Let them decide.

My mother has sewn, crocheted, knitted, and done practically everything else her entire life. When I was young, she tried to get me interested in crafting, but it just wasn’t my thing. I remember when she tried to teach me to crochet, it wasn’t a pretty sight! It just wasn’t my time. Now, I love to craft, though I still can’t crochet! My daughter, on the other hand, loves to make things. Her very favorite thing to do is to draw and she is very talented if I do say so myself. I guess what I’m trying to say is introduce new things to your children. Show them that there are many creative outlets and help them find the one they enjoy the most. They may be like me, Lord help them, and not discover the joys of crafting till later in life, or they may be like my daughter and want to learn how to do something new all the time.

Why don’t you start off with this easy project. (This project is recommended for children ages 4 and up. Parental supervision is required because of the use of an iron.)

Here’s what you need:

Wax Paper
Crayons
a pencil sharpener
scissors
ribbon
a hold punch
an iron
2 brown paper bags

Tear off a piece of wax paper about a foot long and place it on top of a brown paper bag. Let you child peel the papers off of the crayons and then “sharpen” them with the pencil sharpener over the wax paper. These are the shavings that will create their sun-catcher. Make sure the shavings don’t pile up too high because it makes it difficult to iron. When your child has a look he likes, place another piece of wax paper over the shavings. Now you should lightly press over the bag with your warm iron. Peek to see how well the shavings are melting to determine if you need to turn the heat up on your iron.

Once the paper has cooled to the touch, with safety scissors, let your child cut out shapes like hearts, stars, crosses, you get the idea. You may want to trace the shapes and allow your youngster to cut along the lines. The final step is to punch a hole at the top, thread the ribbon through, and hang your child’s work of art in a sunny window. His face will light up when he sees how proud you are of him. Don’t forget to make one for Grandma!

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.

Have you read?