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Article
for Parents
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Rosh
Hashanah Activities For Young Children
by Debra and Chad Spigel
So,
you may ask, "why do children see Rosh Hashanah in
such a beautiful way, when we adults only see the many hours
of shul in front of us?"
It's
all in the activities. Children learn to love Rosh Hashanah
because adults teach them to love it through fun activities.
When I was younger, Rosh Hashanah was one of my favorite
times to go to synagogue because I got to go to a classroom
with all of my friends and make aluminum foil shofars, put
on little skits about the holidays, and listen to the rabbi
blow the shofar.
Although
I did these activities in temple, you can do them at home
with your children in preparation for the holiday. I must
mention that the following activities were taught to me
by my mother, who also happened to be my kindergarden teacher
for Sunday school.
Aluminum Foil Shofar
Although
simple, this art project is one of the most enjoyable for
children. All you need is a piece of aluminum foil around
12 inches long. You can probably guess what to do with the
foil, but I’ll tell you anyway. From one of the corners,
start rolling the aluminum foil into a funnel shape. Next,
you bend the funnel until it acquires the shape of a shofar.
(For longer shofars you will need a bigger piece of aluminum
foil.) Now comes the fun part: blowing your aluminum foil
shofars. While your shofar might look like the real thing,
to get a sound out of it you have to blow in a very special
way. Pretend that you are playing a kazoo and sort of hum
into the small end of the shofar. You should be rewarded
with a majestic blast that will bring down the walls of
Jericho.
Make Your Own Greeting Cards for the New Year
With
children there is no reason to even mention the word "Hallmark."
Why should you go out and buy New Year cards when your children
will be excited and more than willing to sit down at the
kitchen table and create beautiful cards for friends and
family.
Supplies:
Construction paper
Markers
Crayons
Glue
Glitter
Take
one half of a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 construction paper (choose
your favorite colors) and fold it in half. Voila!!! The
card is nearly complete. All that is left is the decoration.
On the front of the card there should be a greeting like
"Happy New Year" or "Shanah Tova."
After the greeting is done, the real fun begins. Have your
children draw different symbols of Rosh Hashanah on the
front and on the inside of the cards, but don't tell them
what to draw right away. See what they can come up with
first. Of course you should be prepared with suggestions:
a shofar, apples and honey, a torah, a book (for the book
of life), a synagogue, challah, etc.
To brighten up the card, add glitter in the corners or along
the edges by using a little glue and sprinkling the glitter
on top. (Make sure that you let the card dry before putting
it in the envelope.)
Now that the card is decorated, you can write a message
on the inside and send it off. This should also be done
with your children. Let your children put the stamp on the
envelope and put it in the mailbox. The more your children
do, the more they will appreciate the act of sending greetings
for the new year on Rosh Hashanah.
Chad
Spigel is a Hebrew School teacher at synagogues in the Boston
area and is a former JESNA Israel Intern for Jewish Education.
Debra Spigel is Chadâs mother and teaches first grade
in St. Peters, Missouri.
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