High Holy Day Schedule

Rosh HaShanah

Do the Shofar Dance! 
Tekiah - one medium length blast 
Shevarim- three short blasts 
Teruah- nine very short staccato blasts 
Tekiah G'dolah - one single blast that is held for long as you can possibly hold it! 

For each shofar sound, make up a dance movement. The leader (children can take turns being the leader and practice pronouncing the different shofar calls) calls out the name and the group dances the associated movements. For example, for Tekiah - how about one high jump, for Shevarim - turn around in a circle 3 times, and for Teruah - do the twist until the end of the Shevarim sounds. The leader can either call out the names ("Tekiah!") or make the sounds of the blasts.   

Shofar Red Light Green Light 

The participants line up on one side of the room. The leader calls out the different shofar calls ("Tekiah!") For each shofar call, the children take a certain number of small steps forward. For Tekiah - 1 step. For Shevarim - 3 steps. For Teruah - 9 baby steps forward. For Tekiah G'dolah - Run for it! First one to the leader wins.  

Hebrew Lessons
Teach the words tapuach (apple) and d'vash (honey) using a picture of an apple and a picture of honey. After initially going over the two words in Hebrew, hold the picture of the apple at eye level and have them say the word "tapuach" in a medium voice. Then hold the picture high above their heads and let them shout out "TAPUACH!" Follow this up by holding the picture down low by their toes and get a whisper "tapuach." Play with different volumes. Use one picture at a time or interchange two or three pictures for an extra challenge. Other Hebrew vocab words for the High Holidays: challah, shofar, shanah tovah (happy new year).

Role Play
A. Different ways to say "I'm sorry" 
B. Different situations in which we need to say "I'm sorry" 

Apple Relay Race
Have a relay race with children running back and forth with apples under their chins.

Apple Taste Test
Bring in a number of different color/varieties of apples and have the participants choose their favorite. Make a chart to show which apples everyone chose.   

Apple Prints
Slice apples down the middle (vertically), let them dry a little bit, dip the cut side into paint, and use them like a stamp all over some construction paper. This works particularly well on the cover of a Shana Tova (Happy New Year) card.  

Happy Birthday!
Have a birthday party for the world. Using children's birthday supplies, show the similarities of the symbols. Something sweet (like apples dipped in honey), a round cake (like the round challah we use on Rosh Hashanah), noise makers (like the shofar), decorations and birthday cards (like the Shanah Tovah cards we send).

Telephone
Play the classic game of telephone using Hebrew phrases and words from the holiday.

Avinu Malkeinu 
Shanah Tovah 
Shana M'tukah
Tapuchim U'Dvash 
Al Chayt
G'mar Chatimah Tovah   

Acrostic Poem
Write an acrostic poem in the same way that some of our Sages wrote our prayers. Use the letters T-S-H-U-V-A-H  (repentance)

Fall Leaves
Glue them all over anything!

Yom Kippur

Have your children write a letter to themselves. 
On Yom Kippur have your children write a letter to themselves. Choose a topic that is appropriate for the holiday, such as “What I would like to do to be a better, more sensitive person in the
coming year.”

Then each person/child should seal the letter in a self-addressed envelope, and put a stamp on it with a bit of extra postage (rates are likely to go up next year). Someone should mail the letters just prior to the next Yom Kippur. You and your family members will enjoy receiving these annual letters, which can be used as a measuring stick for the past year. Keep them in a scrapbook, which as your kids grow up, can become a precious record of their lives.

Read about Jonah and the whale
There are two primary reasons that are given for reading the Book of Jonah as the haftorah of the Yom Kippur afternoon:

The story of Jonah teaches us how no one is beyond the reach of God's hand. Just as Jonah's endeavor to escape God's providence was unsuccessful, so, too, we are incapable of eluding divine justice for transgressions we may have committed.

 On a more uplifting note: God spared the people of Nineveh, although God had already decreed that they would be destroyed because of their evil ways. This teaches us that no matter our past behavior, God is  benevolent.

Arts & Crafts Activity
Draw a picture about how you can make the world a better place.  Also think about how you might be able to help to make someone happier – draw a picture about it.  

Draw and color a picture of the Jonah and the whale story.

Make “I’m sorry” cards or notes for parents and/or siblings.

As a family, come up with your own Al-Chet prayer for Yom Kippur.  Try to think of words that relate to how you will make the coming year a better one.  What will you work harder on, who will you say “I’m sorry” to, what areas of your life will you try to improve, etc…  How have we missed the mark?  What can we do different this year?