Passover project ideas

Make the holiday more fun for your little ones

Growing up, Passover was always my favorite holiday. Each year, my parents usually hosted the Seders both nights; family and friends sat around an overflowing table. I always looked forward to spending the holiday with my many cousins, ten of us in all. We always had so much fun together, but once we sat down for the Seder, we knew we were in for a long night. From the children’s end of the table, you could always hear someone asking, “Are we almost done?” or “Is it time to eat yet?”

When I became a parent, I began to worry about how I planned to keep my own children interested in the Seder and sit quietly throughout. It was clear to me that, in order to do this, I would have to find a way to entertain my children beyond the haggadah. We started bringing PJ Library books to the table to keep them engaged, hoping they would at least stay at the table and indirectly learn something from what they were hearing. I also created various crafts, such as their own Seder plate and cup for Elijah, with my children in hopes that they would be excited to sit at the table, which was adorned with their decorations.

We also used props during the reading of the ten plagues; the children always looked forward to this part of the Seder. For example, to symbolize the blood, we would put red food coloring into a glass of water or throw small marshmallows – Kosher for Passover ones, of course – on the table for the plague of hail. Incidentally, the Creativity Center at the Dwares JCC offers many project ideas to help incorporate fun into the reading of the ten plagues. Contact Diane Cerep, at 421-4111, ext. 182, or at dcerep@jewishallianceri.org, for more information.

All of these various ideas were helpful and fun for my children. One project, however, stood out from the rest. What ultimately kept them excited throughout the entire Seder was the creation of a board game placemat. During the weeks leading up to the holiday, we began to discuss different elements to expect during the Seder and how they would occur in a specific sequence. Then, we used a variety of art mediums to create a Seder-Candy-Land-type game, which helped the children follow along and stay engaged throughout the evening. They used stickers to mark their progress along the path and were eager to move forward. This game was a big success and an activity that we have repeated year after year. If you are interested in creating your own Seder board game with your children, we will be making them during our drop-in crafting programs in the Alliance Family Room Parenting Center on April 1 at 10:00 a.m. or on April 3 at 4:00 p.m. There is a minimal fee of $2 per child to cover the costs of materials.

Cooking with children is another way I like to keep my children busy throughout the holiday week. Mixing cooking and crafting, my children have always enjoyed building a matzoh house, similar to a gingerbread house. I usually use Kosher for Passover cake icing for the “cement” that holds everything together and various candies for decorating.

Finding child-friendly recipes can sometimes be challenging due to the ingredient restrictions during the week of Passover. On March 30, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., baker and “Holiday Kosher Baker” author, Paula Shoyer, will be at the Dwares JCC to teach us how to bake some new recipes for Passover. Families will work together preparing the ingredients to take home and bake. There will also be samples of various other recipes and many PJ Library Passover stories shared. If you are looking for something new to serve this year or just enjoy baking with your children, you won’t want to miss this program!

We would love to hear about the activities you do with your own children to add to the holiday excitement. Share your projects or recipes with us on our PJ Library Facebook page (PJ Library Rhode Island) and be sure to like the page. For each idea submitted, your name will be entered into a raffle to win a Passover plague prop set.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about any of the events listed in this article or about PJ Library, contact Michelle Cic-chitelli, Director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Alliance, at 421-4111, ext. 178 or at mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org.