Is it really Passover time?

It seems like just yesterday that my husband and I were packing up the Passover dishes and putting them away. Wow, time is really going by faster, I must be getting older, am I turning into my mother? Nonetheless, here we are, approaching Passover at lightning speed. I can feel it in the air. I can also feel the rise in the anxiety level of some of my friends…I can see it in the eyes of some of the PJ library parents I run into. I say, fret not, have no fear, we can tackle this Passover, Seder and all, with gusto while having a good time!

I know we are all worried about the kids at the Seder table. Will they behave? Will they embarrass you? What can you do to prepare them? These are valid concerns, but when looked at in a different light and when expectations are realistic, in addition to some preparation, a Seder can be a joyful experience that you and your children will talk about all year.

There are so many great resources out there for parents these days: online chat rooms about Passover, books for children (I recommend No Matzoh for Me by Nancy E. Krulik) and even a downloadable (is that a word?) 30 Minute Seder Haggadah whose testimonials claim to “save Passover” by blending tradition with brevity. I also like this easy-to-use online guide for a Developmentally Appropriate Passover Seder: for children ages 4 & 5 put out by the URJ. There are helpful tips in this article online called, “Sedering with Kids”. The photo in this blog, is a great creative example of a Passover nametags from “midorionna on Flickr”.

These are all great places to start. And starting early is the key. Begin talking with your children about the upcoming holiday in language and on a level they understand. Take out Passover children’s books from the public library and read them nightly for the weeks leading up to the holiday. Download free Passover coloring pages from the internet and hang them around your home. When the big night(s) come, assign jobs for the kids at the Seder: passing out of the kippot, serving the matzoh, going to wash their hands, opening the door for Elijah, etc. These will all get the kids focused on a task and take them out of their seats enough so that they won’t get fidgety during the Seder.

Seat the children with the adults. I have found that creating a “kids table” is nothing more than asking for trouble. Invest in some on the table distractions (a bag of plagues toys or finger puppets of the Seder plate objects) and incorporate them into your Seder meal. Use your child’s favorite Passover book to tell the story of the Exodus instead of the one in your own Haggadah. Most importantly, if you are excited, the kids will be excited. Passover is a totally interactive experience for the whole family to treasure.

Purim Shmurim!

Thank G-d my daughter's preschool started making their own Purim costumes in class! The days where she and her older sister would stumble down the preschool hallways in long princess costumes and plastic slip-on princess slippers are over! Which leads me to whole other Purim debate I always have with the girls (ages 5 and 7 now)---not everyone needs to dress like Queen Esther or King Achashvayrosh on Purim! It's about wearing ANY costume, being someone who you are NOT and hiding your identity behind a mask. But kids at this age usually stick with the crowns and just love making noise with their groggers. It is such a FUN holiday for kids. Every temple expects them to make noise at the megiliah reading service, there's Purim Carnivals galore throughout the community and freshly baked Hamantaschen are even available at every supermarket bakery and even at COSTCO! It's an easy holiday to share with the kids, it's about having a good time. You can go anywhere, there's no tickets for services, you don't have to dress fancy, most Purim services have very little Hebrew---anything goes! We found the Sammy the Spider Celebrates Purim at the Public Library, the perfect book to read to young kids about the holiday. Last year, I even asked Publix for a bag of their uncooked cookie dough, bought a jar of preserves, a bag of chocolate chips and took it home so we could all "bake Hamantaschen" together! The kids didn't care, they thought it was awesome! So I say, don't skip over this holiday and wait for your family seder, celebrate PURIM together and get LOUD!