Snow is one of those magical wonders to children. I never got to see much of it growing up in the Bay Area, but now that we live up the mountain, east of Sacramento, we experience it at our own home in the Winter. We also enjoy driving up further to the Crystal Basin area and sometimes even Tahoe. With the little ones and little money while my husband is in school, we just enjoy the simplicity of Mother Nature's icy downpour. We build lopsided snowmen, make snow angels, crunch it between our fingers, explore, throw snow balls, and best of all, sled! Even if you don't live in the snow, it is such a priceless experience for little ones to at least visit it. There is supposed to be quite a bit more coming this season, so get out and play with your children. Taste it, feel it, jump in it, run in it, build with it, throw it......Possibilities are endless. Jaguar is determined to build a "snow fort" when it snows again. I said, "How about an igloo?" and he concured.
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.
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