Making a Modeh Ani DIY Watercolor Print is a simple and fun way to involve your children in the beautiful Jewish value of hoda’ah. Hoda’ah, or gratitude, is an important Jewish value anytime of the year but of course winter season tends to be an especially good time to emphasize it. Kids (and grown ups too!) are bombarded with so many images of gifts and toys during wintertime that my family makes even more of an effort to make sure discussion and ACTS of gratitude take place in our house.
Throughout November I plan to invite the kids to participate in different crafts and activities that focus on gratitude. My kids have been very interested in watercolors lately. Therefore, I decided to combine that interest with one of my favorite prayers, Modeh Ani. Modeh Ani (Modah Ani for girls) is a traditional prayer Jews say upon waking to give thanks to G-d. My kids love to sing this prayer during our synagogue’s morning service on Sundays. I plan to frame these special prints and hang them on their walls. The Modeh Ani DIY Watercolor Prints will be a beautiful reminder of our gratitude in waking up every morning.
What You’ll Need
- Modeh Ani/Modah Ani PDF
- Cardstock
- Watercolors
- Paintbrush
- Water
Putting It Together
- I printed out the words (matching the way we sing it in synagogue in Sunday morning family services) on cardstock. Click here to get your free printable PDF! And don’t worry, the typo has been fixed!
- Then the kids painted it with watercolors as they desired.
- Once dry, frame the prints and attach to their bedroom walls.
Finished & Loving It!
As the kids painted we sang Modeh Ani and read the translation (adapted from our siddur, the Mishkan T’Filah). And of course discussed how thankful we are to be alive, especially in these scary times when we know so many people are experiencing losses.
I didn’t notice my typo on the prints until their beautiful paintings had dried. And by that time I of course didn’t want to reprint them and ask them to recreate their work. So I’m grateful that I can acknowledge that I am human and make (many) mistakes. But I also made sure there are not typos in the PDF I’m sharing with you here!
There are so many things to be grateful for and lots of creative ways to engage kids in learning about this value. Of course the best way for kids to learn is by their grown ups modeling 😉
What are you grateful for this morning?
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