Pesach Theme: Fun Filler Activities to get You [Playfully] Through These Last Days of Preparations!

Ah, these last days before Pesach comes are always hectic! It doesn't matter when you begin to prepare, there is always more to be done and getting through that to-do list can be a delicate dance of timing. This is made even more challenging when there are little ones around to help/hinder! I feel like the food and snack situation before Pesach begins is sometimes more of a challenge than the massive dietary change of eating foods only kosher for Pesach as we creatively try to use up as much of our non-kosher l'Pesach foods and run out of some of our toddler's favorite snacks in the process. Of course there is a lot to do around here and throw in the new baby plus c-section recovery to the mix; we are busy! Making time for one play/learning activity each day has really done a lot to help both me and my toddler feel more grounded in the madness. And I make use of the fact that he loves to help. Taking a hand in preparation helps the holiday to be more meaningful for him and helps him learn about Pesach in the process. We, of course, aim to keep the stress level as low as possible and not impose a feeling of anxiety associated with getting ready for Pesach. We want our children to pick up on the importance of this holiday as well as the importance of preparing for it b'simcha. That said, we could all use a play break every now and then! If you're looking for some simple (and even helpful) play activities to get you through these last days of preparations, here are some of our favorites from this past week:

A great way to teach/learn about what foods we do and do not eat for Pesach is to set up a sorting activity. We used play foods from our kitchen set and sorted through those we can eat over Pesach and those that we eat during the rest of the year. As my son is only 2.5, I did not go deeply into the difference between chametz and kitnios (which we do not eat) or the fact that many non-kosher l'pesach foods now have kosher l'pesach equivalents available in stores! Rather, I set aside some obvious examples for our "not for Pesach" bag--like challah, bread, crackers, cookies...and helped him sort the rest. Notice the photo-bomb of the cute sleeping little brother in the background!

We do not go crazy cleaning toys, but rather did a toy wash of ones that he would still play with over Pesach and were likely to need a good cleaning. Other (more difficult to wash) toys we stored away and swapped in some new ones we've had put away from a very generous Chanukah gift this past year. My toddler LOVES to wash things, so our toy wash station was a big hit with him. It even led to this next activity...

He decided to clean his own kitchen for Pesach!

Waterplay and housekeeping tasks are two of my toddler's favorite activities. He was so thrilled to be allowed to have water in his kitchen set and it was very helpful to have an extra set of hands involved in cleaning. Plus, he got to learn about cleaning/preparing a kitchen for use over Pesach as he played! I've seen other families even include covering the kitchen sets with foil and tape just like in the real kitchen! We may add this activity in later this weekend when we get to turning over our own kitchen for the holiday!

Stickers are like toddler currency here. He was so proud of his hard work and felt very excited to stick on these handmade "cleaned for Pesach" stickers in his kitchen area.

Sure, he can't read yet--but print rich environments are always a bonus even with pre-readers.

Mitzvah Notes are another great way to include written language for pre-readers in your home--plus they are a powerful positive reinforcement tool! He was so proud to get one himself and requested to write one as well for his younger brother!

We took a quick family outing to our local craft store and picked up a few of these foam door-hangers. I prepared each one with the words "This room is clean for Pesach" and he had a great time sticking on foam flower stickers. Then he got to choose one for his bedroom door handle, one for our's and one to remain for our kitchen door.

My toddler is definitely excited for Pesach! When asked what he is most looking forward to, he responded "matzah and maror!" He does know what to expect with the matzah--even had a little sneak preview taste the other day--but I'm not so sure he realizes what he's getting into with maror! I wish all who are celebrating a chag kasher v'sameach--and happy playing before and during!