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| The beautifully prepared Seder table in Kitah Gimmel. |
Kitah Gimmel
As Kitah Gimmel prepared for Passover, one thing that stood out is how much the children—4- and 5-year-olds—are now capable of doing. They can follow multistep directions, focus for extended periods of time, and initiate their own activities. Such growth and maturity became evident in their various holiday-related activities, from painting Seder plates with thought and intention to designing and sewing their own pillows and engaging in our model Seder. One new activity we did this year was to act out the story of the Exodus. We introduced props, made costumes, and then acted out the story to the younger children in the Kitah Bet and Kitah Alef classes. Putting on a play was a real challenge, because it involved recalling the story, putting it into one’s own words, using one’s body to act it out, and interacting with the other players. Some children felt comfortable with speaking parts; others enjoyed presenting the action (including frogs jumping everywhere!).
Kitah Bet
We introduced the holiday of Passover by asking, “What do you know about Passover?” Although it’s been a year since they were last exposed to the holiday and have since then learned about other holidays, the children remembered a lot about the story.
In preparation for Passover, we learned new songs, new character names, and the story of Passover told in various ways. To bring part of the story to life, we painted pyramids, made some symbols of the ten plagues, and created a mural depicting the parting of the Red Sea. We munched on matzah and made charoset. We talked about hametz (bread or anything leavened) and cleaned our classroom in preparation for our model seder. The children also became more familiar with the Haggadah we use during our model seder (My Very Own Haggadah, which can be found at Berkeley’s Afikomen) and with the significance of the foods found on the seder plate. Each child also made a beautiful matzah cover.
Kitah Alef
The class seder is such a wonderful tradition that we have here at Gan Avraham. It fosters a deep and meaningful connection to the holiday and enriches the children’s understanding of Jewish traditions. We set out a long table with place settings for each child and a chair(s) behind for their family members, as well as multiple seder plates and a plate with some samplings of food in front of each child.
In preparation for the holiday, we focused on the vast traditions, rituals, and symbols of Passover. After some hands on learning experiences, like making frogs and matzah covers and practicing with the Haggadah, the children really started to grasp the major themes of the story.
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| A Kitah Alef child setting up a play Seder plate. |
