Rosh Hashana is such an exciting time of year! It can be challenging however, to incorporate themed work into your classroom if you have many new students or you are starting a brand new class. Some years, you will only be in the classroom a few days before Rosh Hashana recess. Other years you will have several weeks to present lessons and themed works. Over time, you will build a nice collection of handmade and purchased materials to supplement your holiday curriculum. In the photos below, I will describe some of the works I have made or collected over the years and how you can use them in the opening weeks of school. I’d love to hear about some of the works you have collected and created for your classroom!
Matching Objects: This is a language lesson that is best given as a group lesson when introducing objects the child might encounter during Rosh Hashanah. In this basket I included honey, and honey dipper, pomegranate, fish, and small candle sticks. As a group lesson you can discuss the special significance of these objects. YOu can use this basket for the matching object lesson. You can also play games with a small group of children, such as “Far, far away” in which one set of objects is placed on a rug across the room. With the children seated around a rug with the other set, you can select one object and ask a child to go “far, far, away” and find the exact same object and bring it back.
Object/Picture Matching, Number Matching: Even the youngest student can do this simple matching work. Knowing numbers is not necessary, as it can be simply matching the one the “looks the same”. Older children can include number names with their work. To create this work, I simply traced one apple eraser 10 times, numbered them randomly, and glued the white paper to a red background which I laminated. I wrote one number one each eraser and placed them in a small ceramic bowl. On the shelf, the ceramic bowl sits on top of the number card in the tray.
Picture/Picture Matching Cards: This is a very interesting visual work since many of the apple varieties are very similar, so the children will have to look very carefully to find the correct match. It is also a wonderful language work because there are so many interesting variety names! I found photos online and created these cards by including a red background and laminating them. All of my Rosh Hashanah works are backed in red when possible.
I made these custom apple crayons by melting old crayons into an apple candy mold I picked up at my local grocery store. I placed them in a lovely apple shaped glass dish. I placed them on the shelf next to small apple outlines for the children to color.
This is an apple themed counting game that I picked up a number of years ago. It can be played as a game with two children, or it can be a simple fine motor work for one child who simply places the tiny apple pegs into the holes.
Lacing: I have collected two lacing works that I love to put out at this time of year. Even the smallest hands can manipulate the lacing stick, but they might need help to prepare the work for the next person if they pulled the lace too tightly!
Practical Life Pouring: This is a simple pouring work with apple themed ceramic cups and red acrylic gems. It is a perfect themed pouring work that is appropriate for the beginning of the year.
Practical Life Pinching: I made these small apples out of fimo clay. They have held up fairly well, although a couple of them had to be replaced from broken leaves. This is a good work even for small hands because of the shape of this pincher. (I think it is a starwberry huller, so later in the year you could use this tool for hulling strawberries!) The white tray is a paint palette I picked up at a local craft store. The small acrylic cup fit perfectly in the middle of the tray.
Puzzle: This is a simple wooden puzzle I picked up at the local Jewish bookstore. By putting it in a red tray, the children can practice their tray carrying lesson and it increases the care they will take with this work.
Simple counting game: I created this two person game as a simple counting game for the beginning of the year. I placed apple stickers over the faces of the di and made dots up to only three. I used two fimo apples (from above) as the game markers. It is a great work to pair a younger child with and older child too!
3-part Cards: I created this language work for the simanim the children might find at their Rosh Hashanah seudah. I wish I would have backed them in red!
This is a “how to draw” book. Each page has one more part of the bee added until the child reaches the last page and has created the entire picture. It is not meant for the youngest children, but second and third year children should be able to complete this.
Lacing apple: I laminated and hole punched this large apple to be used for lacing. I added a a red shoe string/lacing string in a small cup.
Art project: This apple themed art project is set up on a table and stays out for several days for the children to complete independently. It is fantastic for the start of the year since it does not rely on scissors. Even the youngest children can complete this work after learning to use the glue stick!
Practical Life Sorting: This is one of the first sorting works using only the hand.
Practical Life Spooning: The only thing I don’t like about this work is that the apples are very lightweight. I would like to find apples that are heavier so the children can have more feedback in the hands.
Have a wonderful new school year!
-Morah Wymore