Discovering Passover

You can't know where you are going until you know where you have been.....

That is why it is important to me as a Christian that my children know what the Passover is. It is important that they know why Jesus went to celebrate it, and appreciate the symbolism and the beauty of the story. For the "one" who is going to celebrate at the festival, a festival of remembering when God free's his people, and a festival where it is remembered that a lamb is sacrificed, using it's blood to cover and protect God's people, is then a festival where at the weeks end, the "one", becomes the lamb himself.

We started Wednesday with a video from Chabad.org  that reviewed the Passover story. You can go to the site and decide which of several video's are appropriate for you childs age. They have several available. I will  let you know ahead of time that this is a Jewish website and so there are some small differences in the stories that you may not be use to. We simply discussed any differences after the movie. Watch them first to make sure you are okay with their content. We followed that with a discussion about the Passover and how Jesus becomes the lamb. Of course this meant that a craft was in order....

A lamb craft- a few simple supplies, you can find any template that you like or just make 2 different size ovals for the head and body. 

This is what one of our crafters made , they were all different, some used  pasta shells, others cotton, and still others a combination of both . They added a lavender collar to the lamb because Jesus is Royalty.

From there because we were on the topic of lambs we went to you tube for a video called "Will Ewe keep me warm"? Made by the Utah Ag Classroom. The kids loved this one, I could tell by how quiet they were the whole time! Find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09iWNtU-sw4

In science we are working on Physical "vs" Chemical change and so we did an experiment with wool. Steel wool that is. We took a piece of steel wool and soaked it in white vinegar for one minute, we then felt how warm the steel wool was, from there we took the steel wool and placed it in a mason jar for 5 minutes with the lid on. At the end of the 5 minutes we discussed the changes and why they occurred.

A few supplies and eager "scientists" 

Steel wool soaking in vinegar for 1 minute

Steel wool in the mason jar. Notice the cloudiness of the jar. That is due to heat being produced by oxidation.

The result after 5 minutes in the jar. A rusty piece of steel wool. 

For a complete set of instructions and the how and why please visit:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/steelwoolvinegar.html

Today, Thursday we talked about the last supper, and what it is that is eaten at Passover. We started with the story of the last supper. 

Thought I would share this. This is a picture of the Student Discovery Bible we use and is geared at ages 7-11. We really enjoy it.

From there The kids worked on coloring a Seder plate as I talked about the 15 steps of the Seder found at this site:

 http://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/1609/jewish/The-Seder.htm

We also looked at an interactive Seder plate online found here:  

http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/flash_cdo/fileid/434480/aid/269147

A picture of their plates 

Part of our lesson included information on the Afikomen bag. It is used to hold matzah. We also discussed the game that some play which includes hiding the Afikomen bag at the beginning of the Passover meal. The person who finds it then gets a prize or treat.

These are their decorated afikomen bags.

We are going to attempt making matzah tonight for their afikomen bags...........we shall see.......

Here is our guide:  http://judaism.about.com/library/3_howto/ht_makematzah.htm



O.k. on to science, still focusing on Chemical change, and an egg is part of the Seder plate sooo.......

We are working on how to make a disappearing eggshell. The idea is that you take an egg, place it in a glass of vinegar, and watch. Immediately you will see bubbles ( carbon dioxide). This is caused by  the vinegar- an acid reacting with the calcium carbonate of the shell. This is also what causes the shell to disappear( in about a day or so).

Our bubbling egg immediately after adding the vinegar. You can use a raw or cooked egg for this, it  doesn't matter.

Well, I won't be blogging tomorrow because  I will be cleaning my house and preparing for our Easter guests, but I would like to share with you one little tradition that we do each year on Good Friday. That is the tradition of planting Jelly beans or candy. Each year we bury jellybeans or another small candy, just as Jesus was buried that Friday night. On Easter morning, the kids will find lollipops or other candies on a stick that have sprouted from where they planted their jellybeans. While they are a bit old for this, it is still something they love and want to do. When they were younger it was a fun and easy way to discuss/ explain the burial and resurrection of Christ. While I know I have pictures of this somewhere finding them would be quite a task! 

I will leave you with an image my oldest drew just a few weeks ago in church...... 

Rejoice! He lives!

Happy Easter!