Tag Archives: chanukah

Menorah vs. Hanukkiyah (easy show ‘n’ tell)

Posted on 11/22/2015 | 2 comments
menorah trio trimmed

menorot

A Menorah is a lamp. A lamp is a menorah.

A Hanukkah menorah  is a hanukkiyah.

This little set up (above) is so easy to assemble, and its a great way to start a class about menorah structure, rules, and vocab. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

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Edible Menorah in a Window

Posted on 10/15/2013 | Comments Off on Edible Menorah in a Window

The ol’ Pretzel Stick Menorah is a quick and easy activity for a class or party. It’s educational, it’s fun, and you can eat it.

Lighting the menorah in a window

Lighting the menorah in a window

I did this last year with K through 3rd grade, and everyone loved it, which is a boast I wish I could make about all my lesson plans.  First, we turned off the lights and lit a real oil menorah, with blessings.  This put everyone in a receptive mood and gave a heads-up that there are such things as menorah blessings.  It also provided a real, working model of an object we were about to recreate with food, WHICH IS Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Edible Craft, Hanukkah

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Instant goodie bags for Hanukkah Classroom visits

Posted on 12/11/2012 | Comments Off on Instant goodie bags for Hanukkah Classroom visits
re-used gelt bags

re-used gelt bags

Here’s a quick, cheap way to make teeny goody bags for your Hanukkah classroom visit.  IF you do gelt.
These are very, very simple.  I could go all Target Dollar Spot and use fancy bags and woven ribbon and include more gelt and hand-lettered name tags, but this particular goody baglet is meant to be a token gift for a minor holiday: a good-will gesture from the token Jews in the room. Continue reading →

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Posted in Hanukkah, Jewish kids in nonJewish school

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Hanukkah Parent classroom visits

Posted on 12/07/2012 | 5 comments
Super cheap, in-your-face oil menorah

tin oil menorah with glass or plastic cups

Here’s a link to my buffet of options for Hanukkah Parent School Visits: what to bring, what to read, what might happen.  Please add your experiences below or on that page. We can learn from each other.

And here’s what I’ve chosen from the buffet for my own classroom visit this time:

After last year’s fizzle of a oil menorah demo (where none of the homemade wicks worked), Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Jewish kids in nonJewish school

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LEGO dreidel kit: giveaway

Posted on 11/24/2012 | 23 comments

LEGO dreidel kit giveaway

Would you like to win a LEGO dreidel kit?  Ideally, you’ve all got enough parts at home to make a whole battalion of unique, custom dreidel models, but in case you don’t, take some of mine.  The more LEGO dreidels in the world, the better. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Jewish Toys

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DIY LEGO dreidel kits

Posted on 11/20/2012 | 13 comments

DIY LEGO dreidels in progress

I am in search of the perfect LEGO dreidel. In this case, perfection means cheap, easy and fun. The model will need to attract Chanukah carnival go-ers between the ages of four and eleven, each of whom will be offered a chance to make and take said ideal dreidel.  Thus, above all, it’s going to have to spin.  Really spin.

My search might benefit you, too: you, the grownup with a LEGO lover at home or in the classroom. The act of building a LEGO dreidel is chock full o’ educational benefits.  So many elements to consider: you’ve got to have four balanced sides; a low center of gravity; a minimum of friction; a smooth, wide contact point and a design that doesn’t fling itself to bits when it bashes into another dreidel. Figuring all this out with your kid is more than half the fun. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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Swim Noodle Dreidel

Posted on 11/16/2012 | 2 comments
Swim Noodle Dreidel, spins

spinning Swim Noodle Dreidel

I couldn’t resist.  What better accompaniment to a Swim Noodle Menorah than a Swim Noodle Dreidel?  Besides, I had noodle waste.

When one trims a swim noodle to the appropriate Menorah candle length, one generates noodle waste.

How I made it:
As a complete afterthought, believe me. It ain’t pretty, but it SPINS. Continue reading →

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Hanukkah Connect-4: the Gelt Edition

Posted on 12/11/2011 | 5 comments
Real Gelt Connect-4

“Real Gelt” Connect-4

Games and crafts should say, “touch me.”   Whether in a whisper or a scream, they should entice.  And what screams “touch me” like chocolate?

Here’s a variation on a classic board game perfect for Hanukkah parties, carnivals or just fun at home:

Connect 4 with real chocolate gelt.

Simple, yes?  You’d think.  But size matters.  We all know gelt brands vary in palatability, but they also vary in diameter and width. And successive generations of Connect Four frames vary in inner dimensions.  The old yellow and blue frames—some with tab and slot assembly, some with pin and hole assembly—are not created equal, and the snazzy new dark blue versions are totally different.  (Any of these will do, but not the new Launchers incarnation or the travel size game.)

Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Hanukkah

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Review: Jewish Holidays in a Box (Hanukkah Kit)

Posted on 11/08/2011 | 1 comment

photo courtesy of JewishHolidaysinaBox.com

Jewish Holidays in a Box is a nifty concept: one kit per holiday with how-tos, whys and whats tucked neatly inside.

This post is a review of the newly-released Hanukkah Kit, which is the first in a series of kits from Jewish Holidays in a Box. The kit is aimed at children ages 4-10, Continue reading →

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Dreidel Cookies

Posted on 12/11/2010 | 4 comments
Dreidel cookies, chocolate letters

Dreidel cookies, chocolate letters

If I’d known royal icing was so easy, I’d have made it long before now. Two ingredients (plus color) make a gloppy paste easily scooped and squirted onto the baked good of choice, and later, after it dries, it becomes a beautifully smooth concrete. The perfect medium with which to anchor these little Hebrew letters made from a candy mold. Continue reading →

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Posted in Edible Craft, Hanukkah, Jewish parenting

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