Hamentashen Shalach Manot

My daughter wanted to make some Shalach Manot to give out to her little friends. She attends a "Mommy and Me" group at the local library and already has formed some friendships. I was looking for something that she is able to make with supplies that we already had at home. I came across once this fabulous shalach Manot idea (I don't recall where...) and we started working right away! Shalach Manot can be very expensive, but this one looks adorable and really economical -1 cent a piece (you can't beat that!).

To make the Hamentashen Shalach Manot you need:

 1 paper plate

 Colorful Tissue Paper or Shredded Paper

  Brown Paint

  Paint Brush

  Stapler

We first painted on one side of the paper plate brown and left it to dry. We then placed all the items we wanted to give for Shalach Manot in the center of the plate. We also included these delicious Hamentashen we baked together. You can hop over to read more about it on "Get Baking Hamentashen... It's Educational" and print the Hamentashen recipe as well. Then, I helped my daughter fold the plate by bringing the three sides in and stapling on the top to make it look like a Hamentashen. She stuffed the center, jelly part, with shredded paper. When we finished, it looked adorable.

                                                                      Happy Purim!

Hey is for...Honey Nut Cheerios!

We started working on the letter Hey. We covered the entire letter with glue and then glued on the Honey Nut Cheerios one-by-one. Well, we started with more, but we lost some of them along the way… It was very tempting to eat some Honey Nut Cheerios while we did our work! We left it to dry on the side and then added another coat of thick layer of glue.

We placed our hand over the bumpy surface and were able to make the sound of letter HEY!! 

To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link

Daled is for Dollars

And here comes the letter Daled! We glued on paper dollars right on the letter Daled. We first spread the glue to make sure it covers all the surface and then folded the paper dollars. It was so much fun to see the letter Daled turn into Dollars! Once dried, we were able to "feel" letter Daled and  make the sound. 

Paper money is always good to have around. We mostly use it for math unit or for pretend-play. The kids usually ask me for the paper money during center time.  The grocery corner is the most popular center and the most looked after. Once free play is over, I just hope a get all my "money" back ;)  

To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link.

Gimmel is for Glitter!

We started working on the letter Gimmel. So for, our favorite letter. We got the glitter everywhere...in our hair, clothes, table top and of course, some on the letter Gimmel. We first placed some glue on the letter and then added the glitter from  a distance. We gently tapped the back of the paper to make sure that all the glitter stays on the letter. Once dried, we were able to "touch" the letter Gimmel and make the sound. To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link.

And the winner to the Tu B'Shevat Giveaway is...

         *****  ELY DINAH  *****

Please send your full name and mailing address to:

torahtoy@gmail.com

I would love to get out the Morah Music CD volume 5 right away! I'm sure your little ones would absolutely love it...

Have a great week!

Purim Play Dough Mats

Little ones enjoy playing with many different games, but play dough can keep them busy for hours. I usually use play dough as a reward system. If I see good behavior, then I can bring down the play dough from the top shelf. Now, that Purim is on its way, I was looking for an interactive activity that the kids can do with play dough and still review many different highlights of the holiday. I came across this website Making Learning Fun and love the "Wishy Washy Play Dough Mats" activity.

Click here to download this Mat

The Purim Play dough Mats are to go along with the Purim Cookie Cutters. You can follow this link directly to the Torah Toy's website where you can find out more details. The Purim Cookie Cutters are great to have at home, not only to make holiday cookies, but also to do different activities with your children. They are colorful, plastic cookie cutters and come in a set of five (Meguillah, Hamentashen, Gragger, Mask and Crown).

Purim Cookie Cutters

To do this activity with your child, you first need to download the mats. Every sheet must be downloaded separately. You can locate the files right beneath each picture. Then, you should laminate the sheets so you can use it over, and over and OVER! I’m telling you… you will be very glad that you've printed them out.

Using the cookie cutters and play dough, help your child complete each scene.

Meguillah

It’s time to read the Meguillah! Have your child make a Meguilah and place it on the Bima for reading.

Click here to download this Mat

Hamentashen

Hmmmm… Someone ate all the Hamenstashen. Can you make some more and place them on the plate?

Click here to download this Mat

Gragger

 The children are at Shul listening to the Meguillah reading. Can you make the graggers?

Click here to download this Mat

Mask

The children are getting ready for Purim. Can you help them dress up? 

Click here to download this Mat

Crown 

 Queen Vashti and Esther are missing their crowns. Can you place the crowns on their head?

Click here to download this Mat

For older children that have already learn the Hebrew letters, they can form each letter with play-dough. It's a great activity to develop fine motor skills as well as to learn Purim sight words.

You can go ahead an relax now... You will not be hearing from the kids for a long time!

Wishing you all

A Happy Purim

Always keep the cookie cutters and mat together in a large zip lock bag. 

Veis is for Velcro

For letter Veis, we placed Velcro on it. It is really easy! Just peel off the back of the velcro and stick it on the letter. Then, have the child touch the letter Veis to make the sound. To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link.

Have fun!