Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw

The Wise Men of Chełm

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Chełm is a city in Poland, and in Jewish folklore, it is the hometown of the wise men of Chełm, who are not actually all that smart: they are ridiculous and naïve, and their stupidity is often depicted with a smile and much compassion. The wise men of Chełm have become known for their silliness and pointless actions, and are the protagonists of many amusing tales. The term “wise men of Chełm” has come to mean those who act irrationally and absurdly. The stories about the wise men of Chełm can be found in collections and anthologies for both children and adults.

Reading & singing

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The story about Joseph makes us smile and laugh. You could ask your child: What amused you about this story? What about the illustrations did you think was funny? What usually makes you laugh?

Inspired by Joyful Joseph, who began each morning with a song about his beautiful life, you too could write a song and tune, and sing it together.

Landmarks

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What about your town do you like? You may enjoy taking photographs of places and people you love, or write a short poem about your hometown, using Joseph’s song as inspiration. You could even write a tune and turn your poem into a song.

How will we remember the way? You may want to step outside, look around you, and identify landmarks, such as a tree, bench, or the name of a street. You could draw a map of the route you’d walked, add your landmarks to it, and take it with you next time you set off on your way.

How beautiful is my town and how lovely is my room!

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Joseph loves his town and looks kindly upon it. Try to follow Joseph’s footsteps and describe your room – what about it is beautiful and good? What do you love about it? And what do you like about your home? You could take a family tour, during which each of you will describe your favorite parts of the house.

A language of signs

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An arrow pointing right, an arrow pointing left, one pointing forward, and another pointing backward – that’s all you need to create a particularly energetic game. You could draw these arrows on dice or directly on the floor, and ask your child to jump in the direction to which the arrow points. You could also throw number dice and jump up and down as many times as shown by the dice.

How about playing “treasure hunt”, and drawing arrows leading to the sought-after treasure?

Pinterest

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  Pinterest – for more direction and jumping games, please visit the Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw page on the PJLibrary website and on Pinterest.