Yom Shabbat
Before learning about how Hashem rested on the 7th day and called that day Shabbat, the children listen to the big book of The Little RedHen and discuss the sequence of events in the book. They discuss how none of the animals in the book are willing to help the red hen prepare the bread she wants to bake. Whenever she asks for help, they respond, “Not I.” When the bread is ready; however, everyone wants to help eat it.
It is very common for young children to sometimes feel that Shabbat is a burden because of “all the things they can’t do.” Therefore it became an important goal that as we introduce Shabbat, we want the children to feel that this wonderful day of rest, is a gift from Hashem and is very special. In order to do this, we wrap several Shabbat related items with festive gift wrapping and put them all in one box that is also wrapped up like a beautiful big present. This present is labeled in Hebrew, “Matana,” along with a card on it and is placed on the discovery table. Throughout the day, the children notice this gift and begin asking what it is and who it is for. Finally, after much anticipation, the time comes to discover what this special gift is. We first read the card in Hebrew, which explains that this is a gift from Hashem that He is giving to all of us in K-Gimmel, along with all of the Jews in the world. The children will usually begin guessing what it could be, and many think that it is a Torah! Then, we open the box and every pair of children is given a small gift to open. They open them up together and discoverchallot (from the Bayit), grape juice, candles, flowers, and other Shabbat related objects. They figure out that this special gift from Hashem is Shabbat! This leads to a discussion about how special Shabbat is and how lucky we are to have this day each and every week. We then take all of these items and sing our song together as we prepare the Shabbat table. The final piece depicting Shabbat is added to the bulletin board. The Shabbat paraphernalia are returned to the Bayit so the children can use them. A video of this ma’agal is included as a YouTube link.
Later in the day, once Shabbat has been introduced, we read Is it Shabbat Yet?, by Ellen Emermen. The children will usually notice that this book is very similar to The Little Red Hen, in that both books describe things that need preparation. They comment on how in The Little Red Hen, the characters do not help the red hen prepare the bread, but in the book about Shabbat, the little girl helps prepare for Shabbat. Each year it is fascinating how the children will notice a similarity or a difference that other children haven’t noticed. Almost all of the children are upset with the Little Red Hen’s friends because they don’t want to help her but they all want to eat the bread when it is done. In the book, Is it Shabbos Yet?, the little girl happily helps her mother do the many things to prepare for Shabbat. The book describes all the things that need to get done in order to get ready for Shabbat- taking a shower, cooking food and cleaning are all important examples of this! This leads to a discussion about what we do at home to help get ready for Shabbat. The yeladim are always excited to share how they help so we have them write about it and illustrate their writings and make it into yet another class book.
- Literacy: compare and contrast 2 books
- Literacy: Each child writes what they do to help prepare for Shabbat and then illustrates it. We make it into a class book that goes into our classroom Library.
- Art: The children decorate a card with candlesticks, challot, and Kiddush cup for the Shabbat card for the game.