Pesach is a great opportunity to build new family traditions. Here are some great ways to get small children excited about and involved in the Seder.
Pre-Pesach:
Here are a few fun things you can do before Pesach. (Warning, item number two is really fun, but VERY messy).
Read A Story
Read a book like Company's Coming or Is It Passover Yet? to kick off a conversation and build excitement about what children can expect.
Play Blue Feet, Red Sea via Jteach.
This one involves some mess, but it's so much fun. You can make clean-up a bit easier by diluting the paints with liquid soap. (Go for a half soap, half paint mixture).
Use educational apps via BimBam (formerly G-dcast)
These fun apps help kids get pumped for Pesach. Let's Get Ready for Passover is a fun hidden object game. Kids will search for chametz while learning about the holiday. Exodus: A Jewish Photo Scavenger Hunt involves packing to leave Egypt. Children get an interactive primer on Exodus as they take pictures around the house.
At The Seder:
Pull out your PJ Library Question Catchers
Encourage the children to ask questions of each other and the adults.
Play the Pesach Seder Steps Game via Jewish Holidays in a Box
Kids will move their red pawns along and follow the steps of the Seder. Also available as a digital download.
Print Bingo Cards via Matankids
Give each child a bingo card. They can follow along and play as the meal progresses.
Make a Tablescape via dailycheapskate.com
Create an intriguing and interactive “tablescape” that kids can learn from.
Build something
For restless hands, keep blocks like legos or duplo on hand. If children are getting antsy they can build scenes from Exodus, keep their hands occupied, or, as one family suggested, build pyramids to act out the early part of the story.
Sing together
Sing songs and make music together! If you have reticent vocalists, use egg shakers, kazoos, and tambourines to encourage participation. Visit the PJ Library Music page to learn about some of the artists we love. You can also preview or stream PJ Library artist Elana Jagoda's Seder Song Revival album here.
To learn more about Pesach, visit our Pesach book selections. Do you have a favourite kid-friendly Seder tip or suggestion? Share it with us on Facebook.
Looking for more Passover ideas, recipes, and posts? Visit pjlibrary.org.uk/Pesach.
March 30, 2018