Showing posts with label Passover 2020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passover 2020. Show all posts

Tips for Kids at Passover Seder

Tips and ideas to help kids get the most out of the Passover season and the Seder meal | Land of Honey

How can you help kids get the most out of Seder this year? Whether you're a parent, hosting a Seder, or just involved in one, here are some ways you can help make this time more meaningful for the children.

Tips for helping children to get the most out of Passover Seder:

-Start early! If Seder is the first time children are hearing about Passover, Moses, the Israelites leaving Egypt, the death of the Messiah, etc. it will be a confusing night for them. Parents, start talking to your kids about the Passover story in the weeks before. Read books, watch movies, make crafts, and have discussion about the events in the Bible you expect to be talked about at Seder. Those involved in children's ministries, the same goes for you. Spend time leading up to Passover familiarizing children with these parts of Scripture and what they can expect at Seder. If your congregation is hosting a Seder, see about getting the kids involved for part of the service via acting out a skit or singing a song or two.

-If you are hosting, make it a kid friendly event! Speak with simple words and use analogies that children can relate to. Ask questions to get them involved or let them ask questions to satisfy their curiosity. Use props or toys to tell the Exodus story in an engaging way. Take breaks to give the kids a chance to move around. Keep the evening to a reasonable amount of time; if it's going to be late, have a place for children to take naps. Remember to not get upset when a small voice occasionally interrupts or a baby cries - this is an important time for them to learn!

-Encourage kids to run around and play beforehand. Seder can be a lot of time sitting still, and it's easier to do that if you're not bursting at the seams with bottled up energy. Before Seder, give kids time to play on the swing set or playground. An adult could organize a game like kickball or an obstacle course (how cool would a special 'fleeing Egypt' themed obstacle course be?). Or simply have all the kids run a few laps around the house or building before the meal starts.

-Ask them to participate. Letting kids be a sanctioned part of what's going on can make the evening a lot more meaningful to them. Have each child recite an age appropriate verse or passage of Scripture. Or ask the children to act out part of the Passover story during the meal. If your Seder will go over the plagues against Egypt, get the kids involved with holding up a puppet or prop to represent each plague (or even let them throw them if that works). Ask them to draw a certain picture related to Passover. Give them jobs like passing out parsley or matzah.

-Let them munch on matzah or another snack. It's not very realistic or fair to ask kids to sit at the dinner table looking at food for an hour before letting them eat. (Especially if you have food out on the table for them to look at!) Let parents know that it's okay for kids to snack on unleavened bread or whatever else during the service. 

-Have discussion time. Especially if the Seder you attend is of the more formal and lengthy caliber, discussing what's going on throughout the evening whenever you have a chance can help kids to get a firmer grasp on what these things mean. Ask if they have questions. Don't hesitate to break down what's happening into simple terms. Say things like, "This salt water is like all the tears we would cry if Yahusha wasn't in our life," or "The Messiah gave grape juice to his disciples at the last supper, just like we're drinking." If you're leading the Seder, be sure and include simple explanations of what's going on for the kids!

-Have quiet activities for them to do at the table. Give the kids coloring books or activity pages related to the Passover story that they can work on throughout the evening. Playing with a small baby 'Moses' doll and basket or toy lamb could be other options.

-Make the setting fun. Use decorations to captivate younger guests imaginations. Could you make the room or table setting look like ancient Egypt? How about having children help you hang up crepe paper or a red cloth on the door to represent the blood of the lamb? Could you put down a blue blanket or paper to represent the Red Sea and have all the children cross it at that part of the Exodus story? What about making that obstacle course that represents different parts of the Israelites journey to freedom?

-Remind them of their own story. There are so many parallels to our own lives from the story of the Israelites being set free from slavery. Be sure to talk to kids about how that works in their lives! Talk about the impact the Messiah's death has on them. Remind them of personal moments where they saw the faithfulness of YHWH.

-How about a present? Send kids home with a small token to help them remember the evening and all that they learned. The Passover activity books could serve a dual purpose here. More gift ideas here.

More ideas for kids and the Spring feasts:
Kids Crafts for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits
12 Ways to Celebrate Unleavened Bread
DIY Matzah Pinata

Hebrew Holiday Dates 2020 + Printable

Here's when the Biblical holidays land in 2020! Hebrew holidays calendar | Land of Honey

Here are the 2020 Hebrew holiday dates! As usual, I'm providing a free printable so you can stick it in your planner, take it work, put it on the fridge, or whatever else you need to do to make sure that you'll be free to celebrate the special times of our Creator. All of these holidays are significant, and some of them are called Sabbaths in Scripture, which means we are instructed not to do any work on those days. I've made note of those so that you can plan accordingly. You can read more about no-work days here.

There are several different calendars out there for celebrating the feasts, and once again I'm giving you two sets of dates. My goal is not to convince you of one over the other (or even necessarily either of these), but to encourage you to pick a calendar to use so that you can honor Scripture's set apart times to the best of your ability. As always, pray about how you should live and be willing to make changes and adjustments as your faith grows.




Traditional calendar:

The traditional calendar has days going from sundown to sundown. Holidays start at sundown on the day listed. For example, Passover starts at sundown on April 9 and ends at sundown on April 10. The traditional calendar also gives an extra day for Shavuot and Yom Teruah, though Scripture treats both as one-day holidays.

Passover - April 8-9
Feast of Matzah - April 9-16
First Fruits - April 11-12
Shavuot - May 28-30
Yom Teruah - September 18-20
Yom Kippur - September 27-28
Sukkot - October 2-10



No work days:
First day of Matzah Week - April 9-10
Last day of Matzah Week - April 15-16
Shavuot - May 28-30
Yom Teruah - September 18-20
Yom Kippur - September 27-28
First day of Sukkot - October 2-3
Last day of Sukkot - October 9-10


Click here to download the traditional calendar Hebrew holiday dates.

Biblical holiday dates for 2020 - Torah to the Tribes' calendar | Land of Honey


Torah to the Tribes' calendar:

This calendar uses daylight to daylight dates. This means Passover starts at daybreak on April 2 and ends at daybreak on April 3.

Passover - April 2
Feast of Matzah - April 3-9
First Fruits - April 5
Shavuot - May 24
Yom Teruah - September 16
Yom Kippur - September 25
Sukkot - September 30 - October 7

No work days:

First day of Matzah Week - April 3
Last day of Matzah Week - April 9
Shavuot - May 24
Yom Teruah - September 16
Yom Kippur - September 25
First day of Sukkot - September 30
Last day of Sukkot - October 7


Click here to download the Hebrew holiday dates from Torah to the Tribes.

Start planning to keep the Feasts this year!

Get ready for the fall feasts

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