Preschool Purim Party

Chag Purim Sameach!!!

I had such a blast during preschool yesterday! It was my turn to teach and since it is Purim (Jewish holiday celebrating the biblical story of Esther), I decided it would be so much fun to have a Purim party! The letter of the day was "S." So, I tried to incorporate that into the activities. We started by learning about sound. How sound can be made with instruments, our voices, and our bodies. Oh, and for those not familiar with Purim, it is such a fun holiday because everyone gets to dress up in costumes.

Then, we made shakers to make sound with. We used paper plates with beans and bells inside.

Fanny's shaker. They turned out super cute and the kids had a lot of fun coloring them.

Next was a little puppet Show of the Story of ESther from a Scroll, or ancient Scriptures. See how I included the letter "S" in our lesson/party?! During Purim, the story of how Esther saved her people from Haman's evil plot to kill all the Jews, is told. Every time Haman's name is read, everyone makes A LOT of noise!!! It was a ton of fun for the girls. The story I told was adapted for kids. They just loved the puppets. I printed them off from a site I found online.

The girls shaking their shakers.

Of course, I had to make Hamantaschen for the party. I've never been a huge fan because I remember them being kind of dry in my childhood, but I found a really good recipe and they tasted great! I used Nutella and strawberry jam for the fillings. Thought the kids would enjoy those flavors the best.

They did! Nora has so much fun "tagging along" when we have preschool at our house.

Mmmm!!!

She was so tired after the party that she zonked out on the couch before it was even her nap time.

What a great time we all had. I can't wait for Purim next year. It was fun to add this holiday to our yearly Jewish celebrations. Sure love when I can teach my girls more about their heritage. Next up, Passover, yay! And, right after Passover will be Easter!!! Oh, and even before those two holidays it will be St. Patrick's Day. Lots going on this time of year.