Recap of our Kwanzaa Celebration

Kwanzaa is a non-religious holiday that honors African-American people and their heritage. Everyone can join in the Kwanzaa celebration, which lasts for 7 days from December 26 until January 1.

Kwanzaa was started in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an African-American teacher. He wanted to help African Americans learn about their African history, culture, and customs.

Dr. Karenga took the name for the holiday from the Swahili word "Kwanza," which means "the first fruits of the harvest." The extra "a" was added so the name would have seven letters to match the seven principles of Kwanzaa. First harvest, when crops are gathered, is a time of great celebration in many regions of Africa. Like the first harvest, Kwanzaa is an exciting and joyful occasion.

Jaguar and I worked on many things to celebrate and to learn about Kwanzaa. We read a few books, and read stories to exemplify each meaningful day therein.



This is the Kinara that Jaguar made from homemade playdough, which was crusty in texture by the 7th day. A kinara is similar to that of the Jewish Menorah used on Hannukah to represent each day of the celebration. The middle candle is supposed to be black, the left three red, and the right three green, but we made due with leftover birthday candles used on our prior menorah.

Jaguar made a Bendera, which is the African-American flag that is displayed during Kwanzaa. The black represents African-American people, the red symbolizes their struggles, and the green stands for a happy future. We used dollar store felt and scrap yarn from my stash, and Jaguar sewed the 3 strips together. He utilized popsicle sticks to make the flag's handle. Sewing is great for dexterity and coordination, even for a 4-year-old.

African quilts are a customary part of the culture. Making quilts is a wonderful part of gift-giving during Kwanzaa. Jaguar and I picked out different African designs off of the internet, sized them, and printed them. He then meticulously colored each patch to his liking and put them together to form the perfect African paper quilt.

Jaguar created a woven place mat with common African colors, and he used this as his book cover. Within his book, he has numerous pages that include crayon-colored images of Africa, Kwanzaa scenes, and more. He also did matching activities, letter fill-ins, word fill-ins, write the Kwanzaa words, and more.



Happy (Belated) Kwanzaa!!!

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Top Holiday Gifts for Baby to Age 12

Baby
~Soft, cuddly animals or dolls, preferably made with a natural material.
~Stackable blocks or rings.
~Short tunnel for crawling practice.
~Soft baby rattle, preferably in an organic material (they are going to be chewing on it).
~Wooden cars or animals with wheels (great concept to learn at this stage).
~Nesting blocks, eggs, dolls, or bowls.
~Balls.
~Knit, crocheted, sewed, felted, or quilted item made especially for the baby in your life.

Toddler
~Wooden Blocks.
~Sandbox.
~Dolls.
~Tricycle.
~ABC Blocks.
~Step Stool.
~Wooden puzzles.
~Hand and finger puppets.
~Dress-up clothing and accessories.
~Variety of shapes of larger wooden building blocks.
~Wooden cars and animals with wheels.
~Books with short sentences. These should be about how things really are in everyday life. It is better to introduce fantasy after age 3, according to Montessori.
~Play toys that simulate real life: Kitchen sets, strollers, tool sets, etc...
~Knit, crocheted, sewed, felted, or quilted item made especially for your little one.


Age 3-6
~Child sized broom and dustpan and mop.
~Child sized kitchenware.
~Child sized gardening tools.
~Books that are a little more intesive. These books can be more imaginative now.
~Simple painting and building kits.
~Molding clay.
~Stencils and other drawing supplies.
~Connectable building sets.
~Art easel and other supplies.
~Wooden lacing dolls and animals.
~Practical life frames, such as lace tying, buttoning, zipping, etc...
~Age level games like checkers.
~Wooden train or car/street set.
~Marbles, jacks, jump rope.
~Again, knit, crocheted, sewed, felted, or quilted item made especially for your preschooler. This can be inspirational to their own interest in crafting.
~Materials for beginning knitting or sewing.
~Musical instruments.
~Dollhouse or treehouse.
~Bicycle.
~Fairly large letters for manipulation.



Age 6-9
~Knitting, sewing, quilting, looming kits and/or materials.
~Art activities.
~Basic pottery-making set.
~Musical instruments.
~Building construction sets.
~More coplex puzzles, like science or map selections
~Wooden puzzles that deal with fractions.
~Age appropriate science sets.
~Gardening/botany kits or supplies.
~Globe.
~More complex building sets.
~Sports equipment.
~More complex games, like chess.
~Archery set.


Age 9-12
~Stilts, unicycle, or a pogo stick.
~Trampoline.
~Sports equipment, like a snow board or stuff for volleyball or soccer.
~Chapter books, literature, poetry books.
~Sewing Machine.
~More compex crafts, like candle making.
~Craft supplies. For instance, yarn and accessories for the young knitter or lots of fabric for the experimental quilter.
~Wood working supplies (tools, materials, , accessories, books) for an aspiring woodworker.
~Musical instruments and a variety of music...or lessons.
~Architecture sets.
~Challenging, developmental games.
~Science and Nature sets.
~Journal or notbook for writing.

Autumn Leaf Quilts

Autumn is a time for cooking, crafting, family, nature, school...... I love getting back into sewing and knitting as the weather gets colder. I have not yet dove into quilting, but I have an itch to start looking into it. If there is something I love about autumn, it is the falling leaves and their beautiful colors. I looked around to find some free quilting patterns with autumn leaves and here are a handful with their corresponding links. Enjoy!


Autumn Leaves Frayed-Edge Quilt



http://www.advanced-embroidery-designs.com/projects2/guide_leaves_frayed-edge_quilt.html


Autumn Leaves quilt



http://www.jankrentz.com/download/autumn_leaves_pattern.pdf


Autumn Bounty borders quilt



http://quilting.craftgossip.com/free-pattern-autumn-bounty-borders-quilt/2009/08/08/