One week from tonight, Passover begins. Every year I hear the anxiety level rise as we get closer to Passover. No need! This is the most celebrated of Jewish holidays and it can be the most fun.

This week, like Jewish congregations everywhere, we read Exodus 12 as part of getting ready for Passover. It includes, “And it shall come to pass, that your children will say to you, “What do you mean by this service.” Exactly the same question that both the “Wicked Child” and the “Simple Child” ask. Everything about Passover is designed to get the kids to ask “Why?” It is the ultimate teaching moment

Earlier this week, we sent a letter home to our school parents, with four ideas you can use at your seder. This is, as the letter promised, the longer version. Try one or more with your family. Then let us know how it worked!

1. Did you see the beautiful seder plates that Robin Seigle made with our youngest students? If you put them away each year, you will have a treasure for a lifetime. Or go as a family to a ceramics center and paint one and have them fire it. You can also make a Kiddush cup, an Elijah’s Cup or a Miriam Cup. I haven’t been there yet but try, Color Me Mine in Geneva. http://www.colormemine.com We still have several “antique” Sarah creations that we unpack each year and it is such fun to see them again, like greeting old friends.
2. Like working in fabric better than clay? Make a matzah cover or an afikomen bag. Just stitch two napkins together and decorate with fabric paint, ribbon, etc.
3. Kids like legos? Build a centerpiece for the seder out of bricks. Like Minecraft instead? Could be a great diversion while you are getting ready.
4. Vary the menus. Let the kids help plan. What else can you use for karpas, the green of spring that grows in the ground? We serve a platter of veggies and dip after the karpas. Staves off the fifth question: When do we eat? Tired of brisket? Try something from somewhere else. This year we will do something from Guatemala since I am going with American Jewish World Service this summer. I think Guatemalan Coffee Coconut Flan is on the menu plus chicken with a chimichurra sauce.
5. Make Charoset from around the world. Every country is slightly different. Here are some examples. There is even one from Guatemala. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/jewish-and/2014/04/01/7-charoset-recipes-to-give-passover-an-international-flair/
6. Try a new custom from around the world. Jews in Afghanistan create “whips” out of scallions to remind us of the years of Egyptian slavery. Jews of Turkey put on a play, including costumes. Jews of Egypt tie a piece of matzah in a napkin to look like a sack and pass it around the table. They ask two questions—Where are you from, “Egypt” and where are you going? Jerusalem. Some add the game, I am going to Israel and I am taking with me an apple, a bottle of water, charoset, drum, etc. The book Passover Around the World by Tami Lehman-Wilzig has lots of ideas. So far during Judaism Rocks we have been to Morocco, Canada, Central and South America, China, Italy…Where would you go for Passover?
7. Do you change over your plates for Passover? Do you have a pre-schooler? Buy them a set of plastic dishes and let them change their kitchen over too!
8. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Invite guests to join you. Donate your unopened non-perishables to the CKI food pantry. Calculate the cost of one person’s seder meal (great math skills for the kids, can be scary for the adults) and donate the cost of one person attending your seder to Mazon, the Jewish Response to Hunger. http://mazon.org
9. What else can we put on our seder plate?. At the Klein’s seder we might have an orange, a beet, an artichoke, fair trade coffee and chocolate, a tomato, an olive. What do each of those symbolize? What new symbol do we need this year? What else could represent freedom?
10. Are frogs a plague or a centerpiece? We have frogs everywhere. Can you find the frog sculpture that is hidden in the Fox River Valley? (It is in plain sight!) Take a picture with it. Have a discussion about what modern plagues might be.
11. Music is always a joy. What are your favorite songs to sing with the kids. Practice the Four Questions. Learn a new song. Write a parody. Here is the latest with parodying Uptown Funk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v3xjf1kGlg This one of the plagues was on Facebook this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biBGKDoolCk I love it. Not just because my colleague and friend from the Academy, Rabbi Suri Krieger makes a cameo appearance (as she did in last year’s Frozen)
12. Read a book with your kids. There are plenty of stories about Passover. I like Passover Magic, which is the PJ Library selection. I also like Abuelita’s Secret Matzah, Miriam’s Cup and Nachson who was afraid to swim. The Boulder News did a review of many http://boulderjewishnews.org/2014/passover-childrens-books/ and there are 381 books for children about Passover on Amazon! My collection of children’s books and cookbooks are out on the table in the social hall. Please feel free to browse!
13. Plug in a video. The 10 Commandments, The Price of Egypt, Shalom Sesame are always favorites. Anyone see the new movie Exodus?
14. Shake the seder itself up. Go outdoors to a park (out in the wilderness). Turn your dining room into a Bedouin tent. Sit on pillows. Do a chocolate seder, a Dr. Seuss seder, a baseball seder, a magic seder. I ordered a new this year haggadah. The Baseball Hagaddah! One idea that we did last year was featured by the Shalom Center. It was very flattering to be named one of the top 50 rabbis and Jewish educators in the country. https://theshalomcenter.org/purim-to-pesach/knowing-where-you-are-going-box-hike-family-activity
15. Have a scavenger hunt—either as part of the shopping experience. I don’t know about you, but we are always missing red horseradish! I think I still expect my mom to call and ask me to overnight it! Or as Joan Carr, one of the national educational consultants for the Reform Movement suggested, just prior to the seder. Write clues and post them throughout the house to find all the parts needed to put on a seder plate.
16. I am a newbie to Pinterest. But there are thousands of ideas there. I may try pinning some myself.https://www.pinterest.com/mjoyfrischklein/passover-for-kids/ Everything I looked at I said, “Ooh, that’s so cute.” Or “That would be fun.” Or “I could do that!” Other ideas can be found in Conservative Judaism’s magazine, http://www.cjvoices.org/article/a-parents-guide-to-passover/, which was a springboard for this writing, Also check out: http://urj.org/kd/_temp/41696217-1D09-6781-A17BFCBC2D9FC364/HH_passover.pdf or Interfaith Family’s website: http://www.interfaithfamily.com/holidays/passover_and_easter.shtml
17. Share your ideas. Use the CKI Torah School Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/165247936957942/
18. If all else fails make chocolate covered matzah with your kids. They will love it!

Don’t panic. There is still time to make this the most fun Passover ever! Thanks especially to Joan Carr, Sharon Cores, Sue Johnson, Rabbi Ari Moffic, and Susan Wyner for helping to compile this list.

From the CKI house to yours, have a fun and festive Pesach,

Rabbi Margaret