Bible Belt Balabusta

Tortilla Torah Scrolls

Posted on 10/04/2015 | 6 comments

Tortilla Torah, by 3rd grader

I wrote about kid-created instant edible Torah Scrolls years ago, back when I could get away with a lot more sugar in the classroom. And, I’ve already talked about the holiday and why an edible Torah Scroll can be a good enrichment activity for Simchat Torah. When kids explore a real sefer Torah as model and special guest, they understand what they are re-creating and why.

This post is a simpler version. Less candy, less time, but actually more fun. And, kids get to be a scribe / sofer with their own Torah scrolls by writing with food-safe ink. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Edible Craft, Simchat Torah

Tagged edible craft, Edible pen, torah scroll

Etrog Recycling Projects (after Sukkot)

Posted on 10/04/2015 | 3 comments

Etrog half, peel and seed

We are lucky if we have an etrog. We are obscenely lucky if we have 15 of them. After Sukkot my 2nd and 3rd graders got to explore leftover congregational etrogim in class: boxes and boxes of glorious, weird, bumpy, fragrant, delicious and gorgeous etrogim.

Look at some of the neat things we are doing: Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Nature, Sukkot

Tagged besamim, etrog, Havdalah, recycle, repurpose

Group build: LEGO model sukkah setup

Posted on 09/24/2015 | 3 comments

buffet of sorted components, including real twigs

I’ve written about LEGO sukkahs (and a bunch of other kinds of kid-created tabletop versions), but I just realized I didn’t report about our classroom LEGO sukkah build last year. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Sukkot

Tagged Lego, sukkah

Yom Kippur Scapegoat Activity

Posted on 09/21/2015 | Comments Off

private mistakes are written underneath

Boy, did I hesitate posting this one. “Scapegoat” seems to be one of those code words that bring out the religiously, um, fervent faster than you can say “proselytize.” Context and intention are everything. I just want to help introduce the bizarre concept of the Yom Kippur scapegoat to appropriately aged children and to tweak the idea to be a useful tool for teshuvah. (What’s teshuvah? My working definition is “turning” toward the right path and good behavior as we assess our deeds of the past year. The goal is to be the best [insert own name here] we can be.) Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged Yom Kippur craft

Yom Kippur Mini Catapult

Posted on 09/20/2015 | 2 comments

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 →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Lag B'Omer, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged catapult, trash art, Yom Kippur

Bees for Rosh Hashanah

Posted on 09/03/2015 | Comments Off

bee models for art, for honey, for disscussion

My dream is to bring a hive of bees to school for a pre-Rosh Hashanah exploration. Or even better, to bring the kids to a hive, especially to a hive nestled near an organic garden. Until then, I have to make do with dead bees, honeycomb and honey in the art room. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Nature, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged bees, Honey

Apple and Honey Practice and Taste Test

Posted on 09/02/2015 | 2 comments

Apple and Honey practice

I was fiddling with a bunch of materials I’d collected—mostly recyclables—trying to come up with a craft my Sunday School classes could do in 25 minutes. Something connected to Rosh Hashanah, something meaningful, useful, decent-looking and 100% fun to make. I spent hours fine-tuning a “cute” craft we’ve all seen on Pinterest, but I just couldn’t make it kid-friendly enough so that even the Kindergarteners could do all the work themselves. And, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was doing something wrong. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Edible Craft, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

Tagged Apples, Blessings, food blessings, Honey

Tie-Dye Challah Covers (with kids and free dye)

Posted on 05/31/2015 | 4 comments

diluted acrylic paint

Did you know you can (sort of) make fabric dye with acrylic paint? This trick turns even ancient acrylic into gorgeous tie-dye for free. I found out by accident.
Bottom line: I used old paint to “squeeze-bottle tie-dye” challah covers with kids while we stood over a sink. It was easy, it was gorgeous, tidy, and it was free.

Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Shabbat

Tagged challah cover, tie-dye, upcycle

Marker Mitzvah: Making Liquid Watercolors

Posted on 05/17/2015 | Comments Off

“do not dink or you will die”

In conjunction with our big, ongoing Marker Mitzvah program—where we collect the school’s dead markers and ship them for conversion into diesel fuel—we keep some dry markers for use in the art room.

What do we do with dead markers? We make mezuzah cases (which I’ve written about here) and we make FREE, gorgeous liquid watercolors. Even the driest of dry marker will leach plenty of color into a bottle of water. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts

Tagged Bal Tashchit, mitzvah, recycle, upcycle

Marker Mitzvah Project: Converting Crayola

Posted on 05/15/2015 | 1 comment

Marker Mitzvah display at school program

Here’s an easy mitzvah project I started with our 3rd graders, and it benefits the entire school. The mitzvah is B’al Tashcheet—”do not destroy”—and what we are trying to “not destroy” is the Earth: we’re saving oodles of markers from the landfill. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Nature

Tagged Bal Tashchit, mitzvah project, recycle, reuse, upcycle

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

Posted on 05/14/2015 | Comments Off

roadkill or wax-soaked lint?

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

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Lag B'Omer

Tagged fire, Lag B'Omer, upcycle

Swim Noodle Omer Counter

Posted on 04/17/2015 | 2 comments

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 →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Lag B'Omer, Passover, Shavuot

Tagged omer

Yom means Day, ha means the, Shoah means Holocaust

Posted on 04/16/2015 | 7 comments

2nd grade artwork

The email said that today’s Hebrew School would start with a meeting to explain to the kids why there would be no outdoor play for awhile—because on Monday someone fired a bullet into our synagogue—and would end with candle-lighting for Yom HaShoah. My kid had not heard of either: the bullet or the Holocaust. So, today, Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in Jewish Identity

Tagged Holocaust, Yom Hashoah

Rainbow Loom Omer Counter

Posted on 04/11/2015 | Comments Off

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 →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Lag B'Omer, Passover, Shavuot

Tagged omer

LEGO Omer Counters, DIY

Posted on 04/09/2015 | 9 comments

LEGO omer counter: from Passover to Shavuot

LEGO omer counters. I couldn’t find any, so I made some up. LEGO is ideal for an omer counter because it is inherently irresistible and in any decent-sized LEGO bin at home are bound to be 49 somethings with which to mark each day of the count. Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Passover

Tagged Lag BaOmer, omer, omer counter, Passover, Shavuot

Omer Counters for Kids, a Roundup (please add yours)

Posted on 04/08/2015 | 8 comments

from Pesach to Shavuot

I have post-seder ennui—worse than the usual Passover prep hangover—and I need a new challenge: an omer counter. I’m looking for a design that is group-friendly, and that doesn’t require us to buy any materials. Ideally, I want BARLEY in it: real barley groats, real barley stalks to remind us of the omer origins. I already have both. But kids aren’t going to be pushing each other out of the way for the chance to open a matchbox to grab . . . a groat. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Passover

Tagged omer

Roast the Seder Plate Egg (kids)

Posted on 04/05/2015 | 5 comments

Roast a beitzah (egg) to take home for your seder plate

Why let kids dangle boiled eggs over fire?
To candle-roast an egg is a quick, hands-on connection to what the seder plate egg symbolizes. It’s weird, it’s memorable and it is a kid magnet.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Passover

Tagged seder plate

Seder-Step Program for School Families

Posted on 04/02/2015 | 7 comments

Seder step stations

I nearly called this post “Passover Carnival,” but was afraid you’d get the wrong idea. The wrong idea is a spree with lice races, chocolate matzah painting, origami frogs, and crafts. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Passover

Tagged carnival, school program, seder

Open the [LEGO] Door for Elijah

Posted on 04/01/2015 | Comments Off

Open the [LEGO] door for Elijah

At our school’s Walk Through the Seder Steps program, two toy tableaux sat at the Hallel station. Hallel is the step where, appropriately enough, we sing Hallel and other songs of praise, and also when we open the door for Elijah. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Passover

Tagged Duplo, Lego, seder

Passover Story with Toy Tableaux

Posted on 03/31/2015 | Comments Off

As part of the Maggid Station at our school’s interactive Seder Steps program, I wanted kids to consider the Passover story and put to scenes in narrative sequence. I didn’t want flat pictures or flannel boards—I wanted 3-D—so I used toys, Continue reading →