"Little Torah, Little Torah, Let me hold you tight!
Teach me, Teach me, all your mitzvot so I can do them right!
The Torah teaches every Jew, Torah, Torah, I Love You!"
Simchat Torah is such a fabulous Holiday- the reading of the Torah goes on portion by portion throughout the year, throughout the ages, in everlasting cycles. The Torah is concluded on Simchat Torah, but it is also immediately started again from the beginning. This shows that there is no end to the Torah and that it must be read and studied constantly, over and over again.
And so here are a few things we have been doing~ preparing for the great celebration!
We spoke about how a Torah is written on Parchment using a Quill and ink... then we used a feather and paint to create our own "quill and ink" experience:
Then, what started out as this project which I got from Chabad.org to make your own stuffed Torah from felt...
...turned into the most adorable Torah puppets- thanks to my 2 year old who found the Torahs drying on the table with the bottom part not yet sealed... he stuck his chubby little hands in and before we knew it, everyone had their own Torah puppet! It was such a hit- they made a whole puppet show singing all the Torah songs they know. So much for the little stuffed Torahs, but I guess there's always next year:)
Of course, we made Simchat Torah flags... and being the Montessori inspired mom that I am, I gave each munchkin a piece of white card-stock with a glue stick and put a box filled with all types of goodies in the middle of the table giving them the freedom to make their very own original creations...
Once completed, they went outside and each found a strong branch to use as the stick for the flag. We taped it on with strong packing tape and are keeping it on the wall until Simchat Torah.
Here's a little game that the munchkins actually made themselves. We used a paper plate and cut it into a smaller circle. Using a marker and a ruler (my big guy LOVES using rulers), we divided the circle into 6 sections. My big guy stuck little Torah Stickers in each section numbering 1-6. We then took paper clips and stuck the numbers 1-6 onto each one:
He then gave it to his little sister and explained to her how to clip the correct number on the paper clip to the correct amount of Torah's on the chart:
Good job kiddo!
Here are a few other toys and books we have been using in connection to Simchat Torah:
This is also a great link to adorable songs on each Parshah- and since we are starting at the very beginning next week, I thought some of you might enjoy using it as you teach each weeks Parshah to your little ones.
I love the puppets... Looks like a great craft idea!
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