Celebrations

2
 Celebrations

august september october

Day Page Day Page
U.S.A. Mexico and U.S.A.
There are no major holidays V Labor Day 5 12 Columbus Day 12
in Mexico and the U.S.A. Mexico Mexico and U.S.A.
during August. 13 Young Heroes 24 United Nations Day 15
of Chapultepec 6 U.S.A.
Mexico 31 Halloween 18
16 Independence Day 10

November DECEMBER january

Day Page Day Page Day Page
Mexico Mexico and U.S.A. Mexico and U.S.A.
2 Day of the Dead 22 25 Christmas 32 1 New Year’s Day 39
U.S.A. Mexico Mexico and U.S.A.
11 Veterans’Day 25 28 Innocents’ Day 36 6 The Epiphany/ Day of
Mexico Mexico and U.S.A. the Three Kings 42
20 Revolution Day 27 V Hanukkah 37 U.S.A.
U.S.A. 15 Martin L. King Jr’s Day 43
V Thanksgiving Day 30

february march april

Day Page Day Page Day Page
U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A.
1 Groundhog Day 49 17 St. Patrick’s Day 64 1 April Fools Day 79
Mexico Mexico U.S.A.
2 Candle Mass Day 51 18 Exporpriation of 22 Earth Day 81
Mexico the Petroleum Industry 67 Mexico
5 Constitution Day 52 Mexico 30 Children’s Day 84
U.S.A. 21 Benito Juarez’s Birthday 69
12 Abraham Lincoln’s BD 54 Mexico and U.S.A.
Mexico and U.S.A. V Carnival and Lent 72
14 Valentine’s Day 56 Mexico and U.S.A.
Mexico V Easter 76
19 Soldier’s Day 58 may
U.S.A. Day Page Day Page

22 George Washington’s BD 60 Mexico

U.S.A. 1 Labor Day/May Day 86 V Mexico
V President’s Day 61 Mexico Student´s Day 95
Mexico 5 Battle of Puebla 88 15 U.S.A.
24 Flag Day 62 Mexico / U.S.A. Memorial Day 96
V Teachers Day 90 23
June Mexico /U.S.A.
Day Page
10 Mother´s Day 93 31
U.S.A. July
1 Flag Day 97 Day Page Page
U.S.A. U.S.A. Celebrations Other Countries 105
22 Children´s Day 99 4 Independence Day 102
Mexico and U.S.A. Facts about Mexico and U.S.A. 134
* Father´s Day 100 V Varies * Summer Solstice 3rd Sunday BD Birth Day

3
Celebrations

4
 Celebrations

5
Celebrations

JUAN ESCUTIA FERNANDO AGUSTIN MELGAR

MONTES DE OCA

VJICENTE
UAN ESCUTIA
SUAREZ JUANEDE
JUAN LA
SCUTIA FRANCISCO
JUAN ESCUTIA
BARRERA MARQUEZ

6
 Celebrations

fold
fold

7
Celebrations

8
 Celebrations

Chapultepec Castle

Materials
posterboard
scissors
tissue paper (green, white, and red)
small wooden stick
scotch tape
black permanent marker
ten cent coin
pencil or black color

Fold where
indicated.
Trace a castle onto Cut the posterboard
the pasteboard in the shape of
with the black marker. the castle.

For the flag

For the shield,

rub the side Make the flag by Tape the squares
of the coin with cutting three small onto the wooden
the eagle onto squares (one for stick. Place flag on
the white each color) out of the the castle, and
tissue paper. tissue paper. Tape decorate it.
together.

9
Celebrations

10
 Celebrations

Independence Day Rattler

Materials
aluminum soda can
glitter
three thin strips of red, green, and white
shiny paper (enough to go around the can)
handful of small rocks
tape
glue

1. Make sure the aluminum 2. Cover the can with the

soda can is clean and dry. strips of paper. Glue the ends. 3. Put glue in different
places of the paper
strips and sprinkle the
can with glitter. Let dry.

4. Place the small rocks 5.Cover the

inside the can. lid area with tape.

11
Celebrations

12
 Celebrations

Columbus’ Voyage:
Map and Ships
The Map
Materials

a piece of thick blue poster board small scraps of white, yellow,

pencil or gray paper (for the sails)
green tempera paint dark marker
glue egg carton sections (3)
scissors toothpicks (two per ship)
a small lump of modeling clay
Instructions
Cut a piece of blue posterboard for each
student. Have the students draw a map of
the area of Columbus’ voyage (the
Americas, Europe, etc.) using a pencil. As a
guide, either use a large map of the world, or
print a map. The student can start by drawing
the Equator ( a bit below of the middle of the Equator
paper, since Columbus’ voyage was in the
Northern Hemisphere). Then draw North and
South America on the left side of the paper.
Draw Europe, Asia, and Africa on the right
side.
Using tempera paint, color the continents
green. Let the paint dry.
Using a dark marker, label the continents,
Equator
oceans, the equator, Columbus’ route,
north, south, east, and west, etc.

13
Celebrations

The Ships
1 carton
Cut out three sections of an egg
to make Columbus’ three 1 2
ships.

2 Trim each carton segment to look

like the hull of a ship.
3 4
3 Cut out a 2 inch square paper sail
for each ship. Fold over a small Glue
portion where it will attach to a

2 Inch
toothpick.

4 Put a toothpick on the fold line.

Fold the paper over, forming a
small sail. 5

5 two
Push a toothpick through the sail in
places (perpendicular to the
other pick).
6
6 inPutthe
a small lump of modeling clay
bottom of each ship and
insert a toothpick mast into each
one. Columbus’ ships actually had
two large square sails ( a foresail Modeling
and a mainsail). There was a clay
smaller, triangular sail at the rear,
called lateen, and other smaller
sails.
You can now use your ships to
trace Columbus’ route to the
New World, traveling from
Spain to the Island of
Hispaniola ( What is now
Haiti/The Dominican Republic).
off the southeastern coast of Equator

North America. His round trip

voyage lasted from August 3,
1492 to March 15, 1493.

14
 Celebrations

15
Celebrations

Eleanor Roosevelt holding the United Nations

Universal declaration of Human rights in Spanish.

16
 Celebrations

Peace Flag Craft

Materials
Colors
Paper
Scissors
Glue
12 inch long stick

Use your creativity to create your

very own peace flag!

1 decorate
Use colors to draw and
your very own
peace flag; leave one
inch on left margin
1
without color.
Glue

2 glue
Turn flag around and put
on the left margin; Back side
roll left margin around
the stick and press. 2

3 used
Your flag can now be
to have a mini
3

parade inside the Back side

classroom!

17
Celebrations

18
 Celebrations

19
Celebrations

20
 Celebrations

Black Cat Hat for Halloween

This scary black cat hat (or decoration) is easily made
from construction paper.
Materials
two pieces of black construction paper scissors
(one large, one regular size)* black crayon
small scraps of white, pink, and orange or marker
construction paper (for the cat stapler
eyes, nose, whiskers, and mouth) glue
pencil or white crayon
Instructions
Twirl the half circle into
Draw and cut out a
a cone-shaped hat.
half circle from the
Staple along the
large piece
steams.
of construction paper.
Cut 4 legs from the
scraps. Glue two of the cat´s
Draw and cut out a legs onto the bottom
cat´s head and circle back of the hat.
about the same size
(this will be the cat´s tail). Glue the tail to the
back of the hat,
between and above
Cut out yellow eyes, the legs.
white whiskers, pink
nose, mouth and ear
insides. Glue the Glue the head to the
pieces on the cat´s front of the hat. Glue
face. Using a black two of the cat´s legs
crayon or marker, give onto the bottom front
the cat vertical of the hat.
pupils. Make sure that the
legs dont´t block your
Draw a spiral inside eyes when you wear
the circle. Cut along the line. the hat.
This will be the cat´s tail.

*If you have only regular size paper, you can use this black cat as decoration,because it will be too
small to wear. You can also use brown paper bags to make the hat and color them using black
tempera paint.

21
Celebrations

22
 Celebrations

23
Celebrations

Pasta Skeleton Craft

This pasta skeleton is easily made from a few
different types of pasta and dried beans glued to
a piece of black construction paper.
Materials

different types of pasta

(spaghetti, macaroni, tiny tube,
long tube, wagon wheels,
long spirals, thiny shells, dried beans
(pinto and lima), and dried lentils
a piece of black construction paper
white glue
white crayon or chalk to label the bones

Instructions
Glue the pasta to the black construction paper
using white glue. Have students arrange the
pasta on the paper before gluing (to make sure
that they have room for the whole body in the piece of paper).
You can use just about any type of pasta or dried beans for the bones:
a wagon wheel is nice for the head
spaghetti makes good fingers and toes
tiny tubes or dried lentils are good for vertebrae and spine
long tubes make collar bones
longer tubes or long spiral make good leg and arm bones
small shells or dried white beans are nice for kneecaps, wrists,
and ankles, two dried lima beans make good hips.
Optional: label the major bones using white crayon or chalk.

When you´re done, you´ll have a great Dia de los Muertos

decoration that you can also use to learn the names of
some of our bones.

24
 Celebrations

25
Celebrations

Veterans’ Day Sticker

Materials
Contact paper
white posterboard
red posterboard
blue posterboard
thirteen small white stars
one marker (preferably black)
scissors

1 Cut the white posterboard

to the size of the sticker you want.

2 Cut the red posterboard

into stripes the size of the
white posterboard. Cut four
stripes to place horizontally
on the right side.

3 Place the blue posterboard 5 Cut contact paper one

inch bigger on all sides.
on the left side and on top
of this, place the thirteen Place on top of your
small white stars. poster, and there you
have your sticker! You
may stick it on a front
window of your school
4 Take the black marker and
write “Thank A Veteran
or home on Veterans´
Day.
Today!” on top of the red
stripes.

26
 Celebrations

27
Celebrations

Francisco I. Madero.

28
 Celebrations

Newspaper Mexican Sombrero

This craft takes a bit of help from an
adult, but has a great end result. It’s
great fun for dress up!

3 or 4 sheets of newspaper
scissors
two sheets of solid colored gift wrap paper
single hole punch
paint (optional)
yarn or string
masking tape
ribbon

1 Stack the sheets of

newspaper. Put the wrap on
top and bottom of the
newspaper with the colored
sides out. 5 Punch holes all around the
brim of the hat and on either
side of the hat´s crown.

2 Put the newspaper over the

child´s head (have the child
with the biggest head be the
model for all the hats).
6 Thread yarn or string around
to decorate the brim.
3 Wrap masking tape around
the crown 2 or 3 times.

4 Roll the brim up, trim into a

circle. Apply masking tape to
hold.
7 Wrap a piece of ribbon
around the crown to make it
(If using paint, paint the hat fancy. Put the ends of the
at this point; a dark color will ribbon through the holes on
cover the newsprint). either side of the hat crown
and tie loosely under the
chin.

29
Celebrations

30
 Celebrations

Hand and Foot Turkey

This cute turkey is made from your
children´s handprints and footprints,
cut out of construction paper.

brown, red, orange, and yellow

construction paper
pencil
scissors
glue
googly eyes
4 Cut out a round wattle and
an orange beak. Glue the
wattle, beak, and googly
eyes (or paper eyes) to the
turkey´s head. Make two
legs from paper and glue
1 Trace around the child´s
feet using brown
them to the back of the
body (or you can use pipe
construction paper. These cleaners and tape them to
two pieces will be the the back).
turkey´s body.

2 Trace around the child´s

hands using red, orange,
and yellow construction
paper. These six pieces
will be the turkey´s
feathers.

3 Glue the two footprints 5 Glue the handprint feathers to the back
together to make the of the turkey. You can now decorate
turkey´s body (The heels your classroom for Thanksgiving with
make the head area). these cute turkeys. Don´t forget to put
the child´s name and age on the back
of the turkey.

31
Celebrations

32
 Celebrations

33
Celebrations

Fifteen Different Ways to say “Merry Christmas”

Feliz Navidad Spanish
Glaedelig Jultid Danish
Buone Natale Italian
God Jul Norwegian
Vrolyk Kerstfeast Dutch
Kellemes Karacsonyi Unnepeket Hungarian
Joyeux Noel French
Frohes Fest German
Nodlaig Mhaith Chugnat Irish (Gaelic)
Kung His Hsin Nien Bing Chu Shen Tan Chinese (Cantonese)
Houska Joulua Finnish
Boze Narodzenie Polish
Boas Festas Portuguese
Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kitlu Olsum Turkish
Eem Plesierige Kerfees Afrikaans

34
 Celebrations

String of Paper Gingerbread Men and Women

Make a string of paper gingerbread men and women to decorate a room.
Materials:
Construction paper (brown, tan, and other earth tones)
Crayons or markers
Scissors
Glue, tape, or staples
A long piece of green or brown yarn or string

1 Draw a gingerbread man or woman on a piece

of construction paper. Make sure to draw a
rectangle on the top of the head (your
gingerbread person will hang from this rectangle,
which will be folded over).

Fold
here
Cut out the gingerbread people. Draw a face,
2 clothes, etc.
Fold the rectangle at the top of the head.

Attach the gingerbread person to a long string

Staple,
using tape, glue, or staples. Make more
3 gingerbread people and attach them to the string.
tape or
glue here

4 Hang your string of

gingerbread men and
women across the room
for a wonderful Christmas
decoration.

35
Celebrations

36
 Celebrations

37
Celebrations

Menorah
Hand Crafted Clay Menorah
Materials

a pencil
birthday candle holders
birthday candles
clay (one that will air dry)
craft sticks

Take the clay and knead and flatten it.

Next trace or carve out your hands

from the clay using a craft stick. Take
your two clay hands, overlap the
thumbs and press the hands together.

Now stand the clay hands so that fingers

are facing upwards towards the ceiling.
Take your pencil and make a hole in the
top of each finger. Place small birthday
candle holders in holes in the tops of the
clay fingers which you just made with your
pencil.

There will be eight fingers with eight

candles- for every night of Hanukkah, and
the one candle in the thumbs, called the
Shamash, to light the others. Let the
Menorah dry. Add candles.

38
 Celebrations

39
Celebrations

40
 Celebrations

Pop-up New Year´s Card

Make a great (but simple) pop-up New Year´s card from construction paper.

3 pieces of construction paper

scissors
pencil
glue
optional: markers, glitter or glitter glue

1. Fold two pieces of construction paper in half. One

piece will be the outside of the card; one piece will be
2 the inside.

2. On the inner card, make four short, parallel cuts along

the fold line. The cuts should be in two pairs.
3
3. Fold over the flaps that were formed by the cuts.
Unfold the folds you just made and open the card.

4
4. Push up the flaps made by the cuts. These will hold the
numbers. Close the card so that the flaps are inside the
card.

5 5. Cut out large numbers (2014) from construction paper.

Make sure that they will fit inside the card when it is
closed. Glue them to the flaps. Close the card.

6. Glue the other folded piece of construction paper

6 onto the outside of the card. Make sure you don´t glue
the place where the numbers are. Optional: Decorate
with glitter glue or markers.

41
Celebrations

42
 Celebrations

43
Celebrations

44
 Celebrations

45
Celebrations

46
 Celebrations

47
Celebrations

48
 Celebrations

49
Celebrations

Pop-up Groundhog

Materials:
paper or styrofoam cup
craft stick (popsicle stick)
brown construction paper
crayons, markers, or tempera paint
scissors
glue
googly eyes

Instructions:
To make the groundhog: Cut a circle or oval from brown
construction paper (this will be its body). Cut a smaller circle out
of brown paper (this will be the head). Draw a mouth, nose,
and eyes on the head (optional- glue on googly eyes).

Glue the two pieces ( the groundhog) onto a craft stick

(popsicle stick).

Cut a small slit in the bottom of the paper (or styrofoam) cup.

Decorate the cup with markers or tempera paint.

Insert the bottom of the popsicle stick into the hole. You
now have an adorable pop-up groundhog puppet.

50
 Celebrations

Word Soup
Find out how many words from the reading you
can find in the word soup. Write them on the line
after you find them.

Answers: baby, birth, candles, festival, fish, glory, moon, nativity, people, poor, rosary, traditional

51
Celebrations

52
 Celebrations

53
Celebrations

54
 Celebrations

55
Celebrations

56
 Celebrations

Hand Made Envelope Craft

Make a special envelope out of gift wrapping paper, old maps,
pretty wallpaper scraps, or magazines.

an envelope
a large piece of paper (like gift wrap,
wallpaper scraps, magazine pages,
catalog pages, brochures, construction
paper, newspaper, or old maps)
a pencil
scissors or pinking shears
glue Carefully open up the steams of a
stickers commercially bought envelope (where it is
glued). If it tears a bit, it doesn´t really matter
because this will just be your template.

Lay the completely opened envelope on top

of a large piece of paper (with the good side
of the paper facing down). Trace around the
edges.

Carefully cut out the envelope (preferably use

pinking shears to give your envelope an

Fold the two side flaps over, and then fold up

the bottom flap. Open up the bottom flap so
you can glue it in place.

Put glue on the low edges of the side flaps.

Then fold the bottom flap up again to glue it to
the side flaps where they overlap.

Then fold down the upper flap (forming a

perfect rectangular envelope), but do not glue
this flap down.

Decorate with the stickers.

Put a special letter or card inside and give to

your Valentine
You now have a beautiful envelope. To seal it later, you can either glue the top flap
down or use a pretty sticker. Place a Valentine´s day card inside.

57
Celebrations

58
 Celebrations

Soldier´s Hat
Open it up and wear when reciting the Soldier´s Poem

Materials:
a sheet of paper, newspaper, or magazine
cut outs glued onto paper.

black marker

Fold the sheet in half.

A B
Fold corners A and B down halfway.

Fold the strips at the bottom up on each side.

Now with the black marker write “Soldier´s

Day” on both strips.

59
Celebrations

60
 Celebrations

Activity
The students will need black paper and a white sheet of paper. Students will trace silhouettes,
with black profiles of 2 men and paste them on the sheet of white paper.
They will then write “PRESIDENTS’ DAY” on the top of the white sheet.

61
Celebrations

62
 Brown (eagle)

Green (snake)

Green
(cactus)

63
Green
Green
(leaves)
(leaves)

Green White Red

Celebrations
Celebrations

64
 Celebrations

65
Celebrations

Tiny Leprechaun Hat

for St. Patrick´s Day
A tiny, paper Leprechaun Hat to help celebrate St. Patrick´s Day

Materials
green and yellow rectangular paper (or white
paper and green and yellow crayons, marker, or
paint)

white glue (or a glue stick and hot glue gun)

scissors

1. Cut short lines in the

green rectangular
piece and fold along
the long line.

2. Cut a yellow paper

band and glue it on the
hat. Draw a buckle. Put
glue on the tab along one
end of the green rect-
6. Attach the brim to the
3. Form into a cylinder. rest of the hat by placing
Put glue on the small tabs the hat on top of the
at the top. brim and then picking
the whole thing up, and
4. Cut a small circle to sticking the triangular
cover the top of your shaped pieces to the
hat.Place the small circle inside of the hat.
on the top (this is the top
of the hat).

5. Cut star-like lines in the large

circular piece (this will be the
brim). Put glue on these
triangular-shaped pieces.

66
 Celebrations

67
Celebrations

Follow the dots and color.

22
21
19
23 18
20

24 17
25 16

26 15
27
14
28 12 13

29 30 11

31 9 10
33
32 34 8
2 3

35
7

36 6

5 37

1 4

68
 Celebrations

69
Celebrations

70
 Celebrations

Benito Juarez´s Birthday Mobile

Materials:
Sheep
pattern of a sheep pattern
20 small cotton balls
glue
8 small googly eyes
2 wooden sticks
26 inches of yarn (8, 6, 4, 4, 2, 2 inches each)
1 white sheet of paper
1
1. On the white sheet of paper, trace the pattern of the
sheep four times and cut out.

2. Fill the sheeps’ bodies with glued cotton

balls. Glue the googly eyes too.

back 3. Glue each sheep onto each piece of yarn (the 2

4 and 4 inch pieces will be left over).

4. Take the 2 inch yarn and tie the two wooden sticks in
cross form.
5

5. Tie each piece of yarn with a sheep onto each end

of the wooden stick. Hang the mobile by using the
remaining 4 inch piece of yarn.

71
Celebrations

72
 Celebrations

73
Celebrations

Magnificent Masks
East to make

Materials:
stapler
elastic thread
colors
scissors
white paper
lion mask template (p. 75)

Draw the mask template on the white paper.

Cut it around the edges and cut
out the eye-holes.

Color your mask. Use your creativity. Staple one end of

the elasctic thread onto the mask (the place for the
staples is marked close to the eyes.

Determine how much elastic it will take to fit on each

child´s head. Trim to size.

Staple the remaining side of the

elastic to the other side of the mask.

You may now wear your mask and take part

of a classroom celebration!

74
 Celebrations

LION MASK
(Template)

Eye Eye
hole hole

75
Celebrations

76
 Celebrations

77
Celebrations

Eggshell Plant Pots

Make and decorate tiny eggshell plant pots for Easter. Then
watch your plants grow.
Materials:
eggshells
potting soil
grass seeds (they germinate in a few weeks) or bean seeds
(they germinate in a few days).
tempera paint or markers
hot glue or white glue
a small square of cardboard or a small piece of pipe cleaner

Clean eggshells and dry them gently. To give the tiny plant pot
a solid base, glue a small square of cardboard to the bottom
of the eggshell (or use a small piece of pipe cleaner twisted
into a circle). If using white glue, let it set for a few hours; hot
glue will set in a few minutes.

Using tempera paint or markers, decorate the

eggshells. Let the paint dry.

Put potting soil in the egg shell (fill a little

over half way).

Add many grass seeds or

two bean seeds (in case
one doesn´t germinate).
Cover the seeds with a little
bit of soil, and sprinkle lightly
with water. When the seeds
sprout out, put the tiny plant
pot in a sunny spot and
enjoy waqtching your plant
grow.

78
 Celebrations

79
Celebrations

Waiter, this soup tastes funny !

A= Then why aren't you laughing

Who designed Noah's ark?

A= An ark-itect !

Doctor ! Doctor ! I think I'm going crazy. I

have a carrot growing out of my ear.
A= Amazing ! So you have. How
could that have happened ?
I can't understand it either, because I
planted cabbage!

80
 Celebrations

81
Celebrations

Papier-Maché Globe
Make your own globe of the Earth

Materials:
a round balloon a spoon or stick to stir the glue
lots of newspaper a printer
flour and water glue a pencil
( instructions below) blue and green tempera paints
a container for mixing the blue paint brushes
(old plastic containers work well) a dark marker
flour water
boiling water

mixture Make a simple, thin glue from flour and water. Mix one cup of
flour into one cup of water until the mixure is thin and runny. Stir
in four cups of boiling water (the heating gives the glue a nice
consistency, but is not necessary). Simmer for about 3 minutes,
then cool.
boiling
water
Tear a lot of strips of newspaper. Strips should be about one
inch wide. The length doesn’t really matter.

Blow up and tie a round balloon for each student.

Papier-Maché: Dip each strip of paper in the flour glue,

wipe off excess, and wrap the strip around the balloon.
Have at least three layers surrounding the balloon. Let it
dry (at least overnight) after each layer. Let the globe
dry completely (it will take a few days). When the
papier-maché is dry, the balloon usually pops by itself,
and separates from the outer papier-maché skin.

82
 Celebrations

Papier-Maché Globe (Continued)

Make your own globe of the Earth

Print maps of the earth (or

use commercial maps).

North Pole Draw the continents on the Globe. Using a pencil, draw
a line around the midsection of the balloon
representing the Equator, and draw a dot for each of
the Poles. Draw the continent you live in. To draw each
Equator
continent, show the student the shape of that
continent, how big it is in relation to the globe, and
where it is positioned (with respect to the equator, the
poles and the other continents). Using a pencil draw
South Pole
that continent on the globe. repeat this process for the
other continents.

Work on a bed of newspapers; this is pretty messy.

Paint the seven continents green with tempera
paints. When the continents are done and the paint
has dried, use blue paint to represent the oceans,
seas, and lakes. Let the paint dry.

Arctic Ocean
Using a dark marker, have the
student label the major
features on the globe and also North
Europe

where the students live. The America

Atlantic
Asia

student can mark and label Ocean Pacific

Ocean
Africa
the equator, the seven Central EQUATOR
America
continents, the oceans, the South Indian
America Ocean
poles, etc. (depending on the Pacific
Ocean Australia
student's grade level).
Place the globes on the wall Antarctica

for all to see.

83
Celebrations

84
 Celebrations

Handprint Craft
Make a handprint of your child´s hand using Plaster of Paris. You
can hang this cute decoration on the wall.

Materials:
Plaster of Paris
large plastic bowl (like a big cottage
cheese or yoghurt container)
stirrer (to mix the plaster)
an aluminum pie plate or plastic lid
large paper clip
permanent marker

This is a messy craft (wear old clothes and work outside

if possible). Before starting, collect a large container to
mix the plaster in and a wide container (like an
water aluminum pie plate or a plastic lid) to mold the
handprint.

Mix a small amount of Plaster of Paris with water in a

sturdy container. The plaster should be stiff but creamy.

Pour the plaster into the flat container.

Have the child make a handprint (or footprint) in the plaster.

Before the plaster hardens, push a partly unfolded

paper clip into the plaster (use to hang it on the wall) or
use a straw to make a hole in the plaster. The plaster
will be completely dry in about a day, but you can
take it out of the molding container after about 20
minutes.
On the reverse side, write the name of the child and
the date.

85
Celebrations

86
 Celebrations

87
Celebrations

88
 Celebrations

Battle of Puebla Hanger

Materials:
1 coat hanger (metal)
1 mt of string or yarn
1 colored sheet of paper
pictures, drawings, cutouts of Ignacio Zaragoza, Battle of
Puebla
city of Puebla, Napoleon III, women soldiers,
people celebrating (fiesta)
glue
black marker

Cut the string or yarn into 5 equal pieces.

Cut the colored paper into 6 equal parts.

At the end of each piece of string or yarn, glue

a piece of the colored paper (there will be one
left over). On each of the colored papers glue
the drawings in the order mentioned above.

Tie each piece of string or yarn to the hanger.

take the 6th piece of colored paper and write
“Battle of Puebla” in the middle and glue to the
top part of the hanger.

Hang your decorations all over the classroom!

89
Celebrations

90
 Celebrations

Pressed and Dried Flowers

Stationery and Cards Craft
You can press and dry delicate flowers and then use them to make beautiful
cards and stationery.
fresh flowers and leaves
coffee filters (optional)
phone book
good quality paper
scissors C
c
glue
t
tweezers h
a brush Pick some delicate flowers and leaves (sturdy flowers
and thick leaves do not work so well and take a lot
longer to dry than the delicate ones). Some plants that
work well are California poppies, buttercups, tiny
daisies, clovers, ferns, pansies, and thin-petal blooms.

Press each bloom/leaf in a thick telephone book. Some

flowers will leave a bit of color on the pages when
you're done, so ask your parent's permission before
using a book of theirs.
You can protect the pages of the book and speed up
the drying process by pressing the flowers between
flattened coffee filters. The coffee filters absorb a lot of
the moisture as the flowers are pressed. It takes at least
a week or two to completely dry out and press a flower;
bigger blooms take longer.

When the plants are dry, carefully

remove them from the book.
Arrange them on your paper in an
artistic manner. You may have to
trim some stems with scissors.

91
Celebrations

Remove the plants, remembering where the

plants were so you can put them back later.
Brush a thin layer of glue on the paper where
the dried plants were.

Carefully put the plants back in place. This

can be difficult. Using tweezers to place Make sure all the plant
them on the glue can be helpful (adult material are touching the
help may be needed at this stage). glue and lying flat on the
paper. Let the glue dry
completely.

¡Now you have a beautiful

card or stationery to write a
note or letter to your
teacher!

92
 Celebrations

93
Celebrations

Twig Frame
A simple-to-make rustic picture frame made from twigs.

twigs
twine or string
glue (hot glue works well)
a photo for framing

Collect 2 bunches of twigs.

One bunch (about 6 to 8)
should be about 2 inches
longer than your photo.
The other should be about 2
inches wider than your photo.

Arrange the twigs so that they surround

the photo and extend outward about an
inch in each direction.

Tie the twigs at each corner using twine or

string, making an "X" pattern.
Glue the photo onto the
back of your twig frame.
Hot glue works the best.
Glue a small loop of
string to the top batch
of twigs for hanging the
photo.

94
 Celebrations

Mexico-Student ’s Day
May 23rd
Students in Mexico celebrate their day on May 23rd. At school, they have parties, contests,
and snacks usually offered by their teachers.

Student´s Day Acrostic

Materials:
one posterboard (one per group)
markers of all colors
masking tape or thumb tacks

S
T
U
D
E
N
T
S

On a posterboard, the teacher will write the word STUDENTS vertically with the
marker (s). Next to each letter, the teacher will ask that students call out adjectives
with the beginning letter to describe themselves.
When the acrostic is finishied, tape or place thumb tacks to attach it to the
classroom Bulletin Board for all to see.

95
Celebrations

96
 Celebrations

Betsy Ross Flag

The Civil War Flag

The 50 Star Flag

97
Celebrations

U.S.A. Flag
Have students make a U.S.A. flag.

Materials:
Crayons, paint or colored sheets
(blue, red and white)
a small stick (to attach the flag)
scissors
glue

Cut 13 stripes, alternating

red and white. The stripes
represent the original 13
colonies that formed the
United Sates of America,
before it won its
independence from Great
Britain.

There are 50 stars on a blue field, representing

the 50 states of the United Sates of America.

Now, glue the stick on the back of your flag so

you can wave it!

98
 Celebrations

99
Celebrations

100
 Celebrations

Father’s Day
Picture Frame Craft
A simple-to-make picture frame for Dad. A great
gift for Father’s Day.

Materials:
sturdy paper (like posterboard)
3 small photos
glue
scissors

Using large, bubbly letters, write “DAD” on a piece of

sturdy paper. Make sure the holes in the D and A are
large enough to display your photos.

Carefully cut the word DAD.

Glue the photos onto the back of your frame. Write the
names of people on the back of the photos.

Cut out two almost-triangular pieces of sturdy paper;

they should be about the same length as your letters
are high. These flaps will be attached to the back of the
frame to keep it standing.
Fold over 1/2 inch of each flap.

Mary Dad Tony Glue the flaps onto the back of the frame, on each
side.

Now you have a picture frame to give to your Dad as a gift.

101
Celebrations

102
 Celebrations

Fourth of July Patriotic Pinwheel

A simple-to-make pinwheel for older children.
(This craft uses a push pin, so it is not suitable
for younger children).
Materials:
2 pieces of construction a push pin
paper (the thicker the better) a pencil with eraser
scissors markers or crayons
a hole punch
1
1. Start by making two square pieces of paper.
To start making a square, put the two pieces of paper
together. Fold the corner of the pieces of paper over as shown.

2
2. To finish making the squares, cut off the
small rectangles, forming two squares (which
are already folded into a triangle.

3 4 4. Unfold
the paper.
3. Fold the triangle in half.

5 6
5. Decorate one 6. Put the undecorated
side of each sides of the paper
sheet of paper. together. Make four cuts
along the fold lines,
about halfway to the
center.

7 7. Punch four 8. Gently gather each of the

8 four points (with a hole) to the
holes in the
pinwheel, one at center. Be careful not to
each corner. crease the paper.
Push a push pin through the
punched holes through the
center of the pinwheel to
attach the pinwheel to the
side of the pencil’s eraser.

103
Celebrations

104
 Celebrations

ED KINGDO
IT

UN

105
Celebrations

106
 Celebrations

107
Celebrations

108
 Celebrations

109
Celebrations

110
 Celebrations

111
Celebrations

112
 Celebrations

113
Celebrations

114
 Celebrations

115
Celebrations

116
 Celebrations

RGENTINA
A

117
Celebrations

118
 Celebrations

TR
AUS IA

119
Celebrations

NADA
CA

120
 Celebrations

CHILE

121
Celebrations

122
 Celebrations

CHINA

ICAN REPU
IN
M

BL
DO

IC

123
Celebrations

UATEMALA
G

124
 Celebrations

INDIA

125
Celebrations

URDISTAN
K

CHENSTEIN
IE

126
 Celebrations

ONGOLIA
M

NEPAL

127
Celebrations

LESTINE
PA

*Independence Day:
On November 15, 1988, the
independent state of Palestine
was proclaimed by the Palestine
National Council (PNC), meeting
in Algiers, by a vote of 253 to
46, as well as in front of Al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem, the capital
of the new state. Fireworks,
parades, and all schools and
businesses close on this day.

128
 Celebrations

NEW GUI
UA N

EA
PA

129
Celebrations

RUSSIA

130
 Celebrations

SPAIN

131
Celebrations

132
 Celebrations

BABWE
ZIM

133
Celebrations

134
 Celebrations

United States of
America

Gulf of
Mexico

P a c ific
Ocean

Central
America

135
Celebrations

CAPITAL AND LARGEST CITY (2013 EST.):

Mexico City 21,233,900 (metro. area), 8,681,400 (city proper)

OTHER LARGE CITIES:

Ecatepec 1,731,900 (part of Mexico City metro. area)
Guadalajara 1,665,800
Puebla 1,345,500
Nezahualcoyotl 1,250,700 (part of Mexico City metro. area)
Monterrey 1,135,000

TRANSPORTATION
Railways: total: 19,510 km (2002).
Highways: total: 329,532 km; paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km
of expressways); unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.).
Waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals.
Ports and harbors: Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas,
La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso,
Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz.
Source: http://www.infoplease.com/almanacs.html

136
 Celebrations

137
Celebrations

138
 Celebrations

Mexico´s States
State Capital Date of foundation
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes 1786
Baja California Mexicali 1953
Baja California Sur La Paz 1974
Campeche Campeche 1892
Chiapas Tuxtla Gutierrez 1824
Chihuahua Chihuahua 1898
Coahuila Saltillo 1864
Colima Colima 1856
Durango Durango 1824
Guanajuato Leon 1824
Guerrero Chilpancingo 1849
Hidalgo Pachuca 1849
Jalisco Guadalajara 1856
Michoacan Morelia 1824
Mexico Toluca 1824
Morelos Cuernavaca 1869
Nayarit Tepic 1884
Nuevo Leon Monterrey 1824
Oaxaca Oaxaca 1834
Puebla Puebla 1824
Queretaro Queretaro 1824
Quintana Roo Chetumal 1974
San Luis Potosi San Luis Potosi 1826
Sinaloa Culiacan 1831
Sonora Hermosillo 1828
Tabasco Villahermosa 1824
Tamaulipas Ciudad Victoria 1824
Tlaxcala Tlaxcala 1857
Veracruz Xalapa 1824
Yucatan Merida 1824
Zacatecas Zacatecas 1821
Distrito Federal 1824

139
Celebrations

Canada

USA

Pacific
Atlantic
Ocean
Ocean
Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

Symbols of the United States of America

Statue of Liberty: on Liberty Island in New York Harbor

Flag: red, white, and blue; it has 13 stripes and fifty stars.
Uncle Sam: symbol of the government
National Bird: bald eagle
Liberty Bell: on display at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Declaration of
Independence: housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

140
 Celebrations

Official Name: United States of America

President: Barak Obama
Land area: 9,161,972.2 square kilometers
Population (2000): 284,620,000
Capital: Washington, DC
Largest cities (2013):
New York 8,008,278 Phoenix 1,321,045
Los Angeles 3,694,820 San Diego 1,223,400
Chicago 2,896,016 Dallas 1,188,580
Houston 1,953,631 San Antonio 1,144,646
Philadelphia 1,517,550 Detroit 951,270

Monetary unit: US-dollar

Languages: English (official), Spanish,
numerous others
Ethnicity/race:
White 211,460,626 (75.1%)
Hispanic 35,305,818 (12.5%)
Black 34,658,190 (12.3%)
Other Races 15,359,073 (5.5%)
Asian 10,242,998 (3.6%)
Native American/ Alaska native 2,475,956 (1%)
Native Hawaiian/ Islanders 398,835 (0.1%)

141
Celebrations

142
 Celebrations

143
Celebrations

144
 Celebrations

145
Celebrations

146
 Celebrations

147
Celebrations

Portable writing desk used by Jefferson.

148
 Celebrations

149