www.dreamstime.com
Jewish
Holidays
phoenix.ujcfedweb.org
www.bbc.co.uk
www.beachhillel.com
By Diana Garrett
www.artificialchristmaswreaths.com
ED417-02
www.jupiterimages.com
www.thetoymaker.com
www.bnaijacobfw.org
Jewish Holidays
www.just-tzedakah.org
www.jewishrecipes.org
Five Learning Activities for Kindergarten
Objective: Identify different cultures through the study of holidays,
customs, and traditions utilizing stories and the arts.
Contents
1. Hanukkah
Slides 3-5
2. Passover
Slides 6-8
3. Rosh Hashanah
Slides 9-10
4. Yom Kippur
Slides 11-12
5. Sukkot
Slides 13-14
6. Websites
Slide 15
www.simpletoremember.com
2
2
Hanukkah
www.people.fas.harvard.edu
Basic Content Knowledge
www.nambe.com
• Also known as the Festival of Lights.
• Begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, but varies on
the Western calendar.
• Maccabee Victory—Antiochus, a Syrian king, required all Jewish
people to abandon their heritage (God, religion, tradition, customs)
and worship Greek gods. The Maccabees were a group of Jews
who refused to obey. Three years of fighting ensued, until the
Syrians were successfully driven out of Israel.
• Eight Days of Oil—After this victory, the Maccabees set to work
clearing the Temple in Jerusalem of all Greek religious influences.
The group then decided to light a lamp that would be an “eternal
light.” However, there was only enough oil for about one day.
Miraculously, the small amount of oil lasted eight days.
Hanukkah Activity Materials
 Zigzak! A Magical Hanukkah
Night by Eric Kimmel and Jon
Goodell
 Dreidels
1 per group (2-4 students)
www.ericakimmel.com
 Game pieces
Can be chocolate chips,
pennies, raisins, etc
www.jupiterimages.com
10-15 per student
www.fruitstar.com
3
Hanukkah Activity
brewcitysports.com
Read the Book and Play the Dreidel Game
www.worth1000.com
1. Read and discuss Zigzak! A Magical Hanukkah Night by Eric
Kimmel and Jon Goodell.
2. Form groups of 2-4 students.
3. Each player receives an equal number of game pieces (10-15).
4. Before each turn, all players put one piece into the “pot.”
5. The first player spins the dreidel. There are four possible results.
1. Nun—means nothing. Do nothing with your pieces.
2. Gimmel—means everything. Take everything in the pot.
3. Hey—means half. Take half the pot. (If there is an odd number
of game pieces, take the extra one)
4. Shin—means put in or pay. Put two pieces in the pot.
4
Hanukkah Activity
Continued
www.jewfaq.org
Shin (pay)
Hey (half)
Gimmel
(everything)
Nun (nothing)
6. When a player has no game pieces left, he/she is out.
7. When a player has all the game pieces, he/she wins!
5
Passover
oybey.wordpress.com
Basic Content Knowledge
www.annointed.net
• Passover is celebrated with a special dinner called a seder (sayder), stories, and histories of Passover.
• Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Moses begged the Pharaoh to let
my people go, as instructed by God. Moses warned that God would
punish the people of Egypt if the Pharaoh did not comply. The
Pharaoh still refused and ten terrible plagues were unleashed.
• The plagues were blood, frogs, lice, wild beasts, blight, boils, hail,
locusts, darkness, and the slaying of first-born children.
• Israelites were told to mark their homes with lamb’s blood and God
would “pass over” their homes, sparing their first-born children.
• The Pharaoh finally agreed, and the Israelites left Egypt so quickly
that they could not even bake bread. The packed dough and baked
it in the sun. The result was a hard matzoh cracker, still eaten
today.
Passover
Basic Content Knowledge Continued
burtynsky.stanford.edu
• The Pharaoh sent his army after the Israelites. When the Israelites
reached the Red Sea, they were trapped.
• The second miracle of Passover, the parting of the Red Sea,
allowed the Israelites to cross safely, and swept away the
Pharaoh’s army. The Israelites now knew they were free.
Passover Activity Materials
 The Miracles of Passover by
Josh Hanft
www.eopinions.com
 Sturdy paper plates or plastic
plates (1 per student)
 Paper muffin cups (5 per
student)
www.alljudaica.com
www.thisolddrum.com
 Green acrylic paint
 Craft glue
 Sparkles
 Black markers
www.liz-craft.co.uk
www.ezorderschoolsupplies.com
Stickers for decoration
(optional)
www.fabricandart.com
www.plumparty.com
6
Passover Activity
Nj006.ujr.net
Read the Book and Make a Seder Plate
www.jupiterimages.com
1. Read and discuss The Miracles of Passover by Josh Hanft
2. Paint plates green and set aside to dry.
3. Paint the bottom of the inside of the muffin cups green and set
aside to dry.
4. When dry, with the black marker, write the names of each of the
Passover symbols on the bottoms of the inside of the muffin cups—
Charoset, Bitter Herbs, Greens, Egg, and Shankbone.
5. Glue the muffin cups around the perimeter of the plate with the craft
glue.
6. When dry, use the glue and sparkles to decorate.
7
Passover Activity
Continued
crafts.kaboose.com
7. Write “Seder Plate” in glue in center of plate. Cover with sparkles,
wait a few minutes, and shake off excess.
8. Add stickers if desired.
8
Rosh Hashanah
www.judaica-mall.com
Basic Content Knowledge
www.virtualjerusalem.com
• Rosh Hashanah (rosh hosh-shon-uh) has four meanings.
1. Day of Judgment
a. Jewish people should examine their past year and ask
forgiveness for any transgressions
2. Day of Shofar (sho-far) (ram’s horn) Blowing
a. Marks beginning of High Holy Days
3. Day of Remembrance
a. Of Jewish history
b. Prayers for Israel
4. New Year’s Day
a. Celebrated with special prayers and feasts
Rosh Hashanah
Basic Content Knowledge Continued
community.middlebury.edu
• Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two calendar days because it is
considered too important to celebrate for just one. It is treated as
one long day.
• The destiny of all mankind is said to written by God in the Book of
Life on this day.
• Traditional foods are sweetened, often with honey, to symbolize
sweetness in the coming year.
Rosh Hashanah Activity Materials
 All About Rosh Hashanah by
Judyth Groner and Madeline
Wilker
 Apples
www.judaism.com
 Knife
www.home.beaumontenterprise.com
 Honey
 Sturdy paper plates
 Napkins
www.ecocyle.com
www.womensdietandfitness.com
www.restaurantsource.com
www.ecocyle.com
9
Rosh Hashanah Activity
Read the Book and Eat Apples and Honey
1. Read and discuss All About Rosh Hashanah by Judyth Groner and
Madeline Wikler.
2. Cut up apples and distribute onto plates.
3. Pour honey onto each plate.
4. Distribute plates and napkins to students.
5. While eating, discuss what the apples and the honey represent in
the New Year (growth and sweetness).
www.shomreitorahwcc.org
www.templenashville.org
honeyidf.org
www.shofarjudaica.com
www.dreamstime.com
10
Yom Kippur
life.antonypranata.com
Basic Content Knowledge
mamaloshen.blogspot.com
• Yom Kippur (yom kip-poor) is the Day of Atonement. It is
considered one of the most sacred days.
• The Book of Life is closed and sealed on this day. Those who have
repented are promised a good, happy new year.
• On Yom Kippur, Jewish people ask forgiveness for broken promises
made to God, not to other people. It is believed that God cannot
forgive broken promises made to other people, therefore the day
before Yom Kippur is reserved for this purpose.
• It is the day of “not doing.” People are to emulate angels by not
eating or drinking, anointing, having marital relations, washing, or
wearing leather shoes.
Yom Kippur Activity Materials
 K’tonton’s Yom Kippur Kitten
by Sadie Rose Weilerstein
Large, round container
www.judaism.com
Basket, bowl, trash can,
etc.
www.alibaba.com
Bean bags
www.crateandbarrel.com
11
Yom Kippur Activity
Read the Book and Bean Bag Toss
1. Read and discuss K’tonton’s Yom Kippur Kitten by Sadie Rose
Weilerstein
2. Place large container in open space.
3. Line students up from a specified distance.
4. Students take turns trying to toss bean bags into the container.
5. Students record results.
6. Discuss how it felt to miss the container, how people are not always
as perfect as they would like to be (al het), and how students can
always improve their behavior and make amends.
www.happynews.com
sun-e-cards.com
www.virginia.edu
www.shopfosters.com
www.hebrewart.com
12
Sukkot
Basic Content Knowledge
www.sukkot.com
www.sukkot.com
www.sukkot.com
• Sukkot (suh-coat) is also known as the Feast of Booths.
• It is named for the sukkah (huts) that the Israelites lived in as they
wandered the desert before they reached the Promised Land.
• Many Jewish people build a sukkah to celebrate this holiday. They
range from simple to elaborate.
• Families celebrate by eating meals in the sukkah, and some will
even sleep in them.
Sukkot Activity Materials
 Sammy Spider’s First Sukkot
by Sylvia A. Rouss
 Chairs (optional)
www.judaism.com
www.cspc.gov
13
Sukkot Activity
Read the Book and Play Fruit Salad
1. Read and discuss Sammy Spider’s First Sukkot by Sylvia A. Rouss
2. The students form a seated circle with one “chaver” in the center.
3. The chaver assigns each child a piece of fruit (banana, appple,
pear, orange, pear, banana, etc.).
4. The chaver shouts the name of a fruit, and the students assigned to
that fruit must change seats.
5. While students are changing, the chaver must find a seat.
6. The person left in the middle is now the chaver.
7. After the game, discuss the importance of fruit and the Jewish
harvest.
www.waterfootprint.com
www.pbase.com
www.coldspringsgranite.com
www.whole-isticsolutions.com
www.amgmedia.com
14
Web Sites
All Judaica.com
www.cpsc.gov
http://www.alljudaica.com
www.intelliadmin.com
Department for Jewish Zionist Education
http://www.jafi.org.il
Eric A. Kimmel: Author and Story Teller
http://www.ericakimmel.com
Holidays on the Net
http://www.holidays.net
Judaism.com
http://www.judaism.com
www.payperclicktools.com
15
Web Sites
www.ocinternetadvertising.com
Continued
Kaboose
http://crafts.kaboose.com
My Jewish Learning.com
http://www.myjewishlearning.com
Online Learning Haven
http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com
The Perpetual Preschool
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com
www.davisnet.com