Hanukkah Crafts for Kids

Hanukkah is family time, and it’s a great time to do some crafting together. From star of David crafts to menorahs and dreidels, here are some fun options for Hanukkah crafts for kids.

If you want to make your own little dreidel out of clay, you can with these instructions from Moms and Crafters. They’re so cute, and the post is full of great tips to make a usable dreidel (and a link to the song because I know you’re singing it now, right?).

She also has some cute printable dreidel boxes, which aren’t for playing with, but they’re big enough to hold a little treat or be a decoration for your Hanukkah gatherings. How about a sweet garland of dreidels? I feel like I’ve shared this one before but she also has a super cute pipe cleaner menorah for kids to play with and “light.”

And while you’re playing dreidel, you’re going to need some gelt. Make your own out of paper with this simple idea from What We Do All Day. They have another take on the homemade dreidel using cardboard and a pencil, which is great because you don’t need any special supplies.

You could also try making a dreidel out of Legos, with instructions from the Legoland Discovery Center.

Get out your craft sticks and glitter to make this pretty (and easy for younger kids) Star of David ornament from 2 Paws Designs. Or make a three-dimensional star out of paper with the instructions from NurtureStore, which shows how to draw a six-pointed star with help from a compass and ruler, making this a sly little STEM project for older kids.

NurtureStore also has a cute paper plate menorah craft with printable candles. Or make a paper menorah with these instructions from No Time for Flash Cards. You can also make a Lego menorah (What We Do All Day) or make one out of an egg carton decorated by the kids (Kids Activities Blog).

Printables to Keep Kids Entertained for Hanukkah

Free Hanukkah Vocabulary Card Printable

Hanukkah Coloring Pages to Download

20 STEAM Educational Gift Ideas For Kids

Christmas STEAM Activities for Kids

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Hanukkah Unit Studies for Kids

As I write this, back to school time is right around the corner, and if you have kids going to school for the first time or who might need a refresher on what school is like, books can be a big help in calming fears and letting them know what to expect.

School Days by Fabiola Sepulvelda is a wordless picture book full of photographs of various things that happen during the school day, such as leaving home, getting off the bus, greeting your teacher, raising your hand to talk, circle time, reading, quiet work, lunch, recess, art and music, and greeting your parent at the end of the day.

This is a nice book to prompt conversations about the way things might look and things that might happen at school, and could also be used in the classroom to talk about routines and what happens each day. It’s meant to be for kids who don’t yet know how to read, but could be used with older kids as well.

Ready for School by Dona Herweck Rice and illustrated by Amanda Morrow follows a little girl through a day getting ready for school and thinking about all the things that happen at school. It covers things like calendar time, mat time, being read to, math (they’re learning to count to five), recess and art. She’s so excited to go she wakes her mom up and it’s still nighttime.

This one is good for kids who like reminders of how the routine goes (both getting ready for school and being there) and those who might be apprehensive about what’s going to happen or if it will be fun.

The same author has a series of books that are meant to be for ESL learners but would work for others as well. Welcome to School has photos and single words or short phrases for things you do to get ready for school, different ways you might travel there, greetings, morning meeting activities. people you might see at school (like teacher, student, custodian), places and objects you’ll find around school, things at recess and school rules (like line up and raise hand).

Your School Day uses longer phrases (“riding in car” instead of just “car,” for example) and older children in the photos. The routine is also for older kids and uses bigger words like announcements and equipment. It also shows photos of different subjects kids might study, different kinds of learning groups and more people and places you’ll find in school.

A Day at School is kind of in between these two, with older elementary students going through many of the same things. This one doesn’t mention morning meetings but also doesn’t use the level of vocabulary of the book for older kids. Either this one of Welcome to School would be fine to use with young kids who already speak English but might like to see all the things and people they’ll see at school.

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