Paper Plate Ring Toss

Remember playing ring toss at the county fair? Bring that fun home with this homemade version of your carnival favorite. Cut out the centers of paper plates, paint them, and you've got rings ready to be tossed! This game is a fun way to teach young kids about direction and number values, or teach older kids about addition! It's a great creative project to do any day you're yearning for the fair, and it stops boredom in its tracks!

What You Need:

• Paper plates (4-8)
• Black marker
• Scissors
• 3 bottles (glass or plastic)
• Sand, or water
• Tempera paint
• Paintbrushes

What You Do:

1. Cover the surface of your workspace with newspaper to protect your furniture from paint.
2. Have your child cut out the center of each paper plate. The border that remains will be the paper rings.
3. Using the tempera paint, have him paint each ring a different color. Encourage him to paint different designs and patterns on each ring. Allow the paint to dry completely.
4. Help him to fill the bottles with water or sand to help weigh them down so they don't tip during the game.
5. Have him use the black marker to write ascending numbers on each plate to create a point system, such as: 1,2,3 or 10, 50, 100.
6. Place the bottles on the floor, allowing enough room between each bottle which will allow the rings to land over the bottle without interference.
7. Give each of the players the same number of paper rings.
8. Have the players stand a few feet away from the bottles and toss the rings.
9. Add up the number of points for each ring that is successfully tossed over the bottle. Whoever ends up with the most points after all the rings are tossed is the winner!

Lomnice Biscuits are traditional pastry in Czech Republic

Lomnice Biscuits are traditional pastry goods named after their place of origin, the town of Lomnice nad Popelkou. They have been popular and sought-after sweets for more than two hundred years. In the middle of 2007, they gained a trademark of the European Union.

Biscuits have probably been produced in Lomnice nad Popelkou (map) since before 1800. In 1810, there were 20 small biscuit producers registered in the city. The most famous and largest of them was the company of the confectioner Michal Jína and his sons Antonín and Josef. The popularity and renown of their biscuits soon spread outside the borders of Bohemia and reached Austria-Hungary, as well as other European countries, and even as far as the USA. The biscuits won the “Grand Prix” at the 1927 World Expo. In 1948, the production premises were nationalised. The company went back to private ownership in 1989, when it was privatised by the company Nestlé, which terminated production in 1994.

A year later, the production of the traditional Lomnice Biscuits was revived by the company Vekos. Soon after, many other producers joined in and in 2005 the Association of Lomnice Biscuits Producers was founded. It is dedicated to maintaining the traditional recipes and procedures and the trademark of the product. The production of Lomnice Biscuits is very complex in relation to the handmade procedures, and it is virtually implausible to automate it. The biscuits are baked twice but are covered in powdered sugar before the second baking, which also makes them easily distinguishable from ordinary biscuits.

In 2007, Lomnice Biscuits gained the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of the EU, which ensures that the product is made only in a particular geographical area and guarantees the uniqueness of the products to the customer.

Czech Holidays and Traditions

February 2: Hromnice
Similar to Groundhog Day, Hromnice roughly marks the middle of winter and is linked to dozens of weather-related proverbs and predictions.

March 19: St. Joseph's Day
Josef is one of the most common Czech names and sparks annual celebrations around the nation.

Easter
Read about Czech Easter customs, symbols, and the yearly Easter celebrations in Prague.

April 30: The Burning of the Witches
This peculiar Czech custom that says a final farewell to winter can still be witnessed in many Czech villages.

May 1: The Day of Love
May 1st is a day devoted to lovers and the Czech romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha.

July 5: Day of Slavic Missionaries Cyril and Methodius
July 6: John Huss Commemoration
The "July holidays" honor three important names of Czech history.

November 2: All Souls' Day
Czechs visit cemeteries to remember and pay respects to their deceased loved ones.

December 5: St. Nicholas Tradition
St. Nicholas Day, an exciting holiday for children, reminds us that Christmas is not far.

December 24 - 26: Christmas
Learn about Czech Christmas customs and superstitions, see how the holidays are celebrated in Prague, and find out how to write your own Christmas card in Czech.

Make a Parachute Toy for KIDS

Looking for an outdoor distraction? Make this parachute toy! You probably have all the supplies you need, without a scramble to the store, and this activity is a blast. Plus, it gives kids an excuse to investigate and experiment—the backbone of kindergarten science.

What You Need:

• String
• Bandana or small piece of cloth
• Button with four holes
• Pipe cleaner, small stone, action figure or other small objects

What You Do:

1. Build the toy: Cut four equal pieces of string, about 18-24 inches in length. Thread each string through a separate hole in the button, then tie them together, leaving a few inches trailing at the bottom.
2. Lay out your bandana or cloth and stretch the other ends of the strings, taping one string to each corner of the bandana. Voila! You've got a parachute.
3. Make predictions: Ask your child what he thinks will happen when you drop the parachute. Will it matter if you drop it from a high height or a low one? Will it matter if you attach a stone or other object underneath the button? Will any of these things affect the speed the parachute falls or the path it takes? Have your child make predictions. Then take the chute out for some experimentation! Attach a figure weaved out of the pipe cleaner. Next, tie on something heavier. Drop the parachute from various heights and angles. What happens?

This is a great way for kids to explore and experiment, key elements of early science…and a lot of hand-on fun!

Leaf Banner

Capture a bit of fall and make a beautiful banner to display in your home. Have your child practice drawing familiar leaf shapes, cutting and threading to create a colorful, fiber arts banner. This project is a great way to practice creating consistent-sized shapes, while fine-tuning motor skills. Take a trip outside with your child and observe the fall surroundings while you collect fallen leaves in preparation for this fun nature craft.

What You Need:

• Multi-colored sheets of felt, cut in half
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Hole punch
• Yarn, cut in a 3' length
• Yarn, cut into 4" pieces (one for each leaf)
• Paper tape

What You Do:

1. With a pencil, have your child draw a different leaf on each piece of felt. Encourage him to make the leaves as large as possible to cover the majority of the area of the felt.
2. Encourage him to cut out each leaf.
3. Help him punch holes at the top of the cut-out felt leaves.
4. Tape one of the ends of the yarn into a tip to help it go through the felt holes more easily.
5. Have him thread the yarn through the felt leaves, then cut off the taped tip of the yarn.
6. Tape the banner in place and spread the leaves out so they are spaced equally across the string.
7. To help keep the leaves where you want them, thread a 4" piece of yarn through the hole in the first leaf, tie it around the yarn holding up the banner and make a bow. Repeat this action for each leaf.
8. Hang in a place of prominence to celebrate the season!

You and your child can make as many of these leaf banners as you like! They're easy to make and they'll look great hanging up in your home.

Plant a Memory

If you're like most parents, you've logged bunches of hours finding kids' lost shoes. Somehow, no matter how organized you are, they have a way of migrating under couches and lawn chairs just when you need them most. At moments like that, it's tempting to settle for bare feet! But then comes the bittersweet moment when your child outgrows those pesky Keds, and suddenly they look so very cute and precious, and you are overcome with nostalgia. After all, your child will never be quite that little again. Want to preserve those memories this Mother's Day? Here's a way to “gild” your child's discarded shoes for a “green” keepsake gift that honors the past, while nurturing sprouts for the future.

What You Need:

• Pair of discarded, well-loved kid sneakers
• Container of Modge Podge outdoor decoupage glue—available in craft stores
• Paintbrush
• Can of gold spray paint
• Small bag of potting soil, available at hardware stores or nurseries
• Six-pack or a couple of 4-inch pots of small spring flowers, such as mini-carnations, primroses, pansies, miniature snapdragons or dianthus, all of which are bright and compact
• Optional: decorative sphagnum moss to cover potting soil around plant roots

What You Do:

1. First, make sure that the sneakers you choose are clean and dry. Your glue and paint need to stick directly to the surface of your shoes!
2. Lay your shoes on a surface protected by a plastic cloth, preferably outdoors. After all, you'll be messing with glue, paint, and dirt—irresistible to kids, maybe, but not so fun on your dining room table.
3. Now it's time to break out your “Modge Modge” glue. This is a water based, acrylic sealer, available in all sorts of varieties at your local craft store. Note: for this project, your best bet is the “outdoor” type. Your child can paint it on, and it will harden into a waterproof, protective layer. Have your child cover the entire outside of the shoe, as well as the parts of the inside that she can reach with the brush, and aim for at least two coats.
4. When the glue has dried, you will have a pair of stiff, preserved, waterproof shoes. You can use them as is, but for an extra-festive touch, you can also paint them with gold spray paint. Just take them outdoors to a well protected, well-ventilated area. They end up looking “gilded”—but at a fraction of the cost, and with the added bonus of having been created by your child!
5. To finish off your “shoe planters,” have your child stuff the inside of the shoe with potting soil, and then let her place 1-2 blooming seedlings in the shoe's opening. Miniature carnations in red, pink, and white are classics for mother's day, but you and your child can plant whatever you like. This time of year, local nurseries carry a wide range of lovely spring flowers that will work just great.
6. When you're done, your plant may cover all visible dirt, but if you've got any of it showing, try adding a bit of decorative sphagnum moss. With regular, gentle watering, your seedlings should last several weeks, and then you can even replant them outdoors. Your sneaker planters, meanwhile, can be rinsed gently and refilled many times over.

So this year, present your homemade “green” gift to Mom with pride and joy. Get ready for smiles—and plenty of happy nostalgia, too.