CHILDREN have difficulty understanding the concept of New Year except for their experience with Media Noche and firecrackers. Let your young child be part of the celebration by getting him involved in some New Year crafts.

Make your own New Year’s Hat

·         Cut out a piece of cartolina as your cone hat. Decorate this with glitters, sequins and strips of colored glossy paper.

·         Use pipe cleaners to make your 2012 and add this to your hat.

·         Punch two holes on two sides of the rim and tie your yarn/string to hold your hat in place.

·         You can also use old newspapers to make your hat. Check out the links below familyfun.go.com/crafts/newspaper-hat-664273/ or www.ehow.com/video_2259627_make-paper-summer-hat.html.

2012 Calendar

·         Think about the design you will use for your 2012 Calendar—photos, children’s drawing or art works.

·         There are a lot of calendar programs on the Web that you can use to print out your calendar format for 2012.

·         Customize your calendar by creating themes per month—a photo of your child or close relatives on their birthday; your family Christmas tree or Christmas photo for the month of December. You can also use your child’s artwork or drawing.

·         Add personal dates, including birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other significant events.

Noise makers

·         Instead of buying the usual torotot, how about making your own noise maker? Clean any plastic bottle with cap. You can remove the labels if you want.

·         Open the cap and put some pebbles/munggo beans/uncooked rice grains/sand (you will get different sounds using the different materials). Put back the cap and close tightly. You may want to put some glue or electrical tape to ensure that your little one does not open the bottle to examine what’s making all the noise.

·         Cover the bottles with colored paper. Glue any glittery objects or various cut-out art paper shapes.

Coin bank

·         Teach your child to save by making his own coin bank.

·         Find a suitably-sized container-box, 1 gallon bottle with cap, or biscuit/milk can. Clean this and cut out a slot for the coin. You can paint this first before asking your child to decorate it.

·         Once the paint is dry you can ask your child to glue pieces of fabrics or even glossy magazine paper.

·         You can create an animal coin bank by cutting out pieces such as the ears, eyes, nose and feet. Be creative as you can.

New Year Streamer

·         Welcome the New Year by creating your own 2012 streamer.

·         Use one whole cartolina. Cut this into half and paste two ends to create a horizontal streamer.

·         Write your message, such as “Happy New Year!”  “Welcome 2012!” Then you can decorate it as you please.

·         Suggestion: Use neon or bright colored paints. Place on a shallow pan, dip your hands/feet and “stamp” this on your streamer. Outline the hand or foot print with glue and glitters!

New Year’s drink

·         How about mixing a drink for your child to toast to the New Year?

·         Jazz up your child’s milk by adding colored jelly or sago into a glass.

·         Use a plastic cocktail glass or ice cream/sundae glass.

·         You can add a little umbrella on the rim of the glass or dip the glass into sugar to create a “cocktail.”

Have fun creating these New Year craft activities with your child. Allow your child to take the lead since this is his project and you are there just to assist him.

From the Clayton Learning Center, Happy New Year everyone!