Lots of singing, puppet making, and dramatizing characterized our Purim experience in the second grade. The students loved the idea of “ViNahafoch Who” for Purim in which things are seen as topsy turvy since in the story of Purim, told in the Megillah of Esther, many things turn out to be the opposite of what was expected. The second graders loved singing a Purim song about this state of affairs! Additionally, another favorite was a song about all different size graggers, the noisemakers, used to blot out evil Haman’s name. The culmination of our in class Purim learning was an all school celebration which involved mask making, hamantashen baking and paper bag dramatics. We also had a chance to perform the mitzvah of Misloach Manot that we delivered to the JCC Senior Meal Site that included our own delicious hamantashen we had baked.
The Gragger Song
Decorating Purim Puppets and Gift Bags
And very quickly without losing a beat, we moved on to Passover! The second graders are very ready to be active participants in their family Seders. They can sing many parts of the Haggadah. They have very much enjoyed adding second grade pieces to the progressive Haggadah that they began making in Kindergarten with Morah Ilana. They have organized and labeled the Haggadah so they can remember in which grade they added each piece. The second graders participated in a chametz search around the classroom as they reinforced vocabulary for Hebrew prepositions of where they found the leavened bread.The second graders have worked hard to memorize their parts for a Passover play in simple Hebrew. They are excited to perform it for the kindergarten and first grade. A favorite project for Passover and usually for the second grade year is sewing a frog pillow to be used as a way to relax at the Seder since we are free people! The students were quite creative in how they decorated their frogs!
Searching Our Classroom for Chametz
Frog Pillows
