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Striped Chocolate Cherry Valentine Candles

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Chocolate Cherry Striped CandlesMy family thought that these striped chocolate cherry candles smelled divine when they came home. They were disappointed when they realized I wasn’t actually baking any sweets though!

For this project I used about a half pound (230 g) of premixed container soy wax. Then I split that in half so that I could add different scents and colors to each.

Half a chip of brown and red candle dye went into each once I took the soy wax off the burner.  Then,  I added the candle fragrance. Next time I’ll probably go heavier on the brown dye.  Chocolate fudge and cherry seemed to suit Valentine’s Day, so I used about a teaspoon of each scent.

This soy wax doesn’t need to be heated above 150 F (65 degrees Celsius) and it’s so much easier to clean than paraffin wax. Other benefits are that it sets fast and holds more fragrance. I only had to wait for about twenty minutes for it to set enough so that I could pour the second color to create the candle stripes.  In keeping with the Valentine’s Day theme, I finished by gluing a red heart rhinestone to the candle holder.

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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!