TEMPTING
BITS OF
INTEREST
AND INFO.

Color Your
World

THE APPL ETREE

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
EDITOR

Just because it's still cold out-
side doesn't mean you can't
play in the sand.
With just a few, simple items
you can make your own beau-
tiful sand pictures (showing the
beach or anything else you
like).
All you need is glue, paper,
sand (available in various size
bags at home-supply stores),
empty containers and pow-
dered tempera paint (for
sale at craft shops).
Begin by placing
about 1/2 cup of
sand into containers,
depending on how many
colors you want to make. Into
each, add 4 tsp. of paint. Shake
or stir to mix.
Have your child use glue to
design a picture. Remember:
Once you put the glue down,
the sand is going to stick, so
create the picture one color at
a time. If, for example, your
child is making an outdoor
scene, she could start by de-
signing with glue the treetops
and the grass and flower stems,
if these will all be in green.
When she has finished with
one color, shake off excess
sand (save for future use) and
use glue to design a second
part, and then a third and so
on until the picture is com-
plete.

Picture
This

With nothing more than a
magazine or catalogue and a
pair of scissors, you can help

develop your child's imagina-
tion and story-telling skills.
Search through old maga-
zines for interesting pictures.
Animals and people always
work well, but look for items
that might not be as obvious,
too: The inside of a house,
flowers, outdoor scenes, boxes
(that can hold surprises), foods,
jewelry. Cut each out.
Separate by category into en-
velopes. Ask your child to take
one picture out of each (with
no peeking), arrange in any or-
der, and then tell a story. If
more children are in the family,
they can use the same pic-
tures, either creating their
own order or
going
back-
wards

from the first player's sto-
ry. (The next go-round, of
course, a child who did not get
to go first should have the first
chance to select pictures from
the envelope.)
Note: This also makes a
great game to bring along if
you'll be with your child
where he might have to sit still
for any long period of time, like
on a plane, in the doctor's of-
fice, at a restaurant.

We've Got
A Hunch
You'll Want
This Lunch

Maybe your daughter refuses
to have anything but a peanut-

butter-and-jelly sand-
wich, potato chips and
apple juice for lunch.
Or perhaps your
son is the kind of
dream child who ac-
tually asks for a lunch
of vegetable lasagna
and salad.
In an upcoming is-
sue of The AppleTree, we will
focus on fun lunch-box ideas
and we need your help! We
welcome recipes, ideas for
decorating lunch bags,
thoughts on menu planning
and any other suggestions you
have for making an unforget-
table meal. We will run as
many responses as possible.
Please send to The Apple-
Tree, c/o The Jewish News,
27676 Franklin Rd., South-
field, MI 48034.

It's Party
Time!

As every parent knows, one of
the most challenging, but criti-
cal, aspects of throwing a birth-
day party for a child is
preparing the goodie bags.
Each guest must receive
one. The question is, what to
put in? There are those who
prefer the single-gift approach
(a bubble necklace for all the
girls, a Lego set for the boys).
Others opt for small bags
stuffed with tiny treats like an
eraser, a candy bar, some stick-
ers and a box of crayons.
Of course, by the time your
child reaches 10, which means
you've been preparing these
treats for at least six years, the
thought of making another
goodie bag is about as appeal-
ing as sitting through a

marathon of "Ernest" films.
(You know that guy, who used
to say, "Know what I mean,
Vern?" and then somehow
made it to the big screen. Who
says miracles don't occur any-
more?).
One option is to make a pro-
ject at the party which the
child can take home as his gift.
One fun, easy idea is to buy
aprons or chefs' hats or T-
shirts, then allow guests to dec-
orate with fabric paints, which
come in squeeze tubes that are
easy for little hands to use. (Be
sure to warn parents BEFORE-
HAND that their children
should wear old clothing, or be
prepared to bring enough
smocks for everyone).
For a girls' party, you also
can make necklaces with safe-
ty pins (obviously, for older
children only) and beads. Buy
large safety pins and multicol-
ored beads with big openings,
which girls can then slip onto
the safety pins. Close pins to
secure beads. Allow each girl
to create about 10 beaded safe-
ty pins, then slip a piece of
leather or ribbon (this is the
necklace chain) through bot-
tom circles of safety pins.

