The Book of Jonah is traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon so this simple Loose Parts Jonah and the Fish invitation is an easy, hands-on, and fun activity to explore the story and the holiday of Yom Kippur. We love all kinds of loose parts play. While we often enjoy it in relation to sensory invitations, setting up a simple invitation like this focuses so much on the child’s creativity and exploration. I love it!
What You’ll Need
- Large paper cut into a shape of a fish
- Loose parts of your choice. We love these beautiful grapat loose parts from Meadowbrook Playschool. Use the coupon code WithLoveIma20 for a discount!
- Peg doll Jonah (optional)
Putting It Together
- Set out the paper fish and the loose parts.
- Stand back and let the kids explore and decorate the fish as they wish! If you have a peg doll Jonah you can add him too.
- We started our activity by reading the book Oh No, Jonah! to set the scene 🙂 This book is geared towards the 8+ crowd. If you need a very simple rendition of the story, check out our Book of Jonah 3 Part Cards! We made them last High Holidays and they are wonderful way to explore the story with your children.
Finished & Loving It!
You know what a fan I am of super simple, low-lift set ups and this activity is definitely that!
But it is also so much more. It’s a sensory activity in how the children feel and manipulate the loose parts. The loose parts have different textures–some smooth, some with grooves. As the kiddos touch and move them, they get that sensory feedback.
The loose parts are gorgeous colors. And so many different colors! This allows the children lots of creative freedom. Do they make designs with the colors? Do they sort the colors? Even if they don’t have what parents think of a strategic design, they are exposed to these colors and textures and that in itself is great.
If you do this activity as a group, then there is also the fabulous opportunity for social and emotional development practice. My kids had to practice sharing, decision making and conflict resolution (yes, there were fights over the blue loose parts!). This is all wonderful real-life practice for them in low-risk situations.
This activity also allows for wonderful storytelling. My children created the fish, then they used the peg doll Jonah to act out the story. Such amazing retelling and language and memory practice, yay!
And, of course, there is meaningful Jewish learning happening as they connect the invitation to the Book of Jonah and that story to the holiday of Yom Kippur. I love the many layers of learning, exploration, and fun that can take place in one simple activity like this Loose Parts Jonah and the Fish invitation!
We have a whole page dedicated to the High Holidays, our High Holidays Hub. Check it out! It includes some of the High Holidays activities we do this year, as well as the activities we’ve done in previous years.
And don’t forget our Rosh Hashanah Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards, our Yom Kippur Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards, or the High Holidays Montessori-Style 3 Part Card Bundle, all a wonderful way to introduce High Holidays!
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this holiday:
G’mar Chatimah Tovah!!
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