If you have been following along, it is Passover, and coincidentally, for those Christians out there, also, Holy week.
For some reason, the big Passover goings-on seem to traditionally happen on nights 1, and 2, of the whole 8 nights. Not sure, so if you do, please share? And, those goings-on are usually a Seder meal, and a reading of the Haggadah- the retelling of the story of the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, freedom from bondage, and lasting nearly as long as the years spent wandering in the desert!
Our Temple is hosting a bigger Seder this week, but I wanted a fun one for the kids.
So, much like the rest of my life, I decided we needed a party and had one. I'm new at this, but I'm pretty sure there has never, ever, never been a Seder like this before- now, keep in mind we are Reform (pretty Liberal), and this was far from traditional, even when there is a wide variety of 'normal'.
We have very few kids in our group ( 4 total, 3 being mine), which makes it easier, and because our religious school teacher is currently recuperating at an assisted living, rehab center, we reserved the rec room. The rehab center has been very accommodating to all our activities, and allowed us to continue our weekly time together.
We kicked off our Passover Shenanigan with a very (not) traditional Matzo Ball hunt. Matzo is the go to food for Passover, being unleavened and what not, and there are only so many things you can do with it. Some smart cookie got the idea to make it into balls floating in the famous Jewish Penicillin, and it's been a go-to ever since. So, we hunted ping-pong matzo balls. Then the kids took turns hiding the balls again for the other friends. Quick, easy, fun & cheap- Just the way we like it ;)
Then it was time for a real Seder happening- talking about the Seder plate. The Seder plate has little sections to hold symbolic foods. Our Super teacher took a short minute (for short attention spans) to cover the very basics of what each food was (horseradish?) and what it symbolized. We can only hope that someone remembers something at the big party, later this week! But, we all know that children learn best by doing, so doing we did, with Pin the Seder on the plate. Huh? Think pin the tail on the donkey, but with charoset, & karpas & a shank bone, etc..... (Mom, go google it) using this lovely link: pin the seder on the plate. Using a large sheet of white poster board, we made a 'plate' and decorated with some glitter, using the printable resource. If you were really good, you could get all VanGogh, and do it yourself. But, let's face it, I'm too tired to try that hard.
After Sedering our plate, we sat back down for, the best part. Talking about the 10 Plagues that convinced Pharaoh to let my people go (anyone else think of Charlton Heston, just then?). I found a super link from Martha Stewart (plagues )with some clever ideas about a fun plague kit to occupy the kids- so stretching the creative muscles, and taking some liberties, we assembled our kits, thereby learning and putting something fun together for the big, long, adult Seder, later! I wasn't sure about some of the original choices, and edited it accordingly for the Dollar Store, and what I thought our kids would enjoy, + we have recently had the carpet cleaned and I didn't think glitter (lice) was a good idea!
So, into some very non-easter, easter baskets, we added, while re-telling the story:
Plague #1- a bottle of possibly kosher for Passover red kool-aid (blood)
Plague #2 plastic frogs (frogs)
Plague #3 white tic-tacs (lice)
Plague #4 Lions or Tigers or bears, oh, my (wild beasts)
Plague #5 Plastic cows (livestock diseases)
Plague #6 Small Bottles of Bubbles (boils)
Plague #7 Ping Pong Balls (hail)
Plague #8 Plastic Grass Hoppers (locusts)
Plague #9 Sunglasses (darkness)
Plague #10 Baby Buggies, originally meant for use at a baby shower (death to first born son)
And, there you have it. Passover Shenanigans, a Seder for the young and the young at heart.
Chag Sameach!
* A very special Thank YOU, to our wonderful Teacher <3
