One of the interesting parts of the Purim story is where it takes place—not in Israel like many Jewish stories and holidays, but in Persia, which is why I was excited to create a Purim Shushan Mural with my kids this Purim. It’s a simple way to help give additional context about this important part of the Purim story.
My daughter and I actually just finished reading the PJ Your Way book, The Seventh Handmaiden, which is a retelling of the Purim story through the eyes of one of Esther’s handmaidens. It made us really think about what life might have been like in Shushan during this time—for the Queen, the Shushanites, and of course, the Jews.
Creating this Purim Shushan Mural is super simple, allows your kids to be creative, and results in a beautiful Purim decoration!
What You’ll Need
- Butcher paper
- Tape
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
Putting It Together
- Tape butcher paper or poster board to the wall.
- Cut up construction paper into different sizes and shapes: rectangles, half circles, smaller rectangles and squares.
- Invite your children to glue the different paper shapes onto the butcher paper to create the city of Shushan.
- Talk about the city, its role in the Purim story, and Jews in the diaspora.
Finished & Loving It!
My middles were very into creating this cityscape and I even got the oldest to glue on a few buildings. They enjoyed having the creativity to choose the colors and shapes of the buildings, resulting in their own design.
I enjoyed being able to talk about the city of Shushan and its importance in the Purim story. We imagined what it might have felt like to live there during those times. My daughter could add additional ideas from her recent reading of The Seventh Handmaiden.
This is also a great opportunity to talk about shapes and colors with your kids, depending on their age and interest!
If you wanted to do a smaller scale version, you could easily transform this into a tabletop individual craft. We hadn’t done vertical work in awhile and I find it’s a nice change of pace and a great way to strengthen their little muscles. And I love the resulting holiday decoration!! Last year we made this beautiful Purim Tape Resist Mural. I hung it back up this year and I love having a display of the Purim symbols alongside the Purim location in these murals!
We also have an entire Purim Activity Bundle ready for your Purim learning and exploration fun! Check it out in the With Love, Ima Shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Check out our recommended Purim books from our Bookshop.org Shop!
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this beautiful holiday:
Chag Sameach!!
Looking for delicious Mishloach Manot ideas? Check out Nuts.com! So many nuts, dried fruit, and sweets. YUM!
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[…] Shushan during our Purim learning so we can “set the stage” of the story. I loved our Shushan mural last year but adding a sensory twist this year was of course a blast (and well received by my […]