Preparing for Purim in the Gan

As you've probably noticed, the Jewish holidays fall early this year (though not as early as next year - Rosh Hashanah is the day after LABOR DAY.) Consequently, for the first time I can recall, Purim is taking place during February vacation, a full week after our last day of school. This presents some challenges in the classroom - how do we build up enthusiasm for the holiday together while staying mindful of the fact that it isn't Purim yet? And, how do I help support parents in following up on our Purim preparations by celebrating Purim outside of school?

The building-enthusiasm-for-Purim part was easy. It turns out that kids aren't terribly bound by the calendar. I don't think it matters much to them whether the holiday is in one week or three or six, so long as we are talking and learning about it in hands-on ways.

As with every holiday, we began by reading the story over and over, in many versions. Some of the picture books children listened to were Eric Kimmel's The Story of Esther, Mordecai Gerstein's Queen Esther, The Morning Star,  Rita Gelman's Queen Esther Saves her People, and Jenny Koralek's The Story of Queen Esther. We compared the different versions and noted the changes various authors had made. We wrote and drew responses to some interpretive questions, including "Why do you think Vashti didn't come to the King's party?" We wrote our own version, in a coloring book format which children then received copies of.... And of course, as we read each version, we practiced the tradition of drowning out the name of Haman with graggers (noisemakers.) We made our graggers out of a variety of materials -  children experimented with which combinations were durable, noisy and sufficiently beautiful. (Ask me sometime about the first year I taught Gan and I foolishly tried to get everyone to make the SAME ONE.)

according to Ada, this one is a gragger/"cheek-massager"

We also brought the story to life in the imagination station. I set up a castle frame and brought up a bin of costumes. The children set to work re-painting the castle with tempera paints and decorating two thrones.

After I was confident that children had a solid grasp of the basic story, we spent some time learning about some of the mitzvot, or traditions, of Purim. My favorite part of the holiday is the mitzvah of mishloach manot, sending gifts of food to friends and neighbors on Purim day. While we didn't go in to all of the details (which you can read about here) we did introduce the concept and get some practice making hamentashen, the three cornered pastry that reminds us of Haman's hat. (Or ears, depending on the tradition.) I hope you got to taste at least one of the two hamentashen that were sent home on Friday!

Of course, with the early holiday, two snow days, and one root-canal (mine), there were topics we didn't cover this year. We talked only briefly about the tradition of wearing costumes on Purim and the mitzvah of matanot l'evyonim, giving gifts to those in need on Purim day. If you are interested in reading more about these customs, here's a good article to check out.

Purim begins on Saturday night and continues all day Sunday. If you are in town and looking for local events, here's a listing of just about everything Purim that's happening in the valley over at Hilltown Families. If you aren't in town, or are looking for a quieter way to celebrate the holiday, you can try your hand and baking hamentashen (here's a link to my recipe) and giving them to friends, or reviewing the story of Esther with one of these videos: Godcast, Shalom Sesame, and a Lego version. You can also check out my friend Joanna's blog -  Bible Belt Balabusta - for a ton of creative ideas for Purim.

Have a joyful Purim and a wonderful rest of your vacation. See you on Monday, the 100th day of school!