Hanukkah Menorah Kids' Craft

There’s a Hanukkah story that we’ve told in our house for the past few years. We are an interfaith faith, and my very lucky son gets to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. One year (when he was 6) we were lighting the menorah. I’m not exactly graceful, and somehow managed to knock one of the candles out of its holder and onto the table. Oh yeah, and it was lit. My son sprung into action. I suppose all of the birthday cakes (seriously, there have been a few years when he got three – one at home, one with his friends and one with extended family) have helped him to build excellent candle extinguishing skills. He quickly blew out the candle and as he says, “Saved the house from catching on fire.”

This menorah activity for kids is much less flammable than the real thing. Seeing as it’s made from reused cardboard tubes, paper and paint, it’s totally flame-free. This is a favorite holiday craft of mine. It’s bright, festive and even teaches the kids a lesson on being environmentally friendly (they will need to save and reuse cardboard paper towel tubes). As a bonus, you can extend the artsy fun for the full right days of Hanukkah. Your child can add a new tissue paper flame each night!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        3 cardboard paper towel tubes

·        1 piece of poster board

·        Clear-drying school glue

·        Tempera paint

·        Wax paper—It makes a great palette for the paint.

·        Yellow and orange tissue paper

·        Scissors
 

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Cut the three tubes into nine segments. Your child will have one for each candle, plus an extra for the Shamash (or helper middle candle that lights the other ones).
 

2.     Line the cardboard tubes up on the paper to make sure that they fit. Because your child is dividing three tubes into nine parts, each segment will be equal (sounds like a great opportunity to do something math, right?). Your child will need to move the helper candle cardboard tube up a few inches higher than the others so that it looks taller.

3.     Pick up the Shamash tube and have your child flatten it a bit (not all of the way, just enough to make it easier to glue onto a flat surface). Squeeze a few lines of glue on the flattest part.

4.     Press the tube down onto the poster paper.
 

5.     Repeat this step for the remaining eight candles.

6.     Pour the paint into golf ball-sized pools on the wax paper. At this point you may be wondering, “Why didn’t my child paint the tubes first?” Well, she could. If she wants to. I’ve found that it’s easier to glue the tubes onto the flat poster board before they’re painted. That way none of the paint flakes off or smears.
 

7.     Finger paint the tubes. Your child can do solid finger prints or she can mix and blend the hues.

8.     Let the paint dry.
 

9.     Tear the tissue paper into pieces that roughly 2x2-inches. There’s no need to measure, simple use the size as a guide.
 

10.  Dab the glue onto the poster board above the cardboard tube. Press the paper onto the glue.
 

11.   Repeat each night for a new candle!
 

Are you looking for more winter holiday activities? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

Follow Mini Monets and Mommies's board Winter Activities for Kids on Pinterest.