Golden Birthday Ball

Why

Start a new tradition that children in Switzerland really enjoy. Roll a Golden Birthday Ball and share good wishes with the birthday child!


Steps

1. Here’s a Swiss way to say "Happy Birthday!" Children lay decorated fabric on the floor and sit around it. The birthday child rolls a Golden Ball to one person at a time. Each friend rolls the ball back to the birthday child while extending a greeting. After all wishes are given, the birthday cloth is put on the back of the birthday child’s chair. You can make the fabric and ball to use in your classroom.


2. Decorate the fabric. On paper, use Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils and your imagination to sketch ideas to decorate the birthday fabric. Just erase if you change your mind.


3. On cotton or 50/50 cotton/polyester fabric, use Crayola Fabric Markers to design the birthday greetings. If the fabric is likely to be laundered, ask an adult to heat-set the colors by putting it in a dryer for 30 minutes on the hottest setting.


4. Make the Golden Ball. Roll Crayola Model Magic into a ball. Air-dry it 24 hours.


5. Cover your craft area with newspaper. Using gold Crayola Premier Tempera and a Crayola Brush, paint your ball. Air-dry it. Enjoy celebrating your new birthday tradition often!


Safety Guidelines

Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project. Observe children closely and intervene as necessary to prevent potential safety problems and ensure appropriate use of arts and crafts materials. Some craft items, particularly beads and buttons, are potential choking hazards for young children. Avoid use of such small parts with children younger than 3 years. Craft items such as scissors, push pins and chenille sticks may have sharp points or edges. Avoid use of materials with sharp points by children younger than 4 years. Read all manufacturers' safety warnings before using arts and craft supplies.

Adult Assistance is required for this arts & crafts project.

Crayola Modeling Materials including Crayola Model Magic®, and Model Magic Fusion™, Crayola Air-Dry Clay, and Crayola Dough—

  • Keep away from open flames. Do not use to make candleholders, hot plates, trivets, or other similar objects that will be used or placed near fire and other heat sources.
  • Do not put in an oven, microwave, or kiln.
  • Do not make into vessels/containers that will hold unpackaged food.
  • The use of modeling material to make items that look like food is discouraged for children younger than age 5 to avoid their confusion with real food.
  • Unless sealed with a water-resistant glaze, do not make projects exposed to or immersed in water, such as boats or outdoor bird feeders. They would disintegrate when exposed to moisture.
  • Crayola Dough—contains gluten (wheat flour) as an ingredient.
  • Crayola Air-Dry Clay, Crayola Model Magic and Model Magic Fusion are gluten-free. However, they are produced on the same machinery as Crayola Dough which does contain gluten. Although the machines are cleaned prior to the start of each production run, there is a slight possibility that trace amounts of gluten from Crayola Dough may be present in the other modeling compound products. For information regarding specific ingredients or allergic concerns, please call our Consumer Affairs department at 1-800-272-9652 weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Adaptations

  • Research other countries to discover how birthdays are celebrated. For instance, in Mexico a large party is given to girls on their 15th birthday. Russians eat birthday pie, birthday chairs are common in Lithuania and Holland, and a birthday flag is hung outside the house of the birthday person who lives in Denmark.
  • Younger children and those with special needs could each make a ball for their birthday.
  • Sing "Happy Birthday" in the home languages of children in the group or neighborhood. Ask family members to tell the group about their traditions.

Related Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

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Supplies

crayola supplies
  • Paint Brushes
  • Erasable Colored Pencils
  • Fabric Markers
  • Premier™ Tempera Paint
  • Model Magic®
household supplies
  • recycled newspaper
  • white paper
  • paper towels
  • container(s) of water
  • fabric (white synthetic)
  • painting shirt

Overview

grades

  • Pre-K and Kindergarten
  • Grades 1 to 3
  • Special Needs

subjects

  • Language Arts
  • Social Studies
  • Visual Arts

time

  • 30 to 60 minutes

benefits

  • Students recognize that cultures celebrate birthdays in different ways with unique customs.

  • Students show their knowledge of a Swiss birthday custom by creating a birthday cloth and golden ball.

  • Students demonstrate use of the cloth and ball to celebrate a classroom birthday.

Cirriculum

Research Canada Standards
Research UK Standards
Research U.S. Standards