Showing posts with label Activites for Kids. Show all posts

I usually only have Olivia one weekend a month and I believe this coming weekend is my weekend with her. So, my plan is to make Imbolc Candles with the Witchlets.

I'm excited - I need to get my act together when it comes to practicing/teaching - and this is all part of it. Once we make the candles I'll post pictures and a tutorial )O(

The boys have destroyed just about every toy they have ever gotten for Yule already! CJ and I are so upset by this so we said no more toys this year - for birthdays at least, as well as no toys as random gifts throughout the year. We told them we would either make their gifts (favorite food, etc) or they will get clothes!

Now they want to do the same thing for everyone in the family, LOL. Every year for birthdays my uncle gets cigars, usually the Swisher Sweets brand, my mom gets flowers, my aunt gets clothes of some sort, my mom's boyfriend gets a gift card to Best Buy and my grandma gets candy - this is 'usually' sometimes it varies but not often.

Now we need to think outside the box and make birthday gifts for people. The first one on the list is my mom's boyfriend, Frank - his birthday is in April. This is going to be tough!

For Beltane, CJ and I took the kids to Spoutwood farm for a festival. This year, we did not encounter any protestors but we went on the first day of the festive during the week and not on the weekend. As I’ve blogged about before, the previous year we encountered several protesters that actually came up and grabbed our children.

This year it seemed like they had better crowd control as they had makeshift stanchions set up to guide festivalgoers to the entry gate. This seemed to increase safety and made it easier to navigate through the fields and gardens during the short walk from the parking locations to the gates.

CJ and I want to make our rounds at many festivals this year to get the kids excited about all of the festivities that surround our holidays. I can only hope that other festivals have everything under control like Spoutwood did this year.

I mentioned a while back that my Witchlets love to color so I was on the hunt for Pagan coloring books but I have not been very lucky in finding much at all; not in stores anyway. I did find a site online (WheeloftheYear.org) that has lots of neat Pagan coloring pages.

Usually I let the Witchlets pick out the ones they want and then print them. I have a pretty good printer and since only black is needed it is not too expensive to print these pages but I am still goign through a ton of hp laserjet ink cartridges and I feel like I'm nickle and diming myself to death.

Would love other suggestions for Pagan coloring pages or where I can find Pagan coloring books!

I gave Olivia her first Sabbat assignment. By Full Moon this month she needs to read about Imbolc and then write doewn, in her own words, what Imbolc is, colors and animals associated with it and then pick one craft and one recipe for us to make.

Every night she read before bed. She uses a flashlight or lantern light to read by. I told her I really wanted to get something to give her better lighting to read by but she like getting cozy in her bed and using what she uses.

Can't wait to she what she writes and to see what craft and recipe she picks!

Now that it's getting deeper into Fall and closer to Winter I have been trying to compile a list of indoor Pagan craft ideas for the Witchlets.

I slacked a lot last year and the Winter seemed to drag on. We didn't even get much 'fun' snow for them to play in. We got lots of sleet, freezing rain and well, slush! They played online games alot, which was okay because they played learning type games but this Winter I want them to be more active.

What do you do with your kids in the Winter to keep them busy? I'm looking for Pagan educational type ideas more than anything.

My eldest Witchlet, Olivia, is fixated on faeries. At her dad's, she has faerie doors by trees outside and doorways inside. Now she wants a faerie mailbox so she can send and receive letters to them. She wants one in her room and one outside.

I think having a few faerie mailboxes is a cute idea. I know she wants to do this now so I am trying to come up with some cool Mabon and Samhain decoration ideas for them.

I think having a mailbox for each season or Sabbat is a neat idea! We'd sure have a lot of faerie mail boxes but it's the idea behind this whole thing that I love!

My Witchlets love to color so of course I have been on the hunt for Pagan coloring books but I have not been very lucky in finding much at all; not in stores anyway. I did find a site online (WheeloftheYear.org) that has lots of neat Pagan coloring pages.

Usually I let the Witchlets pick out the ones they want and then print them. I have a pretty good printer and since only black is needed it is not too expensive to print these pages.

Would love other suggestions for Pagan coloring pages!

Apple candleholders are perfect for Lammas, Mabon and even Samhain. They are a wonderful way to decorate your altar for the Sabbats. They are very easy to make. I have made these on several occasions with Olivia and she has always had fun helping so this is definitely a good activity for a child.


You need: apples, some lemon juice and candles. You can use votive candles or tapered but if you use tapered, make sure they are not too tall. I usually go with 2-4"


What to do:

• Rinse and dry apples
• Stand the apple up on its bottom, and use a knife or a corer to make a hole in the top where the stem is located - go about half way down and make sure to widen the hold so it's the same width as your candle
  
• Pour some lemon juice into the hole and allow it to sit for ten minutes - the lemon juice can help prevent the apple from browning and softening too quickly
• After 10 minutes, pour out the lemon juice, dry out the hole, and insert a sprig of fresh herb - I've used rosemary and basil
• Add the candle. You can drip some wax inside the apple before inserting the candle to make sure the candle stays secure
  

We carved pumpkins last night! It was a beautiful evening so we carved them outside. Zyon and I had to help the Witchlets, of course. Can you believe this, they didn't want to get their hands dirty! Haha!

Here are some photos:

This is a fun activity you can do with your children to celebrate Mabon.

What you will need:
1 bag each of semisweet chocolate and white chocolate morsels (chips), broad leafed herbs such as mint, basil, celery, etc.

What to do:
Select your sprigs of leaves in the produce section of your grocery store or from your garden. Wash leaves thoroughly and pat dry. Melt chocolate with 2 tsp. of butter, stirring until smooth. Pour chocolate into small bowls and give each child a clean small paintbrush. Paint the underside of the leaves with the chocolate and place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate until firm. Slowly pull real leaves away from chocolate leaves.

Explain to your child(ren) how art is a reflection of the true beauty of Nature.