First-School.ws
Kwaazaa Candle Craft and Printable Activities
Materials:
- printer
- paper, preferably card stock
- coloring tools for B&W template
- scissors
- glue stick
Holiday Lights:
Light is meaningful in holiday celebrations in many cultures and this is often expressed with the use of candles. The kinara is a seven-branched candleholder used in Kwanzaa celebrations. Share some information about the Kwanzaa holiday. Read a related picture book, video, sing a song or read a poem.
Holiday information:
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African American culture, and it lasts seven days from December 26th to January 1st. It celebrates families and traditional African values as outlined in the seven Kwanzaa principles. Each night, a candle is lit in the kinara (candle holder), and a Kwanzaa principle is discussed. The kinara symbolizes the stalks of corn that branch off to form new stalks, representing how the human family is created, and it honors ancestors.
Online resource: Kwanzaa
- Kinara at Wikipedia.org
Instructions and learning activities:
- Print template in color or B&W to card stock.
- Color if applicable in the appropiate holiday colors.
- Cut out the pieces.
- Encourage children to refer to the small image in the template for assembly.
- Encourage children to play with the pieces as if it was a puzzle without gluing.
- Glue and paste the candleholder.
- Glue the candles in the appropriate color order on the candleholder.
- Glue flames centered on the each candle.
Templates:
Kwanzaa Kinara craft COLOR B&W
Complimentary activities:
Nursery Rhyme Adaptation:
Twinkle, twinkle Kwanzaa lights,
Fruits of harvest shared these nights.
Twinkle, twinkle Kwanzaa lights,
lights that teach on happy nights.
Letter C is for Candle and Corn:
Present letter C worksheet and mini-book program and the word search game with writing tracers or blank lines to practice letter C, featuring a candle.
Letter K is for Kwanzaa and Kinara:
Present letter K worksheet and mini-book program and the four wordsearch game with writing tracers or blank lines to practice letter K.
Present and discuss the The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa - refer to posters or coloring pages.
