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Taiana Giefer’s felted merino wool textiles

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I am a facebook fan of “ecco*eco” and almost every day they feature a new artist. Today it is Taiana Giefer who is a stunning designer using felted merino wool textiles. She is featured in The Moment Blog – NYTimes.com and her designs are marvelous and wearable and usable.  Taiana is a native of California and works in New York.  Throughout her life she has immersed herself in the world of art and textiles and is certainly is an up-and-coming designer.  All her designs are handmade by Taiana in the USA and you will never find an identical piece due to the organic process. Taiana Giefer is only 21 years old, but her edgy, felted merino wool textiles have already captured the attention of some pretty influential fashion folk.  Francisco Costa collaborated with the New York-based designer on custom fabrics for his fall Calvin Klein collection, and Rick Owens liked her cloud-soft creations so much that he decided to sell them at his Paris boutique. Giefer whose boyfriend is the artist and Abraxas Rex Jewelry designer Paris Kain also sells her hand-woven scarves, throws and blankets at Maxfield in Los Angeles. Each richly textured piece is one of a kind and takes up to a week to make. “I love creating things that are new and innovative, but really show off the handwork that went into them,” she says. Get them while they’re relatively affordable: prices start at $300 for a small scarf and go up to $3,000 for a large blanket or tapestry. Go to taianadesign.com for more information.

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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!