Reform Jewish Congregation in the Upper East Side of NYC
PRESCHOOL TO 5TH GRADE
ROSH HASHANAH IN A BOX
Use the supplies from your gold bag to follow along with the instructions below. If there’s an asterisk (*) next to something on the supply list, we anticipated that you already have that supply at home and did not include it in the bag.
Remember, BLUE cover sheets are Pre-K – Grade 2, and YELLOW cover sheets are Grade 3 – 5!
As a family, try to answer the question “Why do you think we eat round challah on Rosh Hashanah?” Possible answers include: It is round like a complete year, circular like a rosh (head)!
As follow-up, “Why does our Rosh Hashanah challah have raisins in it? Possible answers include: To make it sweet like our sweet new year.
Steps
Place the felt template on top of the brown felt and cut out two circles.
Remove the paper backing from one of the circles and put some cotton balls in the middle of the sticky side.
Remove the paper backing from the other circle and attach it, sticky side down, to the first.
Use a glue stick to help the two pieces stay together if necessary.
To simulate raisins, attach a black pom-pom to the scratchy side of a velcro dot. Attach a smooth dot to it, and then stick that one on the challah. Repeat as much as you want!
As a family, try to answer the question “Why do you think we call Rosh Hashanah the ‘birthday of the world?’” Possible answers include: It celebrates the beginning of the world; we read the Creation story, just like our birthday celebrates when we were created and born.
As follow-up, “Since we can’t really give material gifts to a holiday, what can we do to celebrate this birthday?” Possible answers include: Make cards. Offer our wishes.
Steps
Take the card stock and fold it in half (either on the short side or long side, your choice).
Use the craft supplies to make a birthday card to the world.
Like the birthday cards you receive, be sure to add your wishes for the year to come! Wishes might include: your hope(s) for the new year, promises about things you will try to do, something you are excited about in the new year
Jewish people remember the “birthday of the world.” We thank God for creating the world by celebrating a holy day called Rosh Hashanah.
Long, long ago, before there were people, or animals, or water, or seas, or stars, or sky, God created the world. God made many things during that Creation: tall green trees to give us shade, soft grass to tickle our toes when we walk barefoot, flowers of many colors and sweet smells. God also lifted up the mountains so tall that they could “touch the clouds!”
As a family, discuss what you are thankful for this year. Possible answers include: my health, my family, my pets, etc.
At this High Holy Day season, we especially thank God for the people who love us when we are sad, who take care of us when we are sick, who forgive us when we make a mistake, and who teach us new things when we need help. Think about someone who you are most thankful for. Create a picture of them in your mind.
Steps
Use the craft supplies to create a picture of the person or people who are thankful for in the picture frame. You can do this any way you want, after all there are many ways to create art! Have fun and be creative.
When you are done, be sure to show your creation to the person who you have featured in it!
Additional Activities
Gratitude is a concept that can be hard for young children to understand; but it also offers us a wonderful opportunity to start to introduce it in an age appropriate way. Studies show that children who can experience and express gratitude are able to utilize a more complex system of social-emotional skills.
Gratitude Gift
Talk to your child about a person that is important to them (teacher, sibling, grandparent, friend, etc.) Who is that person? Why are they important to you? Why are you grateful to have them in your life?
Give your child paper and crayons or markers. Have them draw something that they love about that person. What colors do you think that person likes? What might make them smile?
Once the “gift” is completed, talk about how you can deliver it. If it’s someone local, this might be a good opportunity for a distant visit. If they’re further away, you could mail it or take a picture of it to send to that person.
Family Gratitude Journal
This is a great one to include the whole family and for parents to model what gratitude looks like for children who may be too young to understand. You can use a notebook (one that you buy or one that you make) or just a piece of paper that you hang on the wall.
Create a new tradition that every day, every week, every time you have dinner together – whatever interval works for you – that you will add to your gratitude journal something that you are thankful for. Include things that are more abstract like “I am thankful for the beautiful day.” “I am grateful that you were kind to your brother,” or “I am grateful for this wonderful meal,” as well as more concrete things like “I am grateful for this wonderful picture that you made me.”
The artsy sculpture that many people hang by their front door is called a mezuzah and it contains the words to some special prayers. Why do you think we hang the mezuzah on our front doors? Possible answers include: We are commanded to by God, they let everyone know that we are Jewish and we follow certain commandments, etc.
A mezuzah can also be an internal reminder – it tells us in our hearts and our minds about the things that we promised to God, to others, and to ourselves. Each time we see it, we are reminded to keep those promises.
Instead of a mezuzah, we are going to make door hangers for our rooms, to remind us of the things we really want to work on this year. Think of it like a promise or a reminder about the ways we can be better in the coming year.
Steps
Use the craft supplies to decorate your door hanger however you would like. There is no right or wrong way to do it!
Be sure to write one thing you want to do a better job in the new year. Maybe it’s sharing more, or listening better to parents and teachers, or maybe it’s being nicer to a sibling. These are just examples, and you can put anything that you want!
Justice is an important idea in the lives of young children. Questions of fairness (She got more Cheerios than me!) and ethics (Can I lie to not get in trouble?) are central in their lives, so they are ripe to learn about tzedakah.
Talk with your child about what they might want to donate some money towards. This is a great opportunity to introduce some kid-centric non-profits that your child could get behind.
Young children can understand concrete concepts:
Homelessness: You have a safe, warm home but not everyone does.
Poverty: We are very lucky that we have food and toys and clothes, but some families can’t afford so many things.
Illness: We are so lucky to be healthy, but some people need special doctors to help them stay healthy.
Steps
Use the craft supplies to decorate your own tzedakah box. Make it your own!
Additional Activity
Donation of Toys
This is a great opportunity to work with your child to get rid of some toys that they no longer use or need.
It’s fine to pick only a few things; young children can be attached to stuff.
Talk about how there are some families that don’t have enough money to be able to buy toys whenever they want. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could find 1 or 2 toys that you don’t need anymore that we can give to them?
In this story, Dina and her family were starting A LOT of new things and they missed their old holiday traditions. When they tried to go back to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with their friends, everything went wrong! In the end, they learned that if they are together, they can create their own new traditions!
What are some ways that we celebrate Rosh Hashanah? Possible answers include: blow shofar, eat apples and honey, sing songs, attend Tot services
In this story, we are introduced to many of the wonderful traditions of Rosh Hashanah like round challah, apples and honey, pomegranates, honey cake.
You should try one of these yummy Rosh Hashanah foods together. Why do you think we eat sweet things on Rosh Hashanah? Possible answers include: sweet new year
Steps
Color the coloring pages while listening to one (or both!) of the stories.
Begin the activity by defining two terms: Yamim Nora’im and Tashlich. Here a few clues to help you:
Yamim is the plural of yom and means “days”
Nora’im is like nora tehillot in Mi Chamocha and means “awe” (like disbelief and wonder)
Together, Yamim Nora’im are the “Days of Awe” which is another name for the High Holy Days.
Tashlich literally means “to cast off” or “to throw away” and is a short but powerful ritual where we symbolically get rid of our sins.
The Tashlich ritual usually takes place at the end of the first day of Rosh Hashanah and helps us get into the right frame of mind for Yom Kippur which follows ten days later. You often participate in it by doing the following:
Take some pieces of bread from your home and go to a river, stream, or any body of water that has a current.
Think of some wrongs you have done in the past year that you want to ask for forgiveness for.
Break off a piece of bread and throw into the water, thinking about one of the mistakes that you thought of before.
Repeat this process for as many mistakes (or as much bread) as you have.
We can do a similar ritual at home!
Steps
Take a coffee filter and write or draw in a washable marker something that you wish to ask forgiveness for.
Repeat this for as many mistakes as you can think of.
Go into the kitchen and fill a bowl with water.
Drop the filter into the bowl and watch the writing dissolve. It’s like your mistakes are fading away.
As a family, try to answer the question “Why do you think we eat round challah on Rosh Hashanah?” Possible answers include: It is round like a complete year, circular like a rosh (head)!
As follow-up, “Why does our Rosh Hashanah challah have raisins in it? Possible answers include: To make it sweet like our sweet new year.
Steps
Bake a challah using your favorite recipe.
We have also included a recipe for you to use, courtesy of the WLC of our congregation.
As a family, try to answer the question “Why do you think we call Rosh Hashanah the ‘birthday of the world?’” Possible answers include: It celebrates the beginning of the world; we read the Creation story, just like our birthday celebrates when we were created and born.
As follow-up, “Since we can’t really give material gifts to a holiday, what can we do to celebrate this birthday?” Possible answers include: Make cards. Offer our wishes.
Steps
Write down on a piece of paper a list of people whom you want to send a holiday card to. These might include family, friends, or even Temple Israel members who are homebound without family who live locally.
Take a few pieces of cardstock and fold them in half, whichever way you want.
Create a Rosh Hashanah/New Year’s card for some or all of the people on your list. Feel free to write or draw any wishes or sentiments that you want to share. Don’t forget to include some popular Hebrew phrases for this time of year: לשנה טובה – l’shana tovah or “Wishing you a good year!” חג שמח – chag sameach or “Happy holiday!”
Please send any cards that you’d like to go to a Temple Israel member to the Lifelong Learning office at 112 East 75th Street, New York, NY 10021. We will make sure they get to someone!
Jewish people remember the “birthday of the world.” We thank God for creating the world by celebrating a holy day called Rosh Hashanah.
Long, long ago, before there were people, or animals, or water, or seas, or stars, or sky, God created the world. God made many things during that Creation: tall green trees to give us shade, soft grass to tickle our toes when we walk barefoot, flowers of many colors and sweet smells. Gold also lifted up the mountains so tall that they could “touch the clouds!”
As a family, discuss what you are thankful for this year. Possible answers include: my health, my family, my pets, etc.
Steps
Use the craft supplies to decorate the tzedakah tin however you wish. Make it your own!
This is the most important step, which will be repeated every day. Think of at least three things throughout your day that you are grateful for. It can be something as simple as having your favorite snack at lunch, or as big as the love and friendship of a friend or family member. Remember to do this every day: write down what you are grateful for on little slips of paper and fill the jar.
Over time, you will find that you have a jar full of reasons to be thankful for what you have. It also will help you think about always expressing thanks.
If you are ever feeling especially down and need a quick pick-me-up, take a few notes out of the jar to remind yourself of who, and what, is good in your life.
Additional Activity
Gratitude Flower
Take a few pieces of different colored construction paper and the glue. Cut out a circle for the center of the flower and write your name. It should cover most of the circle.
Cut out big petals for the flower. Be creative and experiment with colors. Use a template if you want (look online for this) or be creative and design the petals however you want.
Write down or draw the things you are grateful for on the petals.
Glue the petals to the flower center and you have your first gratitude flower!
You can mount the flower to another piece of construction paper if you want, or hang it in your room. Either way, each time you look at it, you’ll be reminded of all the things in your life you can be happy about!
The artsy sculpture that many people hang by their front door is called a mezuzah and it contains the words to some special prayers. Why do you think we hang the mezuzah on our front doors? Possible answers include: We are commanded to by God, they let everyone know that we are Jewish and we follow certain commandments, etc.
A mezuzah can also be an internal reminder – it tells us in our hearts and our minds about the things that we promised to God, to others, and to ourselves. Each time we see it, we are reminded to keep those promises.
Instead of a mezuzah, we are going to make door hangers for our rooms, to remind us of the things we really want to work on this year. Think of it like a promise or a reminder about the ways we can be better in the coming year.
Steps
Use the craft supplies to decorate your door hanger however you would like. There is no right or wrong way to do it!
Be sure to write one thing you want to do a better job in the new year. Maybe it’s sharing more, or listening better to parents and teachers, or maybe it’s being nicer to a sibling. These are just examples, and you can put anything that you want!
One of the central themes and practices during the High Holy Days is to give tzedakah or do some sort of service to the community. What does it mean to give tzedakah? Possible answers: literally it means “justice” or “righteousness”, many people often translate it as charity or doing the right thing.
Why is giving tzedakah important? Possible answers: part of being Jewish, commanded by God, helps make the world better.
What ways can you serve or help others? Possible answers: giving money or donations, volunteering time, etc.
What things have people done to serve or help you? Possible answers: helped me when I sick or injured, cheered me up when I was sad
How does community service make you feel? Possible answers: appreciative, like there is good in the world, better about myself.
You will be prompted to respond to these same four questions on a virtual platform. You are encouraged to also respond or comment on a few responses that have already been shared.
Lots of holidays have customary foods. On Thanksgiving we eat turkey, on the 4th of July we have bar-b-ques, and on Passover we eat matzah. Each one is symbolic of the history and/or theme of each holiday.
On Rosh Hashanah, we eat apples and honey. Apples are a fruit that is most commonly harvested during the fall season in North America and tradition teaches that Adam and Eve ate apples in the peaceful Garden of Eden. Honey is sweet, so by mixing the two we hope for a sweet and peaceful year ahead.
What does having a sweet new year mean to you? Come up with as many responses as you can. If it helps, you can write them on a blank piece of paper. Possible answers: no more Coronavirus, end of social distancing, peace on earth, not fighting with parents or siblings, etc.
Steps
Using the ideas you jotted down earlier, fill out the blank lines in your “HONEY” acrostic poem. Make sure that your ideas on each line begin with the first letter of that line.
Once you complete your poem, use glue to mount it on a piece of construction paper and decorate it.
You can display your poem in your bedroom so that you are always reminded of this year. When you feel upset or worried, take a look at it. Remember that we can always have hope that things will get better.
Begin the activity by defining two terms: Yamim Nora’im and Tashlich. Here a few clues to help you:
Yamim is the plural of yom and means “days”
Nora’im is like nora tehillot in Mi Chamocha and means “awe” (like disbelief and wonder)
Together, Yamim Nora’im are the “Days of Awe” which is another name for the High Holy Days.
Tashlich literally means “to cast off” or “to throw away” and is a short but powerful ritual where we symbolically get rid of our sins.
The Tashlich ritual usually takes place at the end of the first day of Rosh Hashanah and helps us get into the right frame of mind for Yom Kippur which follows ten days later. You often participate in it by doing the following:
Take some pieces of bread from your home and go to a river, stream, or any body of water that has a current.
Think of some wrongs you have done in the past year that you want to ask for forgiveness for.
Break off a piece of bread and throw into the water, thinking about one of the mistakes that you thought of before.
Repeat this process for as many mistakes (or as much bread) as you have.
We can do a similar ritual at home!
Steps
Take a coffee filter and write or draw in a washable marker something that you wish to ask forgiveness for.
Repeat this for as many mistakes as you can think of.
Go into the kitchen and fill a bowl with water.
Drop the filter into the bowl and watch the writing dissolve. It’s like your mistakes are fading away.
