Craft Gossip

The largest independent craft review site since 2007

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Hi!  I am the new Jewelry Making Editor for CraftGossip.  Here is a tiny bit about me, for more please see my bio on the editors page which should be up soon:

I have been beading since I was 5, sitting on the floor of one of my Mom’s best friend’s living room wrapped in a blanket with the sniffles, listening to Chicken Soup for the Soul on a record, stringing plastic white and purple beads into a necklace for my Mom and feeling like I had totally found my element.

That was just the tip of the iceberg in my love affair with jewelry.  I trained as a jeweler at UMass Dartmouth and made personalized tiaras, went on to write my Masters thesis on jewelry collecting, and then went to work for the Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in London, where I worked for over 4 years.

I am now a stay at home mom with a wonderful little boy and a little girl on the way and write a blog on contemporary jewelry in my spare time, which you can find here.

I love all things jewelry and will do my best to include here posts on different techniques, styles, artists, materials and exhibitions to name a few – but be sure to drop me a line if there is anything specific that you want to read about.  Below are a couple of images of my work to get to know me by

.Tiara by Katrina Morris Square Ring by Katrina Morris

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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!