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Showing posts sorted by date for query Kenya. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Kenya. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Exploring Spain 2 with Food, Crafts, Music and Dance


Last week I shared our first post about exploring Spain with food, craft and stories. Today we decided to explore it a bit more with some music, gazpacho and flamenco dancing and a flamenco dancer craft. 

We started by making some gazpacho. We combined the three recipes found in the same three cookbooks we used last time. Hazel enjoyed peeling and chopping the cucumber. We also pulled out the garlic press and the food processor, so she enjoyed it. She said the soup itself was all right, but really did not eat much. (The true test to whether she likes something is how much she eats. She always says things are good.) I on the other hand had two bowls of it for lunch.
Gazpacho Recipe:
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped
5 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
4 cups cubed bread with crusts removed first
4 cups cold water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano
juice of a lime

Put all ingredients in food processor and puree. Chill for a few hours and serve cold.


After making the soup, we read a bit more about Spain in the Fiesta Series Spain book. I wanted to read more so we could try the flamenco dance. Hazel loved doing this. We pulled out the fan we made last week as well as the one we bought in Epcot and her to castanets. Then we danced around the house to a CD of Flamenco Music from Spain that we got out of the library.
Hazel really wanted to do a craft today as well, so we made a flamenco dancer clothespin doll. I found the instructions at Making Friends. Hazel really enjoyed wrapping the string for the dress. While making this craft, we continued to listen to the Flamenco CD. Then t we listened to a playlist of songs from Spain from these CD's.

Overall we had fun learning a bit about Spain! Next month we will be "traveling" to Kenya. I hope you will join us! Plus next week I'll have a fun craft I found to keep track of all of these adventures.


Also for your own passport check out this link from Glittering Muffins and for a fun placemat, this link.

You also can check out these amazing posts or add your own Spanish adventure here. 

Sharing Saturday 13-8

Wow, we have been enjoying school vacation week up in New England. This week we went to visit my parents for a few days. I caught up with my visiting last week's shared posts and once again the creativity of all of you is amazing! If you have not had a chance to visit all 85 of the shared posts, you should. I am so inspired. In fact I used a recipe shared for dinner tonight (see my Facebook page for more information).

This week there is no most clicked. When I last checked it was a four way tie. So neither Michelle nor I will be featuring a most clicked. But make sure you go check out Michelle's features since hers are different than mine. Just visit Having Fun at Chelle's House. Now onto my features. Here are a few of my favorites from last week.


1) From Happy Hooligans: Homemade Cardboard Construction Set -- I love this and want to make one for Hazel! How fun and such a great way to recycle!
2) From Living Montessori Now!: Montessori Inspired Study of Africa -- This is a wonderful round-up of some hands-on activities to study Africa. It seems like a great topic to study during Black History Month.
3) From Zing Zing Tree: Pebble Art  -- Ok, it may be the Waldorf education choice, but I love the creativity with nature here.
4) From ArtClubBlog: Paper Circle Crafts -- Oh, so much fun and creativity, plus getting to play with a new craft toy. Enough said!
5) From Buggy and Buddy: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Necklace Craft -- Oh adorable is this. I love it!
6) From Mums make lists: My Mum's Maths Manifesto -- Ok, I know this one is because I'm a former math teacher, but I love her Mum's reasoning and explanations! I want to find some time to explore some of her other math posts.


Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! If you were one of the ones picked as a feature here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.
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My Week in Review:
This week I shared a Caribbean Cinderella, our first book for this month for the Virtual Book Club for Kids--Bartholomew and the Oobleck, my first Easter Peg Dolls, Royal Clothespin Dolls and two children's books--one is an update of my Christmas in Kenya post, and the other is a new favorite for winter.
 
 

Now for This Week's Party 
 
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow Crafty Moms Share and Having Fun at Chelle's House via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the newly updated button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.
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4) I would love it if you would follow me on Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest as well as Having Fun at Chelle's House at Facebook and Pinterest
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Having Fun at Chelle's House permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest

Christmas in Kenya in February


You may remember I participated in Christmas Around the World and I shared about Christmas traditions in Kenya. Well after my post was published my friend, Andrea, from Ziezo - Crafting and Living in Kenya  and her Esty store, Ziezo, sent me a book one of her friends wrote. Now Andrea was a huge help in my previous post since there is not much available in the United States or on line about Christmas in Kenya. Her friend's book, A Kenyan Christmas by Aunty Kiko however is a wonderful resource, so I want to share it with you even though it is February and not near Christmas.
This is a wonderful story about a Kenyan girl named Akinyi. She cannot wait for Christmas (like all Christian children). It tells how she and her family prepare for Christmas. She is waiting for the short rains to end. She has helped her mother plant the garden with sweet potatoes and sukuma (kale) and is wondering about the plants as she listens to the rain fall on the tin roofs. When the sun finally comes out she notices jacaranda trees are bare and the hornbills have flown away.
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Her family goes out shopping for Christmas gifts for family and friends. There are many Christmas fairs to shop at and the schools are closed and decorations fill the shopping centres. She also wonders abut Christmas Mama, Baba and Toto. I would guess they are the Kenyan equivalent to the American Santa Claus and they are pictured on the cover of the book.
Hornbill (Source)
Akinyi wonders what her family will do for Christmas. They may travel to the village to visit her grandfolks like so many Nariobians or go the beach for the New Year or go on a safari. She knows no matter what they decide it will be a special family time which will include new clothes and new shoes for the new year.
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Kale (Source)

In the mean time, her family decorates a tree and then goes swimming and has long cool drinks. Nairobi begins to slow down as people leave to go visit their families in their villages. The buses leaving Nairobi do not have empty seats.
Our Mandazi

Finally it is Christmas. Every kitchen is full with happiness. The cupboards store juices and goodies. On Christmas morning her family has mandazi and sweet chai (see my original post for a recipe and our experience making mandazi). They sing a few songs and tell stories about Christmas and of course open their zawadi (gifts). Then they wait for their visitors whom they will feed.

Doesn't that sound like a lovely Christmas? Now, A Kenyan Christmas is available for sale, however I have had trouble finding an on-line site that sells it. Creative Parenting is the site to purchase it, but is in the middle of re-organizing. If you are interested in purchasing see the comment below from Aunty Kiko (the author).

Sharing Saturday #50

Wow, once again I'm blown away by the amazing ideas shared last week! If you have not had a chance to visit them all, you should. I found it so inspiring and am definitely going to be trying some of them. I know this week I have not been on-line as much and thus not blogging as much and for that matter we haven't been doing as many crafts. This weekend I am taking some time to spend with my family and prepare for the holidays. Since Hazel's birthday is right after Christmas I always feel a bit stressed at this point. Plus I'm mostly handmaking all of her gifts for both Christmas and her birthday. What was I thinking? I will be sharing more soon.

Click picture to go to post!
Last week there were many along the same themes, but here are a few of my favorites (one is very similar to another one from 2 Big, 2 Little so I featured the other one since she already had the most clicked).

1) From Gift of Curiousity: DIY Christmas Snow Globes (Such an easy way to make it)
2) From Life with Moore Babies: D is for Dentist (I love this experiment and we will be trying it!)
3) From Little Wonders' Days: Gingerbread Playdough Activity (Great seasonal activity)
4) From Keitha's Chaos: Cutesy Elf Decorated the Bathroom (What a cute Elf on a Shelf)
5) From Vixen Made: Stamped Christmas T-Shirt (Love the ease of this!)
6) From Stay at Home Educator: A Felt Nativity Story (Definitely going to make this one!!)
7) From Housing a Forest: Stained Glass Nativity (Love this one as well!!)
8) From April's Homemaking: Easy Paper Angel (So sweet and simple!!)

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here or earlier this week, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.
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From Your Hostess:
Christmas in Kenya





Now for This Week's Party A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  
Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.
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4) We would love it if you would follow us on Facebook and Google+
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest

Christmas Around the World - Christmas in Kenya


I joined an amazing group of bloggers put together by Beth at Living Life Intentionally to present Christmas Around the World. Each blogger is presenting how Christmas or a winter holiday is celebrated in different countries around the world. Some will be writing from their own experiences and some, like me, will be writing based on research. Today I present Christmas in Kenya.
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Happy Hanukkah


Sharing Saturday is still open. Please stop by to see the features, share your child-oriented posts and be inspired by the amazing ideas shared!

With all my Christmas excitement, I thought it would be nice to include a Hanukkah post. I grew up in a town that had a large Jewish population, so I often think of the Jewish holidays. Since I am scheduled to do my Christmas in Kenya post for the Christmas Around the World series Monday, I will have two Multicultural Monday posts, but this one will be on Sunday.
Sharing Saturday Feature--from Boy Mama Teacher Mama: Clothespin Menorah

A little history about Hanukkah. I'll be honest, I did not know the story behind Hanukkah though I am sure I must have heard it at some point. I took some books out of the library to help me with it.

 
A World of Holidays: Hanukkah by Anne Clark, David Rose, and Gill Rose gives much information on the holiday historically as well as currently. So the story is a long time ago (more than 2000 years ago), a Syrian ruler of Israel, King Antiochus, demanded that everyone in his land believe in the Greek gods instead of the one Jewish God. He actually made it a crime to teach about one God and the punishment was death. He also sent his soldiers into the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem on their horses and put a statue of Zeus in there. He also ordered the soldiers to make pig sacrifices to Zeus in the temple. These acts made the Temple unholy for the Jewish people. Well a priest named Mattathias and his sons refused to give up their own beliefs. They fled to the hills and took the small number of Jews with them to remain loyal to their religion and to fight the Syrians. After Mattathias died, his son, Judah, led the Jews. Even though the Jews were outnumbered they continued to win battles and eventually defeated Antiochus and his men. They returned to their homes in Jerusalem and began to cleanse the temple so they could rededicate it to God. While cleaning it they found a jar of oil that had been used to keep the menorah lit. Antiochus had his men distinguish the flame since the light of the candles represented God's presence to the Jews. This jar of oil was enough to keep the candles lit for a day, but it would take much longer to get more oil. However they lit the candle using the oil (which was made from olives) and the miracle occurred--the lamp stayed lit for eight days!
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This is why Hanukkah lasts for eight days and is often called the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah means "rededication". The festival starts on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar. The candles are lit at sunset at each night of the eight nights. (The first night this year is/was Saturday the 8th.) The first candle is placed on the right side of the hanukiah (which many people refer to as the menorah), and each night after that a new candle is added to the left. An extra candle, the shamash or servant candle is used to light the other candles and then placed in the center of the hanukiah. Forty four candles are need in all to celebrate. The candles are lit left to right so the newest one is lit first.
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Latkes or potato pancakes and doughnuts are traditional foods for Hanukkah. The reason being the oil required to cook them. An easy way to introduce children to Hanukkah would be to make some latkes. There are recipes all over the web as well in many books. I have not made them since I was young so I will not attempt to share one with you.

Other ideas for introducing Hanukkah to children:
 
 Hanukkah by Miriam Chaikin tells the story of Hanukkah in great detail and explains how to celebrate it.






It's Hanukkah! by Jeanne Modesitt tells how a mouse family celebrates the holiday. This is a great book for young children to understand how families actually celebrate. At the end of the book there is the history of Hanukkah, how to light the menorah including blessings, how to play dreidel, as well as a recipe for latkes and the words and music to O Hanukkah words by A. Evronin.









Sharing Saturday #48


Once again, there were some amazing ideas shared last week. If you have not had a chance to check them out, please do so! There were many Thanksgiving crafts and ideas shared. I know I pinned them for next year. Click on the Most Clicked picture to see the post!



With December starting, I know I have Christmas and winter on my mind. Plus Sunday starts Advent this year, so I decided to feature a few of the Christmas/Advent/Winter posts shared.
1) From Wesens-Art: Advent Calendar
2) From De Gulle Aarde: Cup Cookies
3) From Making Boys Men: Using Kids Art for Christmas Cards
4) From Taming the Goblin: Snow Play (Indoors!)

A few of my other favorites as well:
1) From Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk, Native American Salt Sticks Evaporation
2) From E Strea Chikitu: Needle Felted Star Tutorial
3) From I'm not a trophy wife: Fun Word Cloud Project (introducing another free word art site like Tagxedo)
4) From Ziezo - Crafting and Living in Kenya: Dyeing Wool with a Child

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.
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From Your Hostess:
Winter Pants: Yellow Ducks and Red Snowflakes
Now for This Week's Party   
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post.
3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

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4. Optional: Like us on Facebook and Google+
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest

Sharing Saturday #39



Wow, I had a very hard time choosing features this week. There were so many wonderful ideas shared last week!! If you have not had a chance to check them all out, please go do so and leave some comment love (you know we all love getting comments)!


Ok, I loved these toadstools over at Happy Whimsical Hearts. Apparently I wasn't the only one!!

These week themes seemed to come in pairs, so here are some pairs I saw.
Banana Theme
Bottom From Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk: Monkey Loves Bananas (Lots of neat ideas!)
Lavender Theme
Bottom From Adventures at Home with Mum: Lavender Rice Mini Zen Garden (A chill out area instead of a time-out--Love it!!)
Play Dough Theme
Bottom From Play Through The Day: Cinnamon Spice Play Dough (Oh, how we love scented play dough!)
Pirate Theme (in honor of talk like a pirate day)
Top From We-Made-That: Pirate Flag (I love the bow on the skull!!)
A Very Hungry Caterpillar Theme
4) From Art Mama Says: Duck Puppet (Ok, how could I not feature this one for Hazel?)
5) From Creative Connections for Kids: Melting Crayons (Ok, I know we have seen this many times, but she adds a fun twist!!)
6) From Happiest Mom on the Blog: Dancing Raisins (Such a neat experiment!)



Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.
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From Your Hostess:
Preparing for Michaelmas: Inner Dragons (including an original story) and Harvest


 
Now for This Week's Party   
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post.
3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

Photobucket

4. Optional: Like us on Facebook and Google+
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest
All right everyone...This is a PARTY!! Have Fun!!