Teaching Pesach to Young Children

Themes:

1. Freedom is important to everyone, and may mean different things to different people.
2. We are part of a family in which each member has important roles.
3. We are also part of a larger group – the Jewish people, which has a long history of shared experiences.
4. In every generation we must feel part of that experience.
5. Our homes are made special in preparation for Pesach.
6. Children are especially important in the celebration of Pesach.
7. Brachot are our way of saying thank you to God.

Objectives:

1. Children will exhibit an understanding of what freedom means, including the different things freedom can mean to different people.
2. Children will see that each member of a family has a variety of roles, and that each is important.
3. Children will learn some details about the story of Pesach, and be able to illustrate it and help to retell it.
4. Children will learn to participate in the preparation of their homes for Pesach, and will actually take part in that experience.
5. Children will practice the special parts they will play in the celebration of Pesach in their own homes, and will do so at home.
6. Children will learn some of the brachot and songs for Pesach, and be able to recited and pr sing them at the appropriate times during their seder at home.

Activities:

1. Freedom - what does it mean to children?
1. Enforced task, followed by rest of their own choosing.
2. Discussion of grown-up work and choices
2. Roles of family members contribute to the whole
1. Children experience real preparation in school
2. Involvement with family in preparing the home
3. Establishment of unique family traditions
4. Note to parents
3. Story of Pesach
1. Teacher's sources - Bible and Haggadah
2. Slide show
3. Booklet prepared by the students for the library
4. Worksheets
5. Finger puppets
6. Dramatics
4. Preparation for Pesach and the Seder (see also B)
1. Child's Haggadah
2. Make Matzah - messy but fun.  Flour to water: 3 1/2:1.  Mix, roll, prick holes, bake, eat, clean up.  Tastes awful
3. Place mats for the Seder
4. Charoset - try a Sephardi recipe in addition to the standard Ashkenazi one.
5. Pillowcase for the Seder
6. Afikoman cover
7. Seder Plate
8. Observation game
9. SEPARATE MODEL SEDER FOR PRIMARY CHILDREN
5. and F.  Practice of songs and brachot should take place at every session after Purim is over.  New ones are fun for everyone, but remember - the families of our students may not know your cute new songs, and children should be able to participate in the Seder in their own homes.

Suggestions for Introductory Lesson:

1. The teacher can bring in as many objects as possible relating to the Seer.  Children can also be asked to bring in their own things.  Set up a "Look and Touch" museum.  Children try to guess what each object is used for.
2. The teacher should bring in a sample of food specifically associated with Passover.  Let each child taste a bit.  This should be done before any discussion of Passover.  Ask the class if they have ever tasted this before. Where? When?
3. Tell the story of Jacob and Joseph, emphasizing those aspects of the story which directly let up to the stay in Egypt.
4. Tell the story – Pesach Ba.
   " One day, I went into my attic to find a picture I hadn't seen for a long time.  While I was there, I heard a voice saying – "Pesach Ba, Pesach Ba."  I looked around but nobody was there.  I continued looking, and again I heard "Pesach Ba, Pesach Ba."  Then I noticed, in a carton, the beautiful cup of wine for Elijah (Eliyahu) - could that be where the words were coming from?  (Hold up either a picture or the actual cup).

The story continues in the same way, and uses different objects, e.g. box of Matzah, Seder plate, Matzah cover, etc.

After the story, each child can make a "Pesach Ba Booklet".

SUGGESTIONS FOR REINFORCING THE TEACHING OF THE STORY:

1. Arts and Crafts:
1. Draw pictures of the story.  Photograph them on an Ektagraph machine and make a slide show.  Use the slide show to tell the story of the Exodus during your model Seder.
2. Make finger puppets and use them to tell the story.
3. Draw pictures of the Hebrew as slaves and as free men
2. HurryUpGame:  To help the children experience the difficulty of the Exodus.
• Objectives: To experience difficulty of making choices under stress.
• Method: A number of camping and traveling objects in the center of the room. Going on a trip, must pack quickly  15 seconds to choose.
• Discuss choices and why.
• Relate to Exodus. Ask if their choices might have been different had they had more time.
• Suggested items:

• Food items
• Cooking utensils
• Clothing
• "Animals"
• Jewelry
• Sewing Tools
• Etc.
• Dramatics  Must include warm-ups to be successful.
1. Possible warm-up activities.
1. "Be an ice cube.  Gradually, as it gets warmer, you begin to melt.
   Now you are a puddle of water".
2. Walk around the room  it is filled with:
1. pebbles
2. mud
3. sand
4. cotton candy
5. etc.
2. POSSIBLE DRAMATICS SITUATIONS:
1. Pair up children.  In each pair, one is a slave, one is the master.  Switch after a while.  How did you feel when you were the slave? The master?
2. Do a very hard job (in pantomime) e.g. lift heavy bags, dig a deep hole, etc.
3. Act out the story while the teacher is narrating it.

IDEAS FOR SEDER PREPARATION:

1. Child's Haggadah*
2. Make Matzah messy but fun.  About 3 1/2:  1 flour, water. Roll flat, prick with a fork, bake and eat.  Tastes awful.
3. Placemats for Seder.
4. Make Charoset.
5. Make a pillow case or a pillow (out o paper stuffed with newspaper).
   ()
6. Observation Game:
   Place objects relating to Seder under a sheet.  Remove sheet for 30 seconds.  How many objects can you name?
7. Crossword puzzle using pictures for clues.*
8. Name favorite foods  categorize by Pesach or Chametz.
9. Afikoman cover.
10. *   
11. Passport
12. Model Seder:  Suggest primary be separate.
13. Concentration.

SOME BOOKS FOR PRIMARY GRADES:

1. The Seder That Almost Wasn't.  Shoshana Spector, Shengold Pub. Very cute story for little children about Seder objects which refuse to participate.
2. A Family Passover.  Anne, Jonathan & Norma Rosen, J.P.S. A lovely modern looking book of photographs showing preparation for Passover in a traditional setting.
3. The Magician.  Uri Shulivitz, Macmillan. A charming retelling of a legend about Eliyahu, and how he helps a poor family celebrate Passover.
4. One little Goat.  Marilyn Hirsh, Holiday House.  Illustration of Had Gadya.  Very cute for little ones

*Samples can be obtained through the BJE Teachers' Center tc@bjeny.org