Pesach Is Coming: Dramatic Play Fun!

All work and no play makes for some very grumpy children (and adults alike)! There is so much to be done in the weeks preceding Pesach, but in this special holiday that is so much about our children, what if I told you that you could have it all? Work and play and a little help from your little ones?

Honestly, aside from eating all the foods we need to get rid of and staring at my master lists of things to do, things to buy and things we have stored (somewhere??) from last year, I have been in a bit of De Nile (pun totally intended). But S is learning about Pesach in school and with his usual enthusiasm has come home playing about it, talking about it and teaching Y about it as well. For good reasons this year, I just can't go completely overboard with prep for play or holiday activities--but some simple setups at home (and even in the yard) invited the boys to get busy playing about and helping to prep for this upcoming holiday.

S's wonderful teachers created a dramatic play matzah bakery in their classroom, which of course he loves and requested at home. Amazingly, we were short on empty boxes for a matzah oven, but I did have a growing collection of recycled-once-so-far shoe boxes that could withstand an upgrade. So I turned an old Shabbat Box project into a Pesach matzah oven along with some cardboard and wooden craft stick matzah pans with handles. The sponge painted candlesticks and kiddush cups were totally holiday appropriate here and with a bit of hot glue, some recycled bottle caps, a fire drawn into the background and very limited assembly, our oven was matzah ready. Kids could totally help with this project (and in a way, I guess S did--just not at the time of its actual creation).

We happen to have a Pesach play set the boys received as a gift a couple of years ago from their Safta and Saba, so they use the wooden matzahs from there to bake. They also made a set of play matzahs for our kitchen using cardstock cut into circles and doing crayon rubbings over Lego and Duplo boards and even a handmade template with dots of dried glue to create the texture. You can add in props like aprons and chefs hats, other Pesach themed toys and dishes, you can even add a timer to your oven (we have a digital one from Dollar Tree) and count the 18 minutes! Our two little bakers were very busy getting matzahs in and out of the oven FAST, all while busily setting the seder table with seats for each of the brothers and "one for Eliyahu!"

But before the seder begins, there's a lot of cleaning to do! And no one here loves to clean like S and Y do. Really, no one. But their enthusiasm for the task is enough for all four of us! And I won Mommy of the Year by investing in a roll of tin foil especially just for them. Yup, S told me I'm "the best Mommy ever" because I let him and Y play with soapy water, sponges, rags, and unlimited amounts of masking tape and tin foil. Child labor? Dramatic Play? Tomato, tomahto... And the best part (right next to their gleeful smiles and giggles) was that our kitchen set and toy dishes (and the floor, kids table and chairs) all got cleaned thoroughly for Pesach!

Even outside time has been infused with child-led play about building (and even drawing) pyramids. I've been slowly clearing up and setting up our backyard area as we prepare the space to hopefully house a raised bed table and our season's garden. Taking out some of the toys we've had stored away upstairs in the boys' room that can withstand outdoor elements has been a great way to clear up indoor space, jazz up our backyard for some playing and will hopefully also help keep the boys busy at play while I am busy in the garden this year.

For it's work, work, work, every day and every night... But here, even before Pesach, we still make some time and space for a bit of play. Happy cleaning and preparing if you're at it and remember, play is kosher for Pesach and all year round!

Happy Playing!