Sukkot began on October 4th and ends the evening of October 11th What to do with this wonderful week ahead of you? As Anita Diamant says, “Sukkot is an opportunity and excuse for a seven-day picnic.” Here are a few things you can try to bring the holiday to life. Eat one or more meals outside. Decorate your eating area with fall leaves, branches, little pumpkins, squash, apples, and other harvest symbols. Plan a family outing to a farmer’s market to find recently harvested fruits and veggies. Make a harvest-themed centerpiece; simply group your farmer’s market finds with … [Read more...]
Making Jewish New Year Cards – Free Images
The first night of Rosh Hashanah 2017 is Wednesday, September 20th. So now’s the perfect time to make Jewish New Year cards with your kids. Send them to grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends – they’ll love ‘em! Creating Jewish New Year cards with young children We like reinforcing two key concepts of Rosh Hashanah in card creation: Round – round challah, round apples, hope for a round (full) year Sweet – apples dipped in honey, honey cake, teiglach. #1 You can take this wonderful art idea and apply it to … [Read more...]
Shana Tova! 3 Crafts for Little Hands
Thanks to Jordan Smith, a guest poster on other craft blogs, for reaching out to us. She said, “I was looking for a way to teach my home schooled children about other religions and found your site! My kids do best with hands-on activities, so I put together a list of crafts for them to do to learn more about Rosh Hashanah. While I am not of the Jewish faith, I did enjoy researching lessons for my children and sharing my knowledge with them. Here are three of the crafts I found.” I love the idea of reaching out to learn about other faiths, other cultures. As a child, I was the only … [Read more...]
The “Fruity & Nutty” Jewish Holiday – Tu BiSh’vat
Ah, the almond tree in Israel. In bloom again. Time for Tu BiSh’vat, the New Year of the Trees. (Sorry - this isn't an almond blossom, but you get the idea.) To get you in the spirit, read these lines from Rabbi Vicki Hollander’s lyrical “Ode to the Moon of Sh’vat.” (It’s definitely worth clicking on the link to read the rest of it.) And as the full moon rises, on the 15th day of Sh’vat, so comes her holy day, Tu BiSh’vat, the new year of the trees. When according to legend, that very night, the moon pulls and sap stirs within the trees, rising upwards. Full of Possibility Tu … [Read more...]
Helping Kids Understand Tashlich
One of my new Rosh Hashanah books broaches territory that is more complicated than eating apples dipped in honey. [For a good Rosh Hashanah book for younger children, read our blog about Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah.] “New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story,” was written by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by Stephane Jorisch. The story helps young readers understand the basics of the ceremony of Tashlich, from the perspective of Izzy who is sorry for several of his transgressions from the past year. It’s easy for him to admit to three: drawing on Miriam’s forehead, … [Read more...]