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Soup (Recipe Included), Puppets, Shapes (Parshas Toldos)

11/28/2014

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Lentil Soup (Real)

Who doesn't love a good hearty soup on a cold (almost) winter day?  I always joke to my kids about various Torah portions and their "perfect timing."  For example, it works out well that the story with Avraham greeting the 3 men who were sitting under a tree takes place in the fall, when the foliage is so beautiful and glorious.  Leads to some great tree crafts.  In this parsha, Eisav sells his birth right to Yaacov for a bowl of lentil soup.  So while my son was napping, my daughter and I whipped up a nice big batch to last us several days, perfect for the sudden shift in weather.  Besides being delicious, lentil soup is super healthy.  In addition to all the wholesome vegetables that go into it, lentils alone are a great source of iron, protein, and fiber.   

Supplies (aka Recipe):
  • onions
  • garlic (I prefer cloves, but you can use powder as well)
  • carrots
  • celery
  • yams or sweet potatoes
  • lentils (anywhere between 1 - 3 cups, depending on the size of your pot)
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • optional: ginger (I love using fresh ginger, it adds great flavour to soups, can also use powder)
  • optional: beef marrow bones

When I cook, I often use whatever ingredients I already have at home, and I base quantities on our family's taste.  I came up with the above recipe for lentil soup based on what I have in the pantry.  I made it fleishig (with meat) because I had an extra package of beef marrow bones that I didn't put in the cholent on Shabbos.  But I've also made pareve (vegetarian) lentil soup and it tastes great!  I like to saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients, it adds a wonderful flavour to most soups.  But if you're short on time, you can certainly skip that step.
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Lentil Soup - Pretend Play

Just like his big sister, my son also had a go at making his own lentil soup!  You can also play a game where you ask your child to pass you a variety of vegetables based on their name or color.

Supplies:
  • play food
  • bowl & ladle
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Yaacov and Eisav Puppets


We made Yaakov and Eisav puppets to use as we talked about the parsha.  My friend sent me the templates for these puppets, I wish I could link the project but I don't have the name of the website.  You can cut your own.  We used red yarn for Eisav, and identified Yaacov with his kipa and tzitzis.  We also used scraps of fabric for his arms when he went to Yitzchak for the bracha.  If you have velcro on hand, you can attach the fabric with velcro and put it on when talking about the specific scene involving the bracha.  Alternatively, you can glue it on.

Supplies:
  • A cut out of 2 puppets (preferably on cardstock paper to make it sturdier)
  • kipa and tzitzis images
  • scraps of fabric
  • red yarn
  • googly eyes
  • popsicle sticks
  • scissors
  • glue
  • optional: velcro
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Song about the Names in this Parsha


A great song to learn the names in this parsha:

Yaacov and Eisav were twin brothers,
Rivka their mother, Yitzchak their father.
Do you think they were the same?
No no no, say that again.

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Shapes: Differences & Similarities


Taking cue from the above parsha song the kids sang almost every day, I thought it would be a great week to learn about (for my toddler) and review (for my preschooler) shapes.  We discussed what they are called, their unique characteristics, their similarities, and their differences.  My 2 year old enjoyed working on a shapes puzzle (by Melissa and Doug).  I had precut each shape in a small and large size for my 4 year, she matched each one, and then glued them down when I called out their name.  If you'd like, you can write down the name of each shape beside it.

Supplies:
  • 2 colors construction paper
  • glue
  • scissors 
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Well, Camels, and Jewelry (Parshas Chayei Sara)

11/11/2014

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Eliezer's Journey to Find a Wife for Yitzchak;.

Avraham and Sara ask their trusted assistant Eliezer to travel to find a wife for the son Yitzchak.  In this parsha we learn of a beautiful scene where Rivka assists Eliezer and all 10 of camels by providing them with water.  He recognizes Rivka's kindness and he asks if she will take Yitzchak's hand in marriage. 

My kids love doing pretend play and acting out scenes from the parsha.  Unfortunately, we don't have any camels to use as props, so we called in our ducks, sheep, cows, giraffe, and moose to act out as camels.  We used mitzvah kinder toys for Eliezer and Rivka, and we had no shortage of jewelry to be the gifts that Eliezer gave to Rivka.
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Camel Cards


I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice a few different skills with my children.  My 25 month old enjoyed sorting the camels into piles of 1 hump and 2 humps, counting the cards, and a basic matching game.  My 4 year old worked on patterns.  I set up different patterns for her and had her place which card she thought would go next.  For example, 1 hump, 2 humps, 1 hump, 2 humps, 2 humps, 1 hump, ______ . 

We also learned about traveling in the dessert, camels, why they are the perfect travel companions in hot places, what they store in their humps, etc.

Supplies:
  • printer
  • white paper
  • coloured paper
This is more of an activity than a craft, but children (depending on their ages) can help.  My daughter helped with cutting and gluing.  Use a clipart image of a camel with one hump and copy and paste it five times to fit on one paper.  Do the same for a camel with two humps.  Cut out the camels, and glue them onto another square to make them a little more sturdy and colourful.  Children can also colour in the camels. 
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Eliezer's Gifts for Rivka - Beaded Jewelery


Eliezer presented Rivka and her family with a variety of gifts, some of which included jewelry. 
My kids enjoy making bracelets and necklaces throughout the year, but it was extra special this week.  It's also a great activity to work on fine motor skills.

Supplies:
  • String, shoe lace, or plastic lace
  • Beads
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Edible Necklaces

What's better than jewelry and a snack?  When the two are combined!  My kids started off their morning by making Cheerios necklaces and got to eat them right after.  Breakfast and a craft!

Supplies:
  • String, shoe lace, or plastic lace
  • Cheerios
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Dessert Diorama


This project was entirely my daughter's idea.  She wanted to create the well scene from the dessert in 3-dimention, so we decided to make a diorama.  She gathered a variety of materials from our home and asked me to help her cut some them them, but otherwise this project was her unique creation.  A diorama can be made from a variety of household and crafting items, but I'll include the supplies that we used.

Supplies:
  • a box (shoebox, produce box, paper box, etc)
  • construction paper
  • pipe cleaners
  • empty tape roll (to create the perimeter of the well)
  • beads
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Sara's Shabbos Candles


In this week's Parsha, we learn that Sara Imeinu passes away.  She leaves a true legacy and her Shabbos candles stay burning the entire week!

Supplies:
  • 2 colours of construction paper
  • liquid glue
  • glitter
  • aluminum foil
  • scissors
Take two pieces of aluminum foil and shape them into two circles.  Press down and glue at the bottom of your paper.  Cut out two tall candles from the other piece of construction paper and glue them to fit into the candle holders.  Put some glue at the top of the candles and sprinkle on the glitter, shaking off the excess.  You can also decorate the candle holders with glitter in the same manner.
 
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Book Recommendation: Kind Little Rivka


* Kind Little Rivka, By Dina Rosenfeld, Illustrated by Ilene Winn-Lederer, Hachai Publishing

Given that we have this book both in English in Russian, I am sure that you guessed that it's one of the favorites in our home!  We all love the beautiful stories of kindness and the bright pictures in this book.
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Avraham's Tent, Tent Diorama, Colourful Tree (Parshas Vayeira)

11/7/2014

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Avraham's Tent

In this week's Torah portion, Parshas Veyeira, we learn about Avraham & Sara's incredible hachnosos orchim, being kind and hospitable to guests.  His tent had four openings so that he could see when people were travelling from any direction, so he could offer assistance to them.













Supplies:

  • A square or rectangular table
  • 1 large table cloth or flat sheet or 2 medium ones
  • 4 clips (can be office foldback clips or food storage clips, etc)

Drape a sheet over your table.  Clip the middle of each side up to create an opening.  Then enjoy hours of pretend play using the structure as a tent.  My children enjoyed baking goods in their play kitchen and bringing them to the tent, where they proceeded to offer the goods to the many (pretend) people who passed by.  They even helped them say the brachos (blessings) on the food.

Tent Diorama

We also made the scene from this week's parsha in 3-D.

Supplies:

  • 1 sheet of cardstock paper
  • 1 paper or styrofoam bowl
  • paint or markers 
  • empty toilet paper roll
  • green construction paper
  • glue
  • scissors
  • sand or glitter

Take a disposable bowl and cut four openings in it to represent the four entrances to Avraham's tent.  Colour or paint the bowl and glue it onto the cardstock paper.  Then, take a toilet paper roll and glue a green rectangular piece of construction paper at the top.  Cut strips on the green paper to make a fringe from the leaves on the tree.  Cut four 1cm slits at the bottom of the toilet paper roll and bend outwards so you can glue it down.  Spread glue onto the cardstock sheet and sprinkle sand or glitter onto it (not pictured in our project, as it was done after uploading the photo).

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A Colourful Tree

We learned that 3 angels who were in the form of people were sitting under a tree when Avraham approached them offering food and drink.  This project is perfect for the parsha, and has great timing as it's a wonderful opportunity for children to learn about the fall season and the change of colours on the leaves.

Supplies:
  • 1 sheet of cardstock paper
  • red, orange, yellow, green paint
  • some twigs or branches
  • green tissue paper, streamer, or construction paper

Break or cut the twigs into one long piece to be the trunk and 6 smaller pieces to be the branches.  Glue them on and let dry for several hours.  Glue a strip of green paper along the bottom and you can cut slits to create a fringe.  Using your fingers, make dots all around the branches in a variety of colours.  Both my 2 and 4 year old children equally enjoyed this project.  We talked about why leaves change colours and what happens to them in each of the seasons.  We had a great time walking throughout our neighbourhood finding trees that had all the different colours of leaves that we painted

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