Gingerbread Golem

Posted on 10/27/2014 | 7 comments
Gingerbread Golem

Gingerbread Golem

To bring to life the dead space between fall Jewish holidays and winter Jewish holidays: The Gingerbread Golem. Continue reading →

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Posted in Edible Craft, Kitsch

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More Lulav Re-cycling Projects (after Sukkot)

Posted on 10/23/2014 | 2 comments
four Lulav leaf weaving experiments

four Lulav leaf weaving experiments

I’m still playing with leftover lulav leaflets.  Consider this an in-progress Show and Tell.  Six different projects so far.  Scroll down to see some serious lulav love.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Sukkot

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Lulav Chain garland for Sukkot (a re-purpose)

Posted on 10/16/2014 | 1 comment
Lulav Chain garland

Lulav Chain garland

Here’s a nifty way to re-purpose your now superfluous lulav after Sukkot: a Lulav Chain for next year’s sukkah.  All-natural, thematic, respectful (to a ritual object) and genuinely pretty.  No staples, no glue.  I find it strangely soothing to assemble the links as fast as possible, but taken at a leisurely pace, even older kids can join in and help “re-cycle.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Nature, Sukkot

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LEGO Minifig Lulav and Etrog

Posted on 10/09/2014 | 2 comments
caption

LEGO minifig lulav and etrog

Our LEGO minifigs now have an appropriately-scaled lulav and etrog for their LEGO sukkah. For a few years, they’ve heard rumours that our Playmobil folk had a set, but now, both populations can shake and wave and sniff and try not to poke out each other’s eyeballs. Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Sukkot

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Manischewitz Tiki Torch: An Essay

Posted on 10/07/2014 | Comments Off on Manischewitz Tiki Torch: An Essay
the Tacky Torch

Tacky Tiki Torch

The Manischewitz Tiki Torch.  Unendorsed, unaffiliated, unnoticed by the Manischewitz company, but most emphatically created in homage to it.  I timed the debut for erev Sukkot, and I admit, I am tickled purple with myself. Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Humor, Kitsch, Shabbat

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Kid-built mini sukkahs (LEGO, Lincoln Logs, MagNext and K’Nex)

Posted on 10/07/2014 | Comments Off on Kid-built mini sukkahs (LEGO, Lincoln Logs, MagNext and K’Nex)
Lincoln Log sukkah. With steps for Bubbe.

Lincoln Log sukkah. With steps for Bubbe.

Psssst: a kid-crafted mini sukkah made with construction toys is way, way easier on you, the adult, than say, with edibles or up-cycled boxes.  LEGO and Lincoln Logs and suchlike do not require you to run for the scissors and glue, to monitor frosting consumption, Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Sukkot

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Origami Sukkah for Kids (easy tabletop toy)

Posted on 10/05/2014 | 2 comments
one piece of paper, folded. Add herbs for fragrant roof!

One piece of paper, folded. Add herbs for fragrant roof.

Kids can make a quick, mini sukkah from a single piece of construction paper.   Quick doesn’t mean without context: you can teach the rules of sukkah-building (how many walls, type of roof, schach, etc.) and give an overview of the holiday while kids work. Continue reading →

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Wax seals: a pre-Yom Kippur demo

Posted on 10/01/2014 | 4 comments
a stamp and shmear

a stamp and shmear

My Director emailed last night: “do you have anything that shows how something is sealed?”  I read between those brief lines and guessed  Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Jonah and the Whale (origami storytelling prop)

Posted on 09/28/2014 | Comments Off on Jonah and the Whale (origami storytelling prop)

model closed

I told the story of Jonah and the Dag Gadol (a.k.a. the Whale) today using one simple origami prop: the paper boat that, with a sleight of hand, becomes a giant pair of jaws (the Whale).  Jonah was a pompom, which the sailors tossed into the sea (the floor), and which was then swallowed by the whale, only to be spewed later onto Dry Land.  I had SO much fun with this. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Hack a dollar store Deely-Bopper for Rosh Hashanah

Posted on 09/24/2014 | Comments Off on Hack a dollar store Deely-Bopper for Rosh Hashanah
if you whip your head sideways really fast, you can dip the apple in the honey

if you whip your head sideways really fast, you can dip the apple in the honey

It’s erev Rosh Hashanah and I do not have time for this post, but I’m putting it out there anyway.  Because there is always time for thematic holiday headgear, especially when it involves hacking a Deely Bopper.  Priorities. Continue reading →

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

Teaching the Shofar: horn vs. antler

Posted on 09/24/2014 | 2 comments
shofar, so not

shofar, so not

In my shofar classes (Kindergarten—3rd) I mentioned why shofars are made from horns, not antlers. My K-3 explanation is that horns are hollow and antlers are solid. Horns Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Nature, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Jewish Tangrams: Yom Kippur (printable Jonah and Whale)

Posted on 09/19/2014 | 5 comments
This can be Jonah getting swallowed OR spewed

This can be Jonah getting swallowed OR spewed

I made more Jewish tangrams—this time for Yom Kippur.  You supply the story of Jonah and the Whale, and kids can mess around with tangrams to represent the Dag Gadol (big fish), Jonah’s boat, and Jonah.  Do them in order and you’ve got the whole story.
Narrative play!
I dare you to make the withered vine, too.

These patterns will get you started: puzzles and solutions.   Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Dollar Store Shofar Craft

Posted on 09/13/2014 | 1 comment
party horn shofar craft

DIY shofar

Cheap, quick and irresistible to honk: the Party Horn Shofar.  I tweaked this classic to meet a specific goal: to produce a “realistic-looking” shofar that will not offend the sensibilities of a certain group of students who feel themselves too mature for stickers and glitter.  I also needed horns easy to “sound” (some brands are hard to blow), so that we’ll be able to practice the real shofar calls without getting unduly crabby. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Origami Shofar

Posted on 09/10/2014 | 1 comment
Origami shofar for placecard, toy or greeting card http://wp.me/pvKSY-2h0

paper shofar for placecard, toy, or greeting card

Kids can make an origami shofar to play with, to set on the table as a place-card or decoration, or to glue to the front of a Rosh Hashanah greeting card.  This pattern is taken directly from Florence Temko’s book Jewish Origami.

Ideally, of course, kids make a paper shofar in the presence of a real one, but if you don’t keep a ram’s horn in the china cabinet like I do, the Internet is full of Continue reading →

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Jewish Tangrams: Rosh Hashanah (printable)

Posted on 08/20/2014 | 4 comments
click image to print

click image to print

Tangrams are “open-ended” materials, meaning they can be nearly anything a kid can imagine, just by re-arranging 7 puzzle pieces.  Oh, how I love them.

If you are new to tangrams, or to thinking about them Jewishly, see my intro Page for whys and hows, and a link to printable templates.  I also give tips about how to make the actual pieces irresistible.

In the intro I say how easy it is to “convert” traditional tangram patterns to Judaism by simply changing a name: pot to dreidel, fish to Dag Gadol, candles to nerot for Shabbat.  We convert a silhouette with our intention. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Instant (free) Replacement Shades for Multi-Head Lamp, DIY

Posted on 08/14/2014 | 2 comments
soup containers from take-out menu

soup containers from take-out menu

A post about repurposed soup containers as lampshades is not my usual fare.  Let’s pretend it is not glaringly unlike the Earnest Sunday School Teacher posts adjacent.  And let’s remember that up-cycled trash is part of my make-it-with-what-you’ve-got mantra.  And let’s also note that this (or any) up-cycle project bags at least 3 mitzvot (see below).  But the truth is, I have to post my discovery somewhere, and this is this my only somewhere.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Kitsch

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Giant Torn-Paper Mosaic Map of Israel

Posted on 07/02/2014 | 1 comment
tearing paper, kibbutzing

tearing paper, kibbutzing

First Grade needed an “Israel project” for Yom Ha’atzmaut this year, and as usual, it had to fit into a 30 minute class period.  So, we made a six-foot torn-paper mosaic map of Israel.  The map was a busy, hands-on work to introduce—in a nutshell—the shape, location, major cities, topography and neighbors of the state of Israel. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Israel

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Salt Dough Map of Israel

Posted on 06/27/2014 | 4 comments
vv

map o’ melach

In honor of Yom Ha’atzmaut this year, 2nd and 3rd graders collaborated on a salt dough map of Israel.  We did this as a hands-on introduction to Israel’s topography, place names and its location as regards the rest of the world.  Salt dough is cheap, fast, messy and, barring any sensory processing issues, super-fun to play with.  Salt dough maps are an oldie but a goodie, and need no cooking, no baking. Continue reading →

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Spew Jonah (with a Whale popper)

Posted on 06/17/2014 | 7 comments
pull tail to launch Jonah

pull tail to launch Jonah

“Spewed.”  This is my favorite word in the Jonah story, and it’s legit: “The Lord commanded the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon dry land (JPS).”  Other translations say “vomited,” which is almost as amusing.  So, naturally, my Yom Kippur craft must be a whale that spews.

You know the popular coffee cup/balloon marshmallow popper?   Simple,  brilliant, irresistible.   I’ve repurposed it as a whale, a.k.a. “dag gadol” (big fish).*  The cup is the whale, the balloon is the tail and launcher.  The ammo is Jonah, and Jonah is . . . a pompom.

These whales can launch a pompom 15 feet easy and hit ceilings with a satisfying smack.  I dare anyone not to like launching Jonah. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Alef Bet Sensory Activities (and Hebrew Letter Carnival)

Posted on 06/13/2014 | 2 comments
Lite Brite shin

Lite Brite shin

Maybe it goes without saying that teachers of Hebrew letter formation can borrow the huge bag of tricks devised by teachers of English letter formation, but I’m saying it.  A quick online search reveals oodles of brilliant alphabet ideas, and all we have to do is modify for aleph-bet.  No need to reinvent the galgal.

A sensory activity can be as simple as you wish: simple in terms of content and in terms of prep.  Is isn’t that hard to throw a bunch of wooden coffee stirrers in a basket and ask a kid to arrange them to make a letter.   Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Edible Craft, Jewish Toys

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