Rosh Hashanah Activity

 This is a really cute and easy activity to do with the kids in honor of Rosh Hashanah.

 

What You Need:

• Paper plate
•  Honey
• Grapes
• Raisins
• Apples 

Instructions:

 

Slice one apple into wedged pieces. Lay down one paper plate and decorate a face: using raisins for the eyes, a grape for the nose, an apple slice for the mouth, and honey for the hair. Lastly, enjoy your tasty creation!

 

Helpful tip: If you put a little bit of lemon juice on the apple wedge, it will keep it from turning brown.

 

Shofar Craft

Supplies:

New Year's Party Horn
Aluminum Foil

Toilet Paper Roll
White Glue
Craft Tissue Paper and Star of David shapes
Glitter
Scissors

Instructions:

Using glue, decorate a large piece of aluminum foil with craft tissue paper and Star of David shapes. Let dry. Attach a toilet paper roll to the end of the party horn. Apply glue to the back of the aluminum foil after decorating, and then wrap it while still wet around the party horn.  Trim excess, bend the open end up a little as shown in photo above. Let dry.

Check out this great website for Rosh Hashanah ideas and more!

www.creativejewishmom.com

Judaics

Our second week of school flew by in Judaics! We talked about blessings and what we have in our lives that we are grateful for. We also made a Blessing for the Home Hamsa craft so that our homes will be filled peace, love and happiness! We had a great time painting our Challah Covers and singing Shabbat songs! 

For the Challah Cover:

This is a Challah Cover that your children had a great time decorating this week as we continued our learning about Shabbat. The reason that we cover the challah is that it is the last object to receive a blessing on Shabbat (first we bless the candles and then the wine) and we don't want the challah to feel bad that it receives the last blessing. Rabbi Jacob ben Asher from the 13th century elucidates that since we are sensitive to the "feelings" of the challah we learn that we should be extremely sensitive in the way that we deal with those around us. In Judaics this week we have been discussing that it never feels good to be picked last and that we should always try to include our friends in any activities we are doing. The Hebrew words say "Shabbat Shalom" which is the greeting that we say to one another on Shabbat, wishing each other a good and restful day. I hope that you enjoy using these Challah Covers as much as your children enjoyed making them! 

For the Hamsa:

This is a Blessing for the Home Hamsa that your children enjoyed decorating this week. A Hamsa is a traditional Jewish symbol that is often hung in the home as artwork or worn as jewelry that serves to protect. The shape of the hand is reminiscent of the priestly blessing which is given with the hands raised above the head. I hope that enjoy the Blessing for the Home Hamsa!

Curly Birds

 Use your old paper scraps...

(Great Rainy Day Craft!)

 

Materials

• Card stock
• Scissors
• Tacky glue

• Clothespin
• Toothpick

Instructions

1. First, use this guide to measure and cut the card stock strips you'll need for each bird:
   
   Body: 5 (1-inch-wide) strips, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 inches long
   Head: 2 (1-inch-wide) strips, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches long
   Tail: 5 (1 1/2-inch-wide) strips, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 inches long
   Beak: 1 (1- by 2-inch) strip
   Eyes: 1 (1- by 1 1/2-inch) strip
   
   
2. Roll the body strips into circles, overlap their ends about 1/4 inch, and secure with tacky glue. 
   
   
3. Nest the circles and glue them together. Tip: Use a clothespin to hold the pieces until the glue dries. Do the same with the head strips, then glue the head to the body.
   
   
4. Trim the tail strips into long triangles, then curl them a bit before gluing them together. Glue the tail to the body.
   
   
5. Fold the beak rectangle in half, then cut off the two folded corners at an angle, as shown. Fold in the tabs and glue them to the bird's head. 
   
   
6. Roll the eye piece around a toothpick to form a small tube. Secure the tube with a thin line of glue, then glue it in place.
   

Judaics Class

This week we had a great week in Judaics. We learned about how each of us and how everything around us has a name, and how this is a great gift from God because we can identify all of the things and people around us. We learned the Yiddush and Hebrew names for Grandma and Grandpa (Bubby and Zaidy, Savta and Saba), as well as the Hebrew words for Mommy and Daddy (Ima and Abba). We reviewed the symbols of Shabbat – Candles (Nerot), Challah and Kiddush, and also learned about a very important Jewish symbol – the Mezuzah. I hope you enjoy the Mezuzah craft that the children made! I am looking forward to next week when we learn about another Jewish symbol – The Hamsa and we discuss blessings!

-Mora Brenda

"First Day/Week" Photo Book

What You Need:

• Camera (digital is especially handy)
• Card stock paper
• Glue Stick
• Tape
• Markers

 What You Do:

1. Schedule some "run-through” time to practice the first day of school routine, and get your camera
ready. If you’re talking about a “new” school, your child may not realize that there will be many
aspects of her day that will actually be familiar!

2. For your first run-through, start with getting up in the morning. Invite your child to “act out” waking
up and take a picture. Have her put on a nice outfit, the kind she’d wear to school, and once she's
dressed to impress, take a picture again. Do the same for eating breakfast and then for putting on
a backpack or grabbing a book bag etc.

3. The next step, going to school, can be frightening. Have your child practice and “act it out,” whether
that means walking to, or hopping in your car. Photograph that, as well.

4. Finally, take some pictures of the afternoon transition. Your own family’s rituals probably vary, but
in general, try for 1-3 photographs that help your child know just what to expect and be reassured
that again, it’s all really very familiar. You can take a picture of her coming home, or eating her
after school snack or simply playing outside.

5. To assemble the book, print your pictures and invite your child to help you lay them out in order on
a table.
 
6. Now cut your card stock paper in half, to make a stack of pages 5-1/2”x8-1/2”. On the first one,
place a picture of your child, and write a title. On each succeeding page, place a photograph and one or two words, such as
“waking up,” or “my school” (you can have your child write the word). Use a
glue stick to attach all of the pictures.
 
7. You can make a traditional book by stacking the pages or you can even make an accordion style book.