PNP+-+Hannukah+Prep+Summary

=Prep and Practice - Hannukah= Go To: Kavana Main Page

Vital Stats
Date: Sunday, December 2, 2007 Location: [|Montlake Community Center], [|Seattle, WA] Attendance: approx 100 participants (about 30 families)

Program Summary
Following on the success of the reformatted Shabbat PnP, we decided to stick with the same four-station format for Hanukkah Prep Day. Hanukkah is a especially tough holiday for younger children because there is so much association with presents and the miracle of the oil, but it's hard to get to some of the deeper meanings of the holiday.

With that in mind, we chose to focus on how Chanukah is a story about miracles and the story of Jewish people standing up for themselves, not assimiliating, having faith, and working together. But, it is also the Festival of Lights. We chose this last theme as the overriding theme. In addition to knowing how to celebrate Chanukah, it is our hope that families will think about how they work to be "lights" for each other, for the Kavana community, and for the greater world.

Attached is the e-mail to announce the event and the take home packet.



//Key Idea:// Lighting the Chanukah menorah helps remind us to be lights to our family. //Teaching:// Review what a Chanukiah is, why we have it, how it is lit, and where it is put //Activity:// Families write actions they can take to be lights to others in their families and decorate their own **//Mitzvah Menorahs//** //Wrap up:// If time, families can practice "lighting" their Mitzvah Menorahs with the //blessings//
 * Chug 1: Being a Light to your family (through an art project)**

//Key Idea:// Chanukah is a special time that the Kavana community can come together to celebrate together (connecting with other Jewish people during Chanukah is a way to recognize the story of Chanukah--the Jews in the story came together to fight) //Teaching:// Introduce how the people stuck together in the Chanukah story, and connecting it to Kavana sticking together //Activity:// Using recycleables, groups will work together to build a large menorah for use at the Chanukah party //Wrap up:// Ask again why coming together as a community relates to the Chanukah story
 * Chug 2: Being a Light to the Community (through building)**

//Key Idea:// Chanukah reminds us that it is our job to help make the world a better place (just like the Macabees weren't afraid to speak out to make things more fair for people, we have to help make the world more fair for others) //Teaching:// Act out the Chanukah story, focusing on how the Macabees stood up for what they believed in //Activity:// Ask families about things they see in the world that isn't fair. Ask them what they can do about that. Act out some situations. (Example--some people don't have food, so we might bring food to food banks, so they can have food; sometimes when people play, they don't share, so we might share with everyone; sometimes people aren't included in games, so we might make sure to include them in our games) //Wrap up:// Ask families what they might do during Chanukah to bring light to the world
 * Chug 3: Being a Light to the World (through drama)**