Each Winter, all over the world, Jewish families polish the Chanukah menorah until it gleams. Now is the time to prepare for the Festival of Lights!
Jewish children love the menorah, with its small candles that burn the eight nights of Chanukah. The bright lights remind them of the Jews' fight to worship God in their own way.
Children also love to hear the story of Chanukah over and over and over again! Each time they hear the story of how Judah the Maccabees beat the mean King and his big army, they learn something new about the holiday. Today, Ellen came outside with us, sat down on the ground, and began to read/act out the story of Chanukah. She called a few children over and within a few minutes, she had about ten children listening and acting out the story. The children took on a variety of roles, Judah, the Maccabees, the villain Antiochus,and his army of men. There was sword fighting, the restoration of the Temple and a search for the oil! What a great way to learn and experience the story of Chanukah; by acting it out with friends on the playground. It does not get any better than that! Thanks Ellen, that sure was fun!
Jewish children love the menorah, with its small candles that burn the eight nights of Chanukah. The bright lights remind them of the Jews' fight to worship God in their own way.
Children also love to hear the story of Chanukah over and over and over again! Each time they hear the story of how Judah the Maccabees beat the mean King and his big army, they learn something new about the holiday. Today, Ellen came outside with us, sat down on the ground, and began to read/act out the story of Chanukah. She called a few children over and within a few minutes, she had about ten children listening and acting out the story. The children took on a variety of roles, Judah, the Maccabees, the villain Antiochus,and his army of men. There was sword fighting, the restoration of the Temple and a search for the oil! What a great way to learn and experience the story of Chanukah; by acting it out with friends on the playground. It does not get any better than that! Thanks Ellen, that sure was fun!
I think I told that story 14 times today! What a pleasure it was to tell it to such an attentive and engaged group. I loved that they each took on so many different roles in the different retellings. And I feel obligated to explain that the strange expression on my face is part of the story I was telling- I was having a blast!
ReplyDelete