Themed Play and Learning: Days of Creation

The Jewish holiday season is officially over as of last night! I love the learning and celebrations that go along with all of the holidays in the month of Tishrei, but I am eager and excited to return to some semblance of routine and organization here. In our house, there is some actual reorganizing happening--some closet de-cluttering, donating of items no longer needed, toy rotation and Spring Autumn Cleaning. These tasks are not always easily accomplished during daylight hours with a busy toddler on the loose, so setting up some well thought out play activities is a must. The end of the High Holidays marks the beginning of a new cycle of reading through the Torah. We begin from the Beginning, Parsha Bereishit, the story of Creation. This is a Torah portion that could be explored over the course of several days or weeks even through art, sensory play, science, math and sorting activities and more. And yet, because of its occurrence right smack dab at the end of the holidays, the week on which it is read often flies by unnoticed in the hustle and bustle to return to the world of full work and school weeks. Many preschools will extend an extra amount of time on teaching this theme and this year at home, I devoted a day to each day of creation between Chol Hamoed (Intermediate Days of Sukkot) and the remainder of this week. It will culminate with the most important day, Shabbat, this Friday! Here's a peek at some of the ways we are exploring the theme (or plan to explore it) through a variety of play-based activities. We are keeping things quite simple and easy going as we move out of the holiday season and back into a regular schedule. When we feel like lingering longer on an activity, we do. When I feel like we missed a lot of what I wanted to cover over the last month, I re-structure my approach. These are the true benefits and joys of homeschooling!


Day 1: Dark & Light

Our local science Museum has great exhibits for exploring light and shadows. Playing with lights and shadows is a great way to explore the first day. Here are some additional ways to play:

• sort black and white pom poms or other small objects
• grab some flashlights and put on a shadow puppet show
• enjoy a black and white cookie, chocolate and vanilla pudding or other dark/light themed snack

Day 2: The Heavens/Skies

• Make a cotton ball cloud themed sensory bin
• Make a cloud in a bag
• Explore rainbows through art, science and sensory play
• Have fun in the "clouds" with some shaving cream sensory fun!

Day 3: Earth, Flowers, Plants & Trees

• Visit a local park or botanical gardens
• Plant some flowers or other seeds at home
• Explore parts of fruits
• Go on a parts of a plant scavenger hunt. This time of year is especially fruitful for this activity!
• Set up a soil and parts of a plant sensory bin.
• If you have some flowers on your move list, do a flower dissection:
  
  

Day 4: Moon, Stars and Sun

• If you happen to live near one, visit a planetarium!
• In lieu of that, create your own planetarium at home using a large can with holes poked in the lid and a flashlight or glow in the dark stars.
• Make some "galaxy" playdough. Follow your favorite playdough recipe and dye it dark blue or purple like the night sky. Add glitter for stars and add some glow in the dark stars or star and moon shaped cookie cutters for play.
• We're catching up on alphabet letters! Here's our letter N night craft: 

Day 5: Fish & Birds

• My son LOVES walking through pet stores and looking at all the animals. Take a look at some fish and birds together! 
• If you're feeling super adventurous, get your own pet fish for home and learn together about taking care of them.
• Go bird watching outside! Make a simple bird-feeder or birdseed treat using a pinecone or toilet paper roll to lure over some feathered guests.
• Visit a local pond or lake to look for fish or at the habitat where fish might live. If you happen to live near an aquarium, this would be a fabulous family field trip.
• Go fishing with a homemade fishing game! You can use water-based sensory play, ice and waterbeads (pictured to the left) or make one using felt or foam fish ships, paperclips and a magnetic rod (wooden down with a short string and strong magnet attached).

Day 6: Animals & People

On the last day of Creation, G-d created the animals and Adam & Eve. The purpose of Creation was for us, people, to bring G-dliness into the physical world. Reminding and teaching children that G-d created everything for this special purpose is a beautiful part of teaching this theme.

• Small world play and dramatic play with toy animals and people is a great way to explore this day together
• If you can visit a zoo or pet shop to view some interesting animals, a field trip is a great way to expand on this part of the theme.
• Read and enjoy extension activities on some of your favorite animal-themed books, like Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear.
• Enjoy a themed snack of animal crackers. Baking a decorating a cake with animal crackers can be a fun way to celebrate the culmination of the six days of Creation just in time for the seventh day, Shabbat.
• Do a mitzvah together. Visit someone who is sick, make a tzedakah (charity) box and put some coins in right away, bring some Shabbos treats or challah to a neighbor. This is G-d's purpose of Creation, and what better way to honor it as a family!

Day 7: Shabbat

My son loves playing with these Shabbat river rocks each Shabbat!

• Read a favorite Shabbat story together. Two of our household favorites are Is It Shabbos Yet? by Ellen Emerman and The Shabbat Box by Lesley Simpson. 
• Make your own Shabbat box--craft and decorate your own candlesticks, challah cover, challah board, besomim box, Kiddush cup...here are some more ideas for crafts and Shabbat activities!
• Bake challah together or play about it with some playdough.
• Create or revisit some favorite Shabbat rituals. We have some special toys that come out only before and on Shabbat. Each Friday morning, my son decorates his own disposable plastic kiddush cup with stickers to use at our meals that week. Sing some favorite Shabbat songs together, enjoy a festive meal or just enjoy each other's company in the true style of the seventh day!

Materials for All of the Days:

We have a set of this Israeli domino game based of Parsha Bereishis that has been passed down through a few generations of preschool teachers! It's a great hands on tool for learning about the days of Creation.

These seven sectioned serving trays are often available at Dollar Tree and can be used with small toys, objects and/or pictures for a sorting activity. Add a set of tongs for an added fine motor challenge!

We also had fun making our own hands on learning material. We use it as we sing songs about the days of Creation. Older children could use it for sorting activities.

Despite my love of sensory bottles, I've yet to make a set for Bereishit, but here's a peek at another preschool teacher's amazing creation!

Exploring the Days of Creation through Art:

There are a lot of great ideas out there for arts & crafts projects for Parsha Bereishit. Over the years of teaching I have made books, murals, posters/pictures and more. Many incorporate teaching the numerals/numbers 1-7 as well. This year we are working on a paper plate craft version to use as a visual display. Here's what we've done so far.

Happy theme based playing and creating!