Sukkot Emerges in Kitah Alef

Just as we say goodbye to Rosh Hashana we get ready to welcome another holiday - Sukkot! The two main mitzvot of Sukkot are building a sukkah and shaking a lulav and etrog. Here's how we prepared for Sukkot in Kitah Alef:

The first thing we made available was a plush lulav and etrog set. The children had the chance to explore the different aspects and practice shaking them together during free play and circle time.

(Tune of: "The More We Get Together")

"Did you ever shake a lulav,

a lulav, a lulav?

Did you ever shake a lulav

and an etrog too?

Shake it upwards and downwards

and forwards and backwards.

Did you ever shake a lulav

and an etrog too?"

There was building going on in our classroom as well! An upside-down basket topped with real leaves served as our "sukkah-under-construction" as the children banged on its top with wooden hammers. This was a positive outlet for them to feel the sensations of banging toys together in a safe way, and they reveled in the opportunity.

We made our version of "schach", the branches that lie on top of the sukkah as the roof. First we pressed our hands into a green ink pad and then pat-patted them onto white paper for a sensory and artistic experience.

When it was dry we brought the paper outside so we could make use of the natural materials around us. The morahs poured glue all over and then the children were able to sprinkle wood chips and leaves that they found on the ground. 

A beekeeper came to visit us this week! She brought a travel-friendly beehive for us to examine and told us all about the important roles of bees in our environment. We watched the swarm busily building their honeycomb and looked at the close-up pictures of individual bees. Then the beekeeper handed out construction hats for us to borrow as we flew around like worker bees from flower to flower. We thanked the bees for their hard work in making sweet honey for us to enjoy from Rosh Hashana through Sukkot.

 Immediately following Sukkot is another chag called Simchat Torah! On Simchat Torah we celebrate the fact that we are so happy to have the Torah and dance with flags to show it. We decorated our Simchat Torah flags by squirting paint on paper, covering them with sheets of bubble wrap and pressing down on top in any way we could! Some stepped carefully on the bubble wrap, some jumped and some chose to pop the bubbles with their fingers. The result of this stimulating sensory experience is a blend of colors under that spreads on the paper. We can't wait to show you the final result!

Chag Sameach!