Christmas Crafts

I love giving kids art supplies and just letting them make whatever they can come up with from their own imagination.  Jasper does like doing these open ended art projects, but he also has a real fondness for the kind of crafts where both the materials and the design are planned for him.  Christmas is a great time to give him a chance to do them.  We went to two of our favorite places for kid's crafts.  One was ScanFair.  ScanFair is one of the best folk festivals in the Northwest.  There are several Scandinavian folk dancing groups that perform there every year, and Leikarringen of Portland is especially popular with homeschoolers (with or without Scandinavian heritage, all are welcome).  Here are some pictures of Jasper making a cool Viking ship.

We love the historical reenactments at Champoeg State Park, and Christmas is especially fun.  Kids can weave God's eyes, make handkerchief dolls, make a ball and cup game from wooden branch rounds and an acorn, make a lavender sachet from real wool and lavender, thread a cranberry and popcorn garland, make an evergreen and holly swag, decorate a cookie, make a pomander ball from a clementine and cloves, and other real pioneer crafts.  Volunteers are all dressed in pioneer clothes, and lively pioneer music fills the air.  Ladies from the Portland Lace Society make lace the old fashioned way, which is really fun to watch.  

Making a ball and cup game.

Making a wool and lavender sachet.