Let's EXPERIENCE Pesach!

We've had an amazing week in the Green Room, EXPERIENCING Pesach.  What's the difference between learning about something and actually experiencing it?  Let me digress for a moment.  The concepts of "long ago" and "far away" are unfamiliar to our 3 and 4 year olds.  In fact, the conceptualization of these two concepts are not quite understood until a child is 7 or 8 years old.  While they might understand that they have to go on an airplane to see grandma, or that mom and dad knew one another "before they were born," long ago, and far away are still not properly understood.  So, how do we teach our children the story of Exodus if they don't understand that it happened "a really long time ago" in a "place that's far away?"  The hagaddah that we read during the Pesach seder actually tells us that we each should consider the Jewish liberation from Egypt as something that happened to US.  We are taught that if not for the miracles then, we would still be slaves in Egypt today.  With this in mind, Morah Gitty and I created EXPERIENCES for the children relating to the main parts of the Pesach seder.

KADEISH
We could have told the children that we have 4 cups of grape juice during the seder, let them sample a cup, and moved on with our day.  Instead, so that they could actually "experience" grape juice, we took off our socks and shoes and smooshed the grapes ourselves!  When they made the bracha over the juice and took a sip, they had the pleasure of tasting not only the sweetness, but the experience of making it.  Later that evening, a parent sent a video of their child making a bracha over their ice cream.  Although we say brachot before our snacks and lunch everyday, THAT DAY, she had a better understanding of what she was thanking Hashem for.

KARPAS
To experience Karpas, students were invited to make their own salt water.  They were free to add as little or as much salt as they wanted in addition to being able to pour their own desired amount of water.  The liberal proportions of salt added to each cup made the mixture quite unappetizing to most, however Morgan loved it and wanted to do it again half an hour later.

MAGID
Morah Gitty has done an incredible job being animated and using props to tell the Exodus story.  Thanks to a generous gift, we now have felt story board pieces featuring the images of key characters and plagues.  The Green Room friends love using the pieces to reenact the story for themselves!

MOTZI/MOTZAH
We could have just given the children a piece of matzah to snack on and tell them that this is what the Jewish people made in a hurry as they left Egypt... or we could make some ourselves!  Mixing flour and water, everyone got to make it themselves.  We even had it bake in the hot desert sun!

KOREICH
To experience an aspect of Koreich, we made our own charoses!  Our ingredients included apples, raisins, grape juice, and cinnamon.  The students were even able to chop up the apples themselves using knives designed especially for kids.  It was a delicious desert after lunch on Wednesday.

SHULCHAN OREICH
What better way to rehearse for seder night than to pregame with a fancy meal?!

HALLEL
Thanks to a generous donation, we have some brand new musical instruments in our room.  To experience Hallel, we played the instruments while singing Ma Nishtana.  Did you see the video of us doing this on Facebook Live?

As of press time, these are the aspects of the seder that we have experienced so far.  Next Wednesday, each student will get to take home their very own age appropriate hagaddah featuring pictures of these Pesach experiences.

Have a great weekend, and Shabbat Shalom!
-Morah Deena and Morah Gitty

A Birthday, Matzah Puzzles, and Pyramids!

Hello Green Room families!  Last Friday we celebrated Alice's 4th birthday.  Alice, we wish you many, MANY more happy birthdays to come.  We love you!

I feel like we were just celebrating Rosh Hashanah, but here we are getting ready for Pesach!  Each friend got their own puzzle that looks like a piece of matzah with their name on it.  The Green Room friends enjoy doing puzzles, and this was a fun way to mix it up.  

In the story of the Exodus which we tell on Pesach, we remember that the Jewish people were slaves in Egypt.  At this age, we do not use the word "slave," but we explain that Pharoh made the Jewish people work very hard, and he was not nice to them.  Historically speaking, there is speculation as to whether or not it was the Jewish people who built the modern day pyramids currently located in Egypt.  However, as a visual of Egypt in our room, we are looking at pictures of the pyramids.  Here we see Ava and Mason building their own structures with Jenga pieces.

On Thursday we got to work making sand dough/mortar to explore.  It is made out of sand, flour, oil, and water.  Some of the friends pretended to make matzah with it!  

In Arizona, we're no strangers to life in the desert!  We know that summer will be here soon, so we're soaking up as much "spring" as we can.  We're grateful every day for our outdoor classroom!

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend.  Shabbat Shalom!

-Morah Deena and Morah Gitty

Honesty, sincerity, and ENERGY!

Hello Green Room families!  I want to thank you all for being so understanding while I was out.  Kids love routine, and it can be tough when someone in their life is gone for such a long time.  I know Morah Gitty did a great job "running the show."  I managed to grab a few pictures from other Morahs of the Green Room friends enjoying Purim festivities. 

Here are a few other pictures that were posted to the Facebook group while I was gone:

I had the warmest welcome when I came back on Wednesday.  Luke said "Oh, hi Morah Deena!  Did you get married?"  Morgan told me how much he missed me, several times.  It was so sweet!  Mason proceeded to tell me everything I missed while I was gone, and told me I was pretty.  The honesty and sincerity of our Green Room friends warms my heart everyday.  

Everyone had so much energy on Wednesday, and I'm grateful that it was such a beautiful day so that we could spend some extra time playing outside.

We spent some time this week exploring the combination of various materials.  Here we see Ava setting up a zoo with some blocks, stones, and animals.

Luke wanted to make "the tallest tower ever."  He did a great job!

Here we see Gavi and Mason practicing their fine motor skills!  It wasn't easy learning to use those big tweezers, but these guys are doing a great job!

Now that we have finished Purim, we're looking forward towards Pesach.  Do you have any family Pesach traditions you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear about them!

Morah Gitty and I wish you a restful weekend.  Shabbat Shalom!