are all passionate about what they do. “We craft from the inside out,” Jo says. “We’re makers.”

I meant it when I said she has a total dream job!

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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!

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