Days of Creation Play Stations: Day 1 Dark & Light

S is early in the stages of understanding how to
play the game of Dominoes, but this family
heirloom set of Bereishis dominoes is a great
starting point! He loves making a "train" of
matching pictures and "reading the directions."

The first parsha read in the Torah each year is, arguably, one of the most important. Parshas Bereishis chronicles the events of Creation, day by day, as well as the stoPry of Adam and Chava. And although this is one of the most significant parshios of the year, it occurs in our annual rotation right on the heels of a huge holiday season. As a teacher in Jewish classrooms, I grappled with whether to teach this parsha "in time" and rush through the opportunities for learning and play so we can make it to the next several and equally significant parshios, or whether to extend the lesson beyond its week in the limelight. There are benefits to both ways. It is nice when children can learn the Torah portion of the week as it comes up. Particularly in homes where children go to synagogue on Shabbos or discuss the parsha at the Shabbos table, even preschool aged children like to feel a part of the action! There are benefits as well to having the time to explore in depth these early parshios, particularly through the lens of hands on exploration and play based learning. The best part of either route you choose is that the cycle repeats itself again and again. In other words--there's always next year, G-d willing!

Revisiting some of our favorite learning materials from last year is a fun way to play and learn together!

This year, S is learning about the first two parshios in school, Parshas Bereishis (the story of Creation), and Parshas Noach (the story of Noah and the ark). We explored these parshios in depth at home last year, as well. You can check out our Bereishis activities and Noach activities from last year if you wish. This year, we are enjoying a more relaxed flow of play-based activities in the afternoons. S has already had a morning of more structured learning and projects, which he loves and a more child-led approach in the afternoons really works for us right now. In addition, Y is able on his own level to join in our play adventures. I decided to extend our time exploring the theme of Parshas Bereishis into seven afternoon play stations to visit each day of Creation through sensory exploration, family field trips, themed snacks, process art and dramatic play.



Here's a peek at our first day of Creation Play Stations: Day 1, Dark & Light

While the boys were napping, I gathered a white pillowcase to attach to our puppet theater, a selection of flashlights/small lights and LED decorative lights, and transformed our play area into an exploration of darkness, light and shadows...

Some lights strung over our play tunnel added a whole new element of wonder to this already beloved gross motor activity!

Y got a kick (or enjoyed kicking) some lights strung above his activity mat. Adult supervision is definitely required when allowing very little ones to play with items that contain batteries and cords!

What's more fun than crawling through a tunnel? Crawling through a tunnel that lights up in a dark room and chasing after a light up ball!

S was both fascinated and bewildered by the shadow puppet station. He kept looking behind the curtain of the puppet theater where the action usually takes place, but was confused as to why the shadows weren't there! We observed together how the shadows are formed in front of the light by the objects placed in front of the white curtain. He brought in a variety of other objects to try besides the animals I had set out. We tried our hands (literally) at some shadow puppets as well. Much of the fun was just in playing with flashlights on their own!

Y LOVED the light up ball! I have found these on and off at our local Dollar Tree and they are always popular!

Adding in some of our translucent magnetiles to the mix gave way to some especially colorful shadows and fantastic buildings. This was a great way to introduce some STEM and building activities into the mix.

S has had little interest at home in doing "art projects." He does amazing art activities at school and at home I try to introduce more opportunities for process art (which he also does in school). Both brothers are participating in our Days of Creation Process Art Book. Day 1 was an invitation to explore white chalk and crayons on black paper. 

S was not interested in this station at all until Y and I sat down. He Loves showing Y how to do things!

We had a surprise themed dessert of "Dark & Light" pudding (chocolate and vanilla pudding). This is a great early cooking activity that toddlers and preschoolers can help with in the kitchen and although I made it in advance because we were short on time, S was so happy that he thanked me repeatedly without being prompted and told me it's his "favorite!" Alternatively you could make/buy black and white cookies, have hot cocoa with marshmallows or even chocolate sandwich cookies with white cream filling...very healthy, I know! Maybe pumpernickel and white bread??

We are having so much fun exploring the days of Creation through play that I am already excited for our second day! We will certainly be back soon and until then, happy playing!