10 • October 14, 2011 norwegian american weekly roots & connections

A monthly feature to share Brought to you by with kids and grandkids BarnebladBarneblad Heidi Håvan Grosch Take a Vacation!

In the “olden days,” the fall school vacation (høstferie) was called potetferie (potato vacation). Children had a job to do. They needed to help their parents or grandparents pick potatoes (ta opp potet/plukke potet). Many people don’t have potatoes today, but I do! Here are some pictures of the funniest looking potatoes I found this year. Can you turn these potato pictures into people, animals or strange creatures? These are examples using PhotoShop, but you can also draw right on the picture – just don’t forget to ask your parents or grandparents if you can have this page of the newspaper first! You can also download the potato pictures from facebook.com/naweekly.

Potatoes courtesy of Heidi Håvan Grosch

Norway and Potatoes Potato stamping One thing make out of Take a potato and cut it in two. potatoes is potato lefse. It is flat, Draw the design you want on your thin and soft like a . To potato half. Cut a design into the make it you put a small ball of potato with a knife. Get help if the dough on a flat surface and you are younger. You can also roll it out VERY, VERY thin. cut a design into your potato The rolling pin has grooves in with a cookie cutter. it. You have to be careful rolling Put a little “glob” of craft it out so you don’t get any holes. Af- paint on a piece of waxed paper or terwards you bake the lefse on a grill. a saucer and brush a bit of the paint onto Norwegians also like to eat boiled the potato stamp. Stamp your design onto a piece of potatoes without the skin. Modern paper, flowerpot or whatever you can think of. This is a Norwegians like and potato chips! nice way to make wrapping paper. Have fun!

Dancing Hippo, by Christy Olsen Field Cottontail Rabbit, by Krystn Nesselquist The Potato Bride, by Kelsey Larson Potato Alien Man, by Kelsey Larson Do you see what I see? Share your potato art with us at naw@.com