A teaching tool to Celebrate Hanukkah. Make a Handprint Menorah with Children

I am Christian but I am acutely aware of  Hannukkah during the Christmas Season. The teachings and traditions and history are sobering and beautiful and humbling, to say the very least. Even if you are not Jewish, making this darling Menorah would be an excellent teaching tool for you to talk with the little ones in your life about the importance of Jewish history to all of mankind. After all, Jesus was Jewish - all of His life and until the day He died.

If you're wanting to celebrate Hanukkah with little children, but you don't want them around candles or fire (who does), this is a fun craft to include them in your Hannukah celebration. They can glue on a little fuzzy pom pom each night for eight days of Hanukkah. When this year's eight days are complete, why not tuck this adorable craft away - some day you will be able to pull it out of a box and talk with your grandchildren about the importance and significance of the traditions associated with Hanukkah.

If you are a little rusty when it comes to Jewish history, let your cursor take a walk here. History.com has a lovely presentation titled The History of Hannukkah.

Supplies needed for Handprint Menorah

- cardstock paper
- craft paint or acrylic paint
- paint brush
- paper plate
- fuzzy pom poms
- yellow triangles, mine are craft foam stickers
- hole punch & ribbon

1. Pour a little blue paint onto the paper plate. Using the sponge brush, paint your child or grandchild's hand. I like to paint their hands so it coats all of those chubby, adorable little crevices. You can have them press their hand into the paint on the plate if you would like, but it's a little more messy.

2. One hand at a time, guide and press each child's hand on the paper. Being very careful with the first hand (so as not to get paint on anything), do the same thing again with the second hand: paint, guide, press. You'll want to make the thumbs overlap, so it's only 9 places for candles, not 10. The thumb candle in the middle represents the "shamash" or the worker candle that lights the other candles during Hanukkah.

3. Decorate your paper with Jewish stars forming two yellow triangles on top and opposite of each other (see illustration).

4. To light the menorah for each day of Hanukkah, glue on a fuzzy pom pom. Instead of pom poms, you could also get out some yellow paint and use the child's thumbprint for the flame or they could put on a triangle sticker or simply draw a candle's flame for each night.

5. Add letters to spell Hanukkah on the paper at the bottom. Punch two holes at the top and tie ribbon to make it a hanging banner.

I'm including a suggestion for a fun book to read to children to teach them about Hanukkah: Hanukkah a Counting Book by Emily Sper. Enjoy teaching and celebrating Hanukkah with your children. They'll love being able to help with the process.

PS: Why don't you prepare a batch of Spiced Milk Punch before you sit down the the kiddos. I guarantee - you will ♥ this stuff!