ROSH HASHANA/YOM KIPPUR

So every year I try to do something different for the kids for each of the Jewish holidays. Since the school year starts in early September, pretty much right off the bat, we've got the High Holy Days--4 major holidays all within about 2 weeks. First, we have Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Traditions include eating apples and honey, hearing the shofar, eating pomegranates, and wishing everyone "L'Shana Tova!" We also spend a large part of the day in the synagogue for services. 10 days after Rosh Hashana, we observe Yom Kippur which is the Day of Atonement. Its a very solemn holiday so wishing your Jewish friends "Happy Yom Kippur" is kind of not kosher. The appropriate phrase is "Have an easy fast" because we don't eat. Or drink. For 24 hours. If you're really observant, you also don't bathe, shave, or do much more than go to services, wear white canvas shoes, take a nap to help pass the hours of fasting, and study. At services for both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we hear the shofar blast several times. Its a mitzvah to hear the shofar! After Yom Kippur comes Sukkot--see my next post for that one--then Simchat Torah.

Craft projects for Rosh Hashana aren't too hard--in the past I've done paper mache apples and pomegranates, painted glass plates and votive holders for apples and honey (have kids paint on the back of the plate so that it shows through onto the front), round challot made from salt dough (we used real cinnamon in the salt dough and added real raisins before baking), and round challah covers. Yom Kippur is harder because it just doesn't lend itself quite as well to crafts. This year, however, we made shofarim.

The project turned out much cuter than I imagined and it was pretty easy.

Kid's Shofar

Materials:
cardboard
kazoo
glue
twine
template
hot glue gun

First, draw a simple shofar shape onto the cardboard. It should only be about 6-7 inches long, total. Cut it out and then use it as a template to cut as many as you need. I teach preschoolers so I pre-cut all of them but older kids could cut out their own. You will need two cardboard shapes per shofar.

Next, using the hot glue gun, glue the kazoo to one of the cardboard cutouts so that the end that goes into your mouth sticks out about an inch from the cardboard (so you can play it!) Angle the kazoo so that the top part is about flush with the edge of the cardboard. Hot glue the other cardboard to the other side of the kazoo so that its like a kazoo sandwich! Allow it to dry completely. I did up to this point before school so that the kids' part starts now...

Now that you have your kazoo sandwich, squeeze a good bit of Elmer's glue to the fat end (the end farthest from your mouthpiece) so that twine will stick to it. Cut a good length of twine (length varies depending on age of kids--how much can they handle easily?) I gave my preschoolers about 2 feet. You may need to start them so they get the idea but you place one end of the twine into the glue then wrap the twine around the cardboard (its okay if the ends of the cardboard touch but try not to wind it too tightly). Once you've gone around a couple of times, most kids can continue to wind it around the cardboard. Once you have come to the end of the twine, tuck the end under the wrapped pieces and put more glue to secure it. Continue adding twine in the same manner until you reach the top of the cardboard piece (where your mouth will go when you play it). If you have left over twine when you reach the end, you can go backwards to add more or simply trim off the excess and glue it down.

Allow all of the glue to dry completely then play your shofar!

I like using a kazoo instead of a birthday blower because just like when you try to play a real shofar, if you just blow into the end, you're quite unlikely to get any sound to come out! It requires a lot of practice and, in my experience, a bit of a "trick" before you get the sound to come out.