Glasswork in Sweden…Kosta Boda

I believe I was born to work with glass. I’m Swedish after all. The Swedes have been making glass for centuries. Their most famous glass studio is Kosta Boda, in Småland, Sweden. It’s “The Kingdom of Crystal”. It’s also where Pippi Longstocking lives but that’s a whole other story. I’ve been fortunate to have been to Kosta and Boda, which are two different glass factories. At Kosta I met the artist Olle Brozen.

Cool car by Olle Brozen

He does some really cool cast cars that are in the Kosta production line of art glass, as well as alot of other fine glass work. I got a quick tour of the hot shop and was able to watch the amazing workers create the production pieces that are sold all over the world. At the Boda studio I briefly got to meet the artist Kjell Engman. He was in a bit of a hurried mode since he was getting ready to go to the SOFA show in Chicago with his glass art.

I was absolutely in awe of the entire experience. The glass is from the sand of the area. It’s all created there. They color the glass themselves although the majority of the glass is transparent. Fabulous work. And the whole area is full of glass factories and schools. Another factory we saw that is also owned by Kosta Boda was Orrefors. They produce more traditional glassware. If you have the opportunity to travel to Sweden you have to check out “The Kingdom of Crystal”. The land where Swedish glass comes from!

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

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