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Painted Owl Candle

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painted owl candleI bought an old candle making kit because it included some funky plastic candle molds like an owl and a mushroom. It looks like it’s from the 70s as the box is intact and the family depicted resembles the Brady Bunch.

Shown here is my completed painted owl candle. (In case anyone wants to grab some acrylic paint, Craft Smart paint is 50% off this week at Michaels!)

The owl candle mold was easy to set up because it included clamps and a stand. The clamps and the stand simply slide into place and I was relieved that none of the wax leaked out.

I’ve done without a stand before, but it’s not always pretty. One of my candle making books suggested inserting the mold into sand if you don’t have a stand, so I’ll try that next time. It would be good to have that extra support on the larger molds.

Does anyone else use anything other than a stand? I’ve used books and chunks of wax, but I’m open to suggestions. If you always use mold stands, where do you purchase them?

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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!