hanukkah collage craft

Yesterday morning, two other moms and I spent some time in my younger son's classroom sharing Hanukkah traditions, eating latkes & doing an art project. The idea for this project was shamelessly borrowed from the blog Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish -- and the artwork created by these kindergartners & first graders was so gorgeous that I had to share it.

 

SUPPLIES
--  Large paper (12 in. x 18 in. was available in
     the classroom)

-- Colorful scrapbook or origami paper

-- Orange & yellow paper

-- A paper cutter (essential if prepping this craft for
    a classroom of 22 small children -- not essential
    if doing this craft at home).

-- Scissor

-- Glue stick

INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1 :: Cut strips of paper as follows: 2 in. x 14 in. for each hannukiah base, 2 in. x 2 in. for the shammash candle holder, 1 in. x 5 in. for candles (you will need 9 candles for each child's project).

STEP 2 :: Cut 1 inch strips of yellow & orange paper.  Then use a scissors to snip the strips into diamond & triangle shapes for the candle flames.

STEP 3 :: Set out the large sheets of paper, strips of colorful paper, and glue stick then stand back and watch as gorgeous collages are created.

NOTE: I was facilitating this project in a classroom of 5-7 year olds and we allotted approx. 20 minutes for the craft.  If we had had more time for the project, giving the children scissors to cut out their own candles would have been an option.  And certainly, if doing this project with older children, there is no need at all to pre-cut the paper into strips and they can cut the paper into strips themselves.