Hanukkah games and projects

Every year I wonder, "Oh what activities should I do for Hanukkah?" And since I never remember what I do from year to year, I inevitably reinvent the wheel. This year we:

1) Made olive oil soap.
I bought the compound at Michael's (always use that 50% coupon!). The girls grated old crayons, added soap compound cubes, added essential oils, all inside of silicon trays.
Microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir melted compound gently. Place in fridge to harden.

The finish products were beautiful! We gave them to the teachers as small Hanukkah gifts. Olive oil in another miraculous form.

 2) Scientist Hanukiyah
This we did for the last few years. This Hanukiyah is not for lighting. It is a series of test tubes and pipets for children (and adults) to use for color mixing.

Here they are in action at the Torah Fair.

 3) Wooden Hanukkah art

We bought several packages of popsicles sticks (different sizes and colors) and clothespins (different sizes if possible). Then people were able to clip together whatever they wanted.

 4) This was someone else's game, which I thought was neat. Ring toss onto 'Hanukkah lights'.

5) SBH hosted a Hanukkah cookie decorating party before Hanukkah. We read Hanukkah Cookies with Sprinkles and money was donated for food for the poor.

6) Food Drive

The Giving Club at school organized a canned food drive.

Then they constructed a massive Hannukiyah 950 cans!!!

7) Dreidle Bingo! 


 There definitely more.
Day of darkness and light.
Reading Jodie's First Dig and having a mock archeology dig.
Latke party.
Decorating Donuts.

Lots of light and joy!

A New Way to Play Dreidel

I love Hanukah as much as the next person.  Every aspect of the celebration is beautiful, positive, and family friendly. Except maybe dreidel.
 This theoretically fun game always feels too much like gambling and always ends with a child crying.  For the last few years we've simply skipped the game and just eaten the gelt (just go for the gold!)
This year I created a new dreidel game, which can be played independently, non-competitively, reinforces letter recognition, and can involve strategy (instead of just luck). I present you Dreidel Bingo!

 

Here you can download the Game board! Unlike traditional bingo, there is only one board.
There are a variety of ways to play.

You need:

• printed game board(s) here
• a dreidel (per player or shared)
• bingo daubers or dot markers (you can use regular markers, but they aren't as fun)

Method 1- Independent Play:

1. player spins and announces their letter
2. mark it on the board
3. play for a row, or coverall

Method 2 

Everyone takes a turn spinning. Either everyone marks only their own letter, or everyone marks for everyone's spin. Then strategize, like Connect 4, to decide which spot on the board to mark.
We played it at home. I set my little ones up with it, and they entertained themselves while I made dinner. No one fought! We played it at school.

We put it out at a community Hanukkah celebration.

The kids loved it

Some parents got a little competitive, but it was all good!

A Giant Omer-bacus and other Torah STEM fun

Counting the Omer is a mitzva, a time for spiritual reflection, and marks our mounting excitement for Shavuot. In preschool it is an opportunity for numeracy and Hebrew number vocabulary.

I want to make counting the omer a very big deal in my preschool class.  Therefore we are making a giant omer abacus. A regular abacus is in base 10. For the omer it will be base seven.

Items needed:
pool noodles (ideally 7 different colors)
serrated knife (& cutting board)
permanent marker

strings and pushpins
OR
pvc pipe
wood
screws

First we sliced the noodles into rings. This was surprisingly easy and fun. I cut them approximately 3 inches thick.

Tova was very excited about the mounting pile of pool noodle beads. She quickly began collected them and stringing them onto the PVC pipes. The holes in the noodles were a little stiff on the pipes and I asked her to stretch the hole so it could slide more freely. 

 She began making patterns (STEM!). Ruti quickly joined in the action, making a more complex pattern.



We weren't ready for adding the numbers yet, but learning and fun were definitely happening.

When all the beads were cut (fifty plus a handful of extras in case we made a mistake adding numbers) there was still more noodle. 

These I cut into small rings and gave the girls a box of toothpicks. 

They loved building, using the toothpicks to fasten the noodles.

 This alone was wonderfully engaging. Then they began testing the ability to float their structures.
"We should use these for Noach!" Gabi exclaimed. Or bathtime.

 Back to the abacus.

At school, a teacher patterned the bead onto the tubes. The students loved helping, announcing which color would appear next. 

Finally everything was lined up and the teacher labeled each number. 

Meanwhile, the students painted the wood planks.

Finally, when everything was dry, the students assisted with using a power screwdriver and assembling the frame. This power is always empowering. 

Everyone is excited about the results.

Vayishlach - Conflict Resolution and Cute Coffee Cups

The relationship between Yaakov and Eisav provides a lot of food for thought in sibling relationships. This week's Torah portion begins with the following:  

4Jacob sent angels ahead of him to his brother Esau, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.

דוַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח יַֽעֲקֹ֤ב מַלְאָכִים֙ לְפָנָ֔יו אֶל־עֵשָׂ֖ו אָחִ֑יו אַ֥רְצָה שֵׂעִ֖יר שְׂדֵ֥ה אֱדֽוֹם:

The first discussion began over whether the English translation of מַלְאָכִים֙ should be 'angels' or 'messengers'.  
"Messengers makes more sense," Gabi remarked.
"Rashi says angels," Cohava observed. "Maybe he normally would have sent messengers but this was his one big chance, like a 'phone-a-friend' so he used angels instead of people."
"Because it was his darkest hour he needed to call on his most powerful forces," added Gabi, using a Magic Tree House reference.
I was still in favor of messengers but we moved on to the next point, looking at Yaakov's methods of conflict resolution. 
 Cohava's list of everyone's observations in the text was:

1. Give the person lots of personal space and alone time.
2. The person needs to see the situation with their own eyes 
3. Presents make everything better.
4. Tefillah (Prayer)
5. Make a mindful plan

In our experience

1. Most of the alone time for Eisav happens in last week's parasha but in our house it is a topic addressed almost daily, with boundaries, privacy,  body bubble, and personal space coming up as keywords.

2. Tova often makes a large dramatic performance over minor things (like losing a turn in a game). Recently Cohava's coat hit her and she cried a lot. Cohava ignored her until I showed her an object in her coat pocket actually bruised Tova's face. Until Cohava saw with her own eyes, she did not realize her sister's suffering was genuine.

3. Of course! But we encourage using them not as bribes.

4. All of the girls agreed that this is crucial in everything.

5. Cohava is my best planner and really values this step. The others were skeptical.

I am hesitant to write what happened next because it is pretty embarrassing. I had made big plans for the project but they weren't mindful. The girls got very upset, very quickly. I said I needed some alone time to plan something better. One of the girls refused to let me have a moment of alone time and yelled a lot. Then I yelled a lot. The situation was completely out of control. I failed on #5, she failed me on #1. The Ruti came to me, holding a rock. "Ema, this is my magic rock. If you hold it, you will feel better." I was absurdly skeptical but when a child offers you a gift (#3!) you always accept it graciously. The crazy thing was, as soon as I grasped the rock, I felt calmer. 

Calm enough to return with a new project.  Yaakov sent gifts of cattle. We would send gifts of cattle to our loved ones.  Obviously not real cattle.  Cup coozies with animals on them.  These are to beautify coffee mugs.  The Torah doesn't mention coffee as a tool for avoiding conflict, but it's implied, right?  'He-brews' 

Step one. 

I printed a selection of cattle cartoony images for the girls to use as stencils on felt.

 Cutting felt isn't easy but the girls enjoyed the challenge.

Step 2
Design the animal and start decorating it. With thick needles and embroidery thread, the girls began adding features to their animals. The older girls loved the activity. It was too advanced for the younger girls.

 Sewing with a needle is not something they have done for long before and there was a big learning curve in keeping the thread in the eye of the needle.

Step 4: I opened the ring from a disposable coffee cup and used it as the template. It is slightly curved.

 Sew the two halves of the sleeve to form a ring and sew on the animal. I need to get the images of their completed work.

The next step (which might not happen until early next week) is the actual 'Vayishlach' part. We will be sending them in the mail to family members. Usually we give things in person but Yaakov used messengers and so will we.  The girls began addressing the envelopes and I realized it is a life skill in which they are not yet adept. The theme of the postal system and Vayishlach could be great in a preschool setting. 

May you have great success in avoiding conflict and achieve resolution speedily and successfully when it occurs.

Shabbat Shalom!