what and where?
Where should the seder plate symbols go? Every year I have to look it up, and every year I can’t seem to find a handy-dandy reference. I make seder plates with students—real plates and “enrichment” types with funky materials like LEGO or candy—so proper placement matters. I want to be consistent, and I like to know what tradition says and why. Store-bought seder plates Continue reading
printable sandwiched between 2 plates
Another 30-min.-or-less seder-centric project. The goal: a seder plate kids create and then actually use. These can get wet and wiped (but not submerged). Continue reading
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Tagged Passover, seder, seder plate
Beaded, felt matzah cover
My Earnest Sunday School Teacher Hat is on again:
Here’s another less-then-30 min. Passover project for seder use.
Our art classes are 25 -30 min., which includes the giving of context and the cleaning of mess, so we gotta move FAST. Continue reading
matzah-look, three pocket holder
Quick post for a quick project.
I only have 25 to 30 minutes with a class, but need to produce something functional and fun for Passover, so I choose carefully. Continue reading
Target seder plate 2012
You know those cute and cheap Target Passover dishes we’ve loved for the past few years? Remember how happy we were to see them displayed in our favorite secular store? Hebrew letters, right there on the endcap. We were surprised and grateful and we whipped out the RED Cards and bought.
So, where’s the stuff this year? Facebook and email friends report zilch. Have you seen anything at your local store? Continue reading
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
Posted in Activity, Lag B'Omer, Passover, Shavuot
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.
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
Posted in Activity, Edible Craft, Lag B'Omer, Passover, Shavuot
setting the Seder Plate
several years of old placecards
Have an index card? You have a frog. And a placecard, an afikomen clue, a keep-hands-busy-activity, a plague, and a jumping frog game. Continue reading
LEGO Seder Plate
The LEGO minifigs are jealous. This time, we’ve made a seder plate sized for the big people. Continue reading
DIY kit for the search for leaven
Bedikat Chametz, or Search for Leaven is a quick, hands-on, kid-friendly and extremely memorable activity right before Passover starts. Basically, we hide bits of bread/leaven/chametz, let the kids find them at nightfall, and then destroy the bits the next day (the morning before the first seder). In short: hide + seek + darkness + flames = awesome. Continue reading
Just in time for the plague of frogs, another PEZuzah. My husband came home bearing a Kermit the Frog PEZ dispenser, and it begged to be converted into a holiday mezuzah case. Pull Kermit’s keppie to reveal a cavity perfectly sized for a real scroll. This little trick makes it far more convenient to inspect the klaf twice every seven years, as per tradition. A PEZ mezuzah is not per tradition, but it works. Continue reading
mini seder plate
Do we eat the foods on a real seder plate? Nope. But we can eat this seder plate snack—even the plate. Continue reading
Hub Cap Seder Plate. Is it the first? What with all the upcycled hubcaps online, I’m surprised. I see bird baths, bird feeders, wall clocks, yard art, but no seder plates. Then again, a Venn diagram of Jewish + DIY + Automotive Enthusiast would not reveal much of an overlap. Continue reading
Charoset-making station
You don’t have to make a seder plate in order to use the heck out of it as a fabulous, hands-on reference point to this fabulous, hands-on holiday of Passover. You just need a seder plate—any seder plate—and the stuff that goes on it.
The real objects depicted on a plate are weird and wonderful. Intentionally so. A horseradish root? How often does that show up on the kitchen table, and how often does a kid get to grate the thing? Charoset is weird, a naked bone is weird. A boiled egg is not so weird, but it can be if you scorch Continue reading
“I love you, Blood Buddy,” came a sweet croon from the back of the car, “I looooove blood!”
Way to perpetuate a stereotype, kid.
And at Passover, too. As my friend Joanna P. would say, “and that is how you make a blood libel joke, Sarah Palin.” Although, maybe she wouldn’t. Joanna P. is right this moment trying to remove an entire jar of Mod Podge from her carpet, so I can’t know for sure.
All I do know for sure is that blood and Jews and Passover are a tricky trinity, and that my Jewish child is in a booster seat singing love songs to a plush blood drop clutched to his cheek. Continue reading
Just for fun: two LEGO seder plates and a table, sized for a minifig Passover.
Now, I’ve got to get busy making the real thing….
Have a happy Passover!
See below for the bits we used. If you make your own, please post pics to my Facebook page. Continue reading
if you think a LEGO coffin is creepy, stop reading now.
DIY death toys….
I already wrote about how to assemble a collection of plague toys for the seder, and how to refashion a matzah box to house them. Each guest can use a box during the Maggid section of the haggadah.
I’m rather fond of plague toys and their power to make the Exodus story more hands-on, real and memorable. Continue reading
Random.org tells me that Marjorie and Ellen are the big winners of the Moses and Pharaoh giveaway. I’ll alert Chai Kids right this minute and they will ship forthwith.
Thank you to everyone who left a Passover suggestion/idea in a comment. If you have a moment Continue reading
Swim Noodle Menorah
LEGO Gragger
Altoids tin travel menorah
Spin it, Eat it: The Caramel Dreidel
Edible dreidels, regular and mini
Jonah and the Whale Cracker
DIY Lego Mezuzah
PEZ + Mezuzah = PEZuzah
Menurkey (repurposed figurine)
DIY LEGO dreidel
LEGO minifig Passover seder table
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Bible Belt Balabusta 
