PBS KIDS offers 4 DIY projects to keep kids busy during holiday break

Photo above courtesy of PBS KIDS for Parents.

Your kids probably can’t wait: The holiday school break is almost here. If you’re wondering how you can keep kids busy during holiday break (and keep them learning, too!), our friends at PBS KIDS for Parents + PBS LearningMedia have ideas.

They’re sharing three easy and fun DIY projects that you can tackle with items you likely have around the house:

Make Budín de Pan: A Nochebuena Tradition

In Hispanic households across the globe, PBS Kids tells us, Nochebuena is the biggest holiday feast of the year. This traditional Puerto Rican bread pudding recipe pops up on the PBS Kids series “Alma’s Way,” as Alma celebrates Nochebuena with her family. In your household, kids can help turn stale bread into this warm, delicious dessert — and work on some math skills along the way by measuring ingredients.

Make DIY Snowflakes With Cotton Swabs

Maker projects are a great way to keep kids busy during holiday break and all winter long. And from now until springtime, you can decorate your home with the beauty of snowflakes. You and your child can sing along with Daniel Tiger as he and his friends celebrate Snowflake Day and make decorations on “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood!” Then use this simple tutorial to make snowflakes to decorate for your own celebration.

Make a DIY Kwanzaa Kinara

As families light one candle each day in recognition of seven principles during Kwanzaa, these candles are displayed in a special holder called a kinara. During December on PBS, “The Brain” and his family celebrate the seven days of Kwanzaa, learning as they go about their history and culture. You’ll find instructions for making your own (flameless!) candles and kinara here, along with a guide to the seven principles. They include unity, creativity, faith and much more.

Make Woodland Creature Ornaments

This easy video tutorial will help your kids make their own adorable woodland creatures with simple items like toilet paper rolls and spare buttons. As they choose animals to make, you can talk about the real habitats where these animals live and which ones they’ve seen when the Wild Kratts have gone on their holiday adventures.

Want more great ideas to keep kids busy during holiday break? Check out our guide to events and camps happening during the 2021 holiday school break.