Category Archives: Lag B’Omer

Yom Kippur Mini Catapult

to practice "hitting the mark"

to practice “hitting the mark”

I’ve used craft stick catapults for Lag B’Omer, but this year I needed a quick, thematic craft for 2nd graders right before Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur liturgy features archery imagery: missing the mark (“al chet,” which is the closest thing Hebrew has to the word “sin”) and hitting the mark. Torah is sometimes translated as “to take aim.” Continue reading

Dryer-Lint Fire-Starters (Fun With Trash for Lag B’Omer)

roadkill fire-starter

roadkill or wax-soaked lint?

[Making flammable treasure from trash, with kids.] Continue reading

Swim Noodle Omer Counter

Omer counter PVC swim noodle

swim noodle omer

Count the omer with swim noodles!  I needed a BIG omer counter for a classroom (and maybe the school entrance, too), and this is it. I love abacus-style omer counters because it is a pleasure to slide something across something: I feel like I’ve counted, I’ve moved, I’ve gone from here to there. All the more so with swim noodle “cookies” and my beloved PVC pipe. The two materials create just enough friction. Continue reading

Rainbow Loom Omer Counter

Rainbow loom omer bracelet: one rubber band per day

Rainbow loom omer bracelet: one rubber band per day

I made this today just to feel what it would be like to count the omer via Rainbow Loom. It felt fiddly, but worthwhile. Mindful. I had to pay attention and I had to make decisions about color coding. Some kids will like this, some kids will flee in the opposite direction. My own child preferred to watch Pokemon rather than experiment with me, but hey, Pokemon. Continue reading

Passover to Shavuot diorama (thumbprint people)

the Sea of Reeds withThumbprint people

the Sea of Reeds withThumbprint people

Just in time for Shavuot, here’s another Mt. Sinai project. It’s really a three-holiday diorama, but your kid can make just the Shavuot portion in about half an hour, once you’ve raced around the house collecting supplies. Continue reading

Edible Ten Commandments, update

Folks are asking about the chocolate Ten Commandment tablets from my Lag BaOmer post.  So easy, I promise.  And won’t they look splendid atop Mt. Sinai muffins?

ersatz chocolate

chocolate-esque candy bark

don't eat these

don’t eat these

 

I made plaster versions, too, for some of my little Israelites on our Lag baOmer Walk.  They had to “receive” the Ten Commandments at the mountain, right?  But I warn you Continue reading

Lag BaOmer activity: the Omer Walk

Lag B’Omer! Here’s a quick glimpse at what we did…

I wanted my K – 3 classes to “embody” the connection between Passover and Shavuot via the Counting of the Omer, to use their bodies to travel from Passover—where the Israelites became a Free Nation, to Shavuot—where the Israelites became a Holy Nation.

DSC01291

view from the Sea of Reeds toward Lag b’Omer and Shavuot

First, we crossed the Sea of Reeds and became a Free Nation.  On the floor were 49 steps toward Mt. Sinai on the opposite side of the room.  See Mt. Sinai up there, far away? Continue reading

Edible mini bonfire for Lag Ba’Omer

Edible fire for Lag Ba'Omer

Edible fire for Lag Ba’Omer

Here’s a quick snack-tivity for Lag Ba’Omer, and believe me, I need quick.   My Sunday classes are about 25 minutes each, including setup and cleanup, but this little project can bag one Lag Ba’Omer tradition in 5-10 minutes, tops.   Continue reading

Lag B’Omer LEGO

Katniss for Lag B’Omer

Happy Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, those 49 days between Passover and Shavuot.  In honor of the day, my family will be as thematic as is convenient: one of us will get a haircut (the one who is  satisfied with a quickie trip to the walk-in salon), we’ll burn some brush in the crumbling barbecue pit, roast stale Passover marshmallows and shoot a few arrows.  The arrows will be made of foam, after an incident that once put a hole through a solidly-built garden chair and very nearly put a hole through me. Continue reading