פסח

Pesach trivia

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What are the three things you would have taken with you when leaving Egypt? And who can leap like a frog from the second plague? Scan the code and you will be able to print out an amusing card game that will enhance your Seder Night experience.

Hide and Seek

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You can hide the afikomen or any small item and ask family members to look for it. Is it in the kitchen? Under the couch? Perhaps in the closet? In the next round, the one who found the item will hide an item of his or her choice, while the others go looking for it… Good luck!

Pesach activities

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This book offers parents the opportunity to tell their children about their childhood Seder Night experiences: Did you hide the afikomen? And who found it? What did you like about Pesach as children? And what do you like about it now – parents and children?

Where is the frog?

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A small frog is visiting for Seder Night wearing an ancient Egyptian headdress. Can you look through the illustrations and find it? Why does it appear in the illustrations, in your opinion?

Pinterest

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For more ideas for activities, check out our Instagram page – and discover more surprises.

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Pinterest

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Pinterest – Ideas for crafts and activities centered around the holidays, songs composed to melodies and more, are waiting for you on the book’s page in Sifriyat Pijama’s Pinterest site.

Songs for all Times

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This book is a gift that can accompany you as a family throughout the year: on festive holidays and in changing seasons, with the arrival of Autumn and in preparation for a birthday celebration. Choose the appropriate song for each coming occasion or holiday, read it together, look at the illustrations, sing and celebrate. Poems and illustrations Read the songs together and look at the illustrations. Which illustrations attract the children’s attention?

Songs and Illustrations

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Read the songs together and study the illustrations. Which illustrations draw the children’s attention?

You can look together at what you see in the illustration and what details appear in it.

Words and Melodies

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Many of the songs in this book were composed to music. You can take a cymbals, wooden spoons or lids of pots and pans, and accompany the singing by playing music and dancing. Once the children are familiar with the song, you can play a guessing game: starting humming the tune, and invite the children to guess the rest and join you.

What’s Hiding in the illustration?

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Open the book randomly, or at a favorite song, and let each person in turn name an item that everyone else must look for in the illustration: Find in the illustration: Where is the house with a red roof? Where is the pomegranate? Where are the clowns?

Discussion

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How do you prepare for Pesach? Do you have a family tradition that has been passed on from one generation to the next? Perhaps you would like to discuss it with your child. You could tell them how you, parents, celebrated Pesach when you were growing up, sharing a family custom or story with them that has stayed with you all these years.

About a dish

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Do you have a dish at home that is associated specifically with Pesach? How about looking at it together, and telling its story: Where did it come from? Why was it kept by your family? What is it used for during Pesach?

Illustrations tell stories

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What can we learn from the illustrations in this book? Do they help us imagine Workito’s and Almaz’s lives in Ethiopia? You may enjoy choosing a certain illustration, looking at it together and discussing which character you would be interested in chatting with, what you would ask this character, and whether you would like to join him/her.

In with the new

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Following Workito’s story, you may want to touch up items you love that are now tattered or torn. You could draw on an old t-shirt, color an old hat, cover an old planter with a mosaic, decorate some kitchenware, or create a completely new item from a broken dish. Do you like the way it turned out?

פינטרסט

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Pinterest – arts & crafts and other activities are available on the Workito Breaks the Dishes page on the PJLibrary Pinterest

Datia Ben Dor

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was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1944, and immigrated to Israel at 12 months. At the beginning of her professional career, Ben Dor engaged in music education, writing scripts and songs for many Israeli children’s television shows, such as Parpar Nechmad (“Lovely Butterfly”), and Rehov Sumsum (the Israeli version of Sesame Street). Her children’s poems and numerous books are well-known and loved, among them Ani Tamid Nishar Ani (“I Always Stay Me”), Digdugim (“Tickles”), Otiyot Mefatpetot (“Chatting Letters”), and Kakha Zeh BeIvrit (“That’s How it is in Hebrew”). Datia Ben Dor has received much recognition for her contribution to children’s literature, such as the ACUM award, and Bialik Prize for Lifelong Achievement in Children’s Literature.

Proposed Family Activities:

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• Can your child find Passover symbols in the illustrations? Perhaps you could ask them to point out the four cups, matzah, Passover Haggadah and wine. You may also want to look for clues that spring has arrived – short-sleeved shirts and shorts, flower bloom, and clear skies.

• Do you know the tune to this song? How about singing it together, dancing round and round?

• Springtime beckons us to go outside and enjoy nature. Where do you like to be when you are outdoors? Perhaps you could take this book along with you, take a stroll near your house, and look for signs of spring together.

• You may want to make “spring binoculars” and look through it all around. Decorate two toilet paper rolls with stickers and crayons, and attach them to one another on their long side. What can you see through your binoculars?

• Ma Nishtana? What has changed in your home in preparation for Passover? Young children can also take part in preparing for the holiday, and particularly Seder Night. Perhaps you could invite them to help you set the festive table, sing Passover songs, ask the Four Questions, and look for the Afikoman, of course!

• Datia Ben Dor has written many well-loved poems and stories for toddlers and preschoolers. You may want to look for them at home or in the library, and read them together.

האזינו לסיפור "החוצה"

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הימים האלו עכשיו הם ימים לא רגילים, ובימים כאלה סיפורים יכולים לשמח, לרגש, אפילו להצחיק. אנו מזמינים אתכם/ן להאזין להקלטה הקסומה של הספר “החוצה”, מאת: רינת פרימו | איורים: איתי רייכרט | ידיעות ספרים.

האם יצליח אבא ללמד את איתמר שגם המסדרון, חדר המדרגות ואפילו הרחוב הם שלו? האזינו לסיפור וגלו!

יוצרים ומגישים: ירדן בר כוכבא – הלפרין ודידי שחר
מוזיקה ונגינה: טל בלכרוביץ’
פתיח ההסכת ולחן השיר בסיפור “החוצה”: דידי שחר

Proposed Family Activities:

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• You may want to lead through this book, and look at the illustrations together. You could ask your child to tell you the story in their own words based on the sequence of illustrations.

• Perhaps you could ask your child for their opinion as to why Itamar’s father tells him that the corridor, stairwell, and street belong to him too.

• Perhaps you would enjoy taking a walk in the neighborhood, and discovering the buildings, roads, and landscape near your home. Does anything in the shared spaces need improving or cleaning? Perhaps you could initiate a local activity, such as tidying up and decorating the stairwell in your building, or setting up a community garden.

• Your child can join Itamar by tidying up their room, and sorting through their toys. Perhaps you will find long-forgotten “treasures”! You may want to decide what to keep and what to throw out, or donate to others, together. You can also try to fix broken toys, or think of ways to recycle some items, and use them in a new way.

• Do you also have some broken crayons you were thinking of throwing out? They can be recycled! Sort them into similar shades, peel off their paper labels, and place them into a paper or silicone baking tray. Bake at a low heat until the crayons melt, cool the mixture, take out of the baking tray, and enjoy your new, multi-colored crayons!

Leah Goldberg

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Leah Goldberg (1911–1970), born in Kaunas, Lithuania, was a poetess, authoress, translator, professor, and editor, while also heading the Comparative Literature Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. At the age of 23 she had completed her PhD on Semitic Linguistics in Germany, and upon immigrating to Israel in 1935, began to publish her writings, and soon became a well-loved and well-known poetess. Her publications, and among them her children’s stories and poems (Apartment to Rent [Dira Lehaskir], Magic Hat [Kova Ksamim], What do the Does do? [Ma Osot HaAyalot?], and many more) have become invaluable gems of Israeli literature. In 1970 she was awarded the Israel Prize for Literature; however, having unfortunately passed away several months prior to the ceremony, her mother received it on her behalf.

Enjoy reading and discussing the book together!

Family Activities:

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• You may want to huddle together, leaf through the book, and ask your child to look for what each character received in exchange for the nuts. Pay attention to the facial expression of those receiving the nuts. Perhaps you could look in the mirror, and see what you look like when you smile with joy.
• How about looking for puppets or toys who could represent the dwarf, squirrel, lumberjacks, prince, princess, and child, and give a puppet theater rendition of the story together?
• Were you surprised by the ending? Perhaps you would like to make up your own, and illustrate it.
• The characters in this book sing when they are happy. What do you like to do when you are happy?
• Do you know any other stories or poems by Leah Goldberg? You could go over to the bookshelf at home or the local library, and look for some, such as The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village (Hamefuzar miKafar Azar), Apartment to Rent (Dira Lehaskir), or The Bad Boy (HaYeled HaRa).
• The nuts in this book are magical: “whomever discovers their secret will be the happiest in the world”. You may want to share with one another what makes each of you happy. Are the same things that make you happy make your child happy too? Perhaps you can think of a family member or friend who you can surprise with something that will make them happy. How about making them some home-baked nut cookies?

Golden nut cookie recipe

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Ingredients:

1.5 cups of flour

0.5 a cup of chopped nuts

150g of butter

100g of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

0.5 a teaspoon of powdered coffee

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees
2. Mix all the ingredients into dough and cool for an hour
3. Roll the dough into nut-sized balls
4. Place them on a lined baking pan and bake for 10 minutes
5. Cool and store in a sealed jar

Family Activities

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• Have your children “read” the pictures and tell you the story, using the illustrations as their guide. You could pay particular attention to Moses’ facial expressions, and ask your children why they think he didn’t give up on one little kid, despite the fact that he had an entire large flock with plenty of goats?

• Even young children can be “big” and responsible! Help your children recall occasions when they were helpful to other children or small animals. Point out that even small, seemingly unimportant acts of kindness can be very meaningful for those in need; they also serve as a personal example for the entire “flock.” Afterwards, you could draw a picture together depicting one of the times when your children helped others.

• The story of Moses and the kid takes place in a desert. Are your children familiar with desert life – the different kinds of flora and fauna, the wells and oases, etc.? Have you ever visited a desert? Or perhaps you live in a desert area? You might go on a field trip, and compare the climate and scenery on your trip to that in the story.

• Look for the illustration that shows Moses carrying the little kid on his shoulders. Ask your children if they ever felt so tired that they asked to be picked up. Children often ask to be carried, even after they are big enough to walk on their own. You could discuss the times you carried them and the times they were able to walk independently. You could play piggy-back around the house, pretending to be Moses with the little kid.

• Many of our leaders started out as shepherds. Discuss the work that a shepherd does, and the qualities that go into making a shepherd. You could think together about how working as a shepherd helped Moses, when the time came, to lead the Israelites in the wilderness. Try to recall other shepherd-leaders in Jewish tradition (for example, King David and Rabbi Akiva).

• Moses struggles to catch up with the fleet-footed little kid. You could play “catch” together. First, you might play the role of Moses and call to the kid, “Little kid, stop. Little kid, come back!” while your children play the kid that “runs faster and faster.” Then switch roles. Who ran faster – you, or your children?

• What other stories and tales about Moses do your children know? After reading this book, you could tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness, and talk about the figure of Moses.

מבשלים פנקייקים עם רות סירקיס!

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צפו במתכון המיוחד לפסח של רות סירקיס לפנקייקים! מתאים לכל ימי השנה!

Family Activities

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The story of the three butterflies was first published in 1938, and has since accompanied many generations of Israeli children. Do you know of an earlier version of the book containing other illustrations? You may want to take a look together at Orit Bergman’s illustrations. Have you noticed that the butterflies’ wings are multicolored? You may like to consider why the illustrator chose to paint the butterflies this way.

The three butterflies look out for one another and refuse to be separated. You may want to discuss friendship and mutual obligation together, be it between friends or family members. Perhaps you’d like to share stories about your friends and your child’s, and the things you enjoy doing together. Following the story, you might want to ask your child if they or their friend had ever been prevented from joining in a game, how that made them feel and what they did in response.

The flowers are only willing to allow those who are of a similar color in. You may want to compare the illustrations of the flowers to those of the butterflies. What similarities and differences can you find between them? You may like to ask your child what they think of the flowers’ behavior.

You may also want to act the story out as a family by dressing up in the colors of the flowers and butterflies. You could also create a puppet theater, with characters for the butterflies and flowers, using popsicle sticks and cellophane.

You might enjoy going outside and looking for butterflies and flowers! Just like in the story, flowers and butterflies in nature differ from one another, each having their own particular color and shape. Have you come across a tulip or lily? How many types of butterflies have you found, and what color were they? Do you happen to know the name of any butterfly? Perhaps you’d like to mimic the way butterflies move, and invent the Butterfly Dance together.

Levin Kipnis wrote hundreds of well-loved children’s poems and stories that form an integral part of Israeli culture. You may wish to look for them at home, in kindergarten, or at the library, and read them together.

Levin Kipnis

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Levin Kipnis was one of Hebrew children’s literature’s founding fathers. He wrote and translated many literary pieces for children, and also set up and managed the first children’s theater in Israel. In addition, Kipnis edited numerous journals, anthologies and text books.

He was born in the Ukraine in 1894 and immigrated to what would later become the State of Israel in 1913. He felt there were not enough holiday songs and stories in Hebrew suitable for young children, and proceeded to collaborate with generations of kindergarten teachers in Israel, compiling preschool curricula and authoring hundreds of children’s stories and poems. Among his songs for the Jewish Holidays are: Svivon Sov Sov Sov (“Spin Spin Spin, Dreidel”) for Hanukkah, Ani Purim (“I am Purim”) for Purim, and Saleinu Al Ktefeinu (“Our Baskets are upon our Shoulders”) for Shavuot. His literary pieces contain messages of helping and consideration of others, such as in the famous Eliezer Vehagezer (“Eliezer and the Carrot”), Hamitriya Hagdola shel Abba (“Daddy’s Big Umbrella”), and… Shloshet Haparparim (“The Three Butterflies”).

Levin Kipnis was a particularly prolific author, and won many awards, including the Israel Prize in 1978, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1988. He passed away in 1990.

Family Activities:

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• Perhaps you would enjoy looking at the illustrations and finding clues for the holidays mentioned in the story: Sukkot, Hanukkah and Purim. You could discuss the holidays in your family together: what do you especially like about each holiday? With whom do you spend them? Does your child have a favorite holiday?
• When you read the story for the first time, did you guess where Grandpa was taking little Hannah? Does your child also share a special relationship with an older member of the family? You may want to ask the elderly members of your family how they used to celebrate Passover. Which special customs or dishes did they have at home? Did they also sing Ma Nishtana as children on Seder Night?
• How do you celebrate Passover in your family? Does your child also have a special role to play on Seder Night? You may want to create a holiday scrapbook together, and suggest that your child draw the family celebrating together on Seder night and throughout the holiday.
• Does your child know any Passover songs, traditional or new? Can they sing Ma Nishtana? You may enjoy singing Passover songs together.
• On Seder Night, Hannah realizes that being the littlest Levine is the best. You may also want to discuss issues of big and small in your family. Ask your child what they would have liked to do on their own, and think of tasks in preparation for Passover that your child can do themselves. Children are happy and love to help – it would be wonderful if you could give them the opportunity to feel all grown-up!

Family Activities

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The lyrics and illustrations in the book mention various Passover symbols. Can your child find the Four Cups, a Matzah, a Passover Haggadah, nuts, and new clothes?

Do you know the tune of this song? You can find it here. What other Passover and springrelated songs do you know? You may want to create an illustrated book of your own together, featuring well-loved Passover songs, from which to sing holiday songs on Seder Night.

The little girl in the book shares the Passover experience with her dolls, and teaches them how Seder Night is conducted. You could also have a Seder Night with your children and their toys, it is a wonderful fun way of getting ready for the holiday.

Passover is the Festival of Spring – a great time to go outdoors and enjoy nature! Where do you like to take trips, and what do you see on your way? Like the little girl in the book, you may like to look for flowers along the way and, if it is permitted, pick them and make a scented bouquet at home.

The book pictorially depicts the festive Passover atmosphere: festive clothes, guests, special food, and family customs. How do you celebrate Passover? You may want to include your child in the preparations for the holiday, as well as Seder Night itself. You could assign them age-appropriate roles, such as helping you tidy up and set the table, sing holiday songs, ask the Four Questions, and of course, look for the afikoman!

Which experiences do you recall from Seder Night as a child? Young children love hearing stories of the past. You may want to share pictures, stories, possibly funny anecdotes of Seder night when you were kids, thereby continuing to strengthen the generation chain of your own family’s unique Passovers. Enjoy reading and discussing the story!

Bilha Yafeh

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An authoress, poetess and Israeli educator born in Lithuania in 1891, who immigrated to Israel in 1913, teaching and educating generations of teachers at the David Yellin College of Education in Jerusalem. Yafeh wrote children’s poems, stories and plays. Many of her poems became cultural assets in Israeli children’s literature, among them: Bubba Yemima (Jemima the Doll), Hatul Shovav (Mischievous Cat), and Simcha Rabba (Great Joy). Bilha Yafeh and her husband Mordechai were among the founders of Bet Hakerem neighborhood in Jerusalem, and HaMora (The Teacher) Street was named after them. Bilha passed away in 1961.