There are many traditions that Jewish families do in preparation for Pesach! Cleaning our homes are one of them! The chassidic explanation for this is that we must "clean our souls"- meaning to get rid of the "Pharo" in us, and break through the "slavery" that our minds are sometimes "stuck in."
cleaning in our classroom!
'Bedikat Chometz" "Cleaning for Chometz"
We taught the children about the ritual that is done the night before Pesach- where each household hides 10 pieces of bread. We walk around with a candle, spoon and feather searching for each of the 10 pieces of bread, and then save them in a bag- which will be burned the next morning!
Each of the children had a chance to find a piece of the hidden breads in our classroom!
To help with their number recognition, we numbered each of the pieces with dots. After finding a piece, the child was invited to find the corresponding number to the dots that was on the paper the Morah held! It also helped us keep track of how many pieces were still hidden!
Sweeping into a pile
We created some boxes on the floor using tape as a guide, for the children to learn how to sweep into "piles." Some of our older students really caught on, and learned to create a pile, vs sweeping in many directions!
The Seder Plate-
The children had an opportunity to peel and cut the apples for Charoset- the traditional food that is on the seder plate, that reminds us of the cement that was used to build bricks in Egypt.
They also crushed nuts using bricks! (sorry, didnt capture any pics of that!)
We Enjoyed going through the 15 steps of the seder, using the beautiful Haggadot that the children made with their Morah's help! The children are very prepared for the real thing!
Breaking the Matzah!
Tasting the bitter Marror!
Seder plate math!
The children enjoyed a fun Roll the seder plate game! This self correcting game allowed the children to work on their number recognition and counting skills while learning the items of the seder plate!
Setting the table
The children were invited to make places for each of their friends at our "seder table" for the "Shulchan Aruch" part of the seder. They carefully placed plates, cutlery, cups to ensure each setting had what they needed.
All round smiles ;)
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