THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 13, 1994 TAG: 9409130064
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Sherrie Boyer
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
AN ARTIST FRIEND has graciously lent us a new book of ideas for those short blocks of time left over from the bustle of school, homework and fall sports.
Called ``Hands Around the World'' by Susan Milord, the book promotes 365 activities geared to ``cultural awareness and global respect.''
Milord suggests that by doing the things children around the world do, you and yours will learn appreciation for a different way of life.
From the fall section, we especially liked three kitcheny ideas.
Milord says Europeans use cloth napkins because paper ones are considered wasteful. At the end of each meal, the napkin is left on the chair for the next gathering.
We use our table all day, so saving a napkin on a chair doesn't work, and, well, mixed up napkins sounds fairly gross. The solution is individual napkin rings.
Take a piece of bendable cardboard or poster board (an old gift box works great), and cut strips 5 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Use markers, crayons, felt or cloth to decorate each strip differently, then staple the ends together in a loop. Everyone pokes a napkin into his or her ring at the end of each meal. A basket holds the ``use again'' napkins for next time.
I always thought cloth napkins were white until I had dinner with a Richmond friend. She'd inherited all of her grandmother's homemade napkins, a fantastic drawer full of brilliant squares, not one a match. One resembled a Mexican rug, another had cowboys and a third, Victorian flowers.
Her children had their favorites. So we'll go for fun, too, and dig through fabric remnants, stitching or fringing 20 or so (enough for fresh ones each meal for those really messy days). A 14-by-14 inch square gives enough to fringe an inch all the way around; 13-by-13 is ample for a 3/8 machine-hem all around. The first, a child can mostly do alone; the second a child can do (very carefully) from your lap.
We'll also try chocolate truffles from France, a rich candy that's very different from the other truffle favorite in France, the edible fungus growing under oak trees. The stove part is a parent's job, but the children will enjoy measuring weird ingredients and rolling mudlike chocolate in their hands.
Melt 3 squares unsweetened chocolate and 1 stick butter over low heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons heavy cream; slowly add 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts. Stir until lumps are gone. Cover, refrigerate until firm.
Wash hands well, then mold into small balls. Roll in powdered cocoa. Store in refrigerator.
The other very cool thing we'll try is an old favorite done geometric: vegetable stamps. In Ghana, brown fabric strips are stamped with calabash gourds and then worn at funerals. But while we may talk about these traditional ``adinkra'' cloths, we'll use the idea to decorate T-shirts or even Christmas cards.
First make 4 simple patterns - a tree, maze, star, checks, etc. - on 4 small pieces of paper. These are patterns. Cut 2 potatoes in half and carefully cut each half to match a pattern, carving away the parts you don't want to show, which is the white space on your pattern.
This part will be too hard for many children, but a 5-year-old can cut a potato in half (with careful supervision), and all ages can make patterns.
Divide your fabric, shirt or paper into 4 squares, and draw the boundaries with pencil for now. Use acrylic paint as ink, painting each potato pattern, then pressing the design into the appropriate square. Painting the potatoes is harder than dipping the halves, but dipping leaves too much ink and blotched prints. Make rows or circles within each square to get a geometrical design. Wear paint clothes for this. MEMO: What's your favorite outing or activity with children? Call Mom I'm
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by CNB