Q is for Quail (and a Torah story)

I love coming up with Jewish twists to crafts and activities and this simple Q is for Quail (and a Torah story) let me combine some alphabet learning and scissor practice with learning about what happened after the Israelites escaped Egypt and wandered in the desert.

I teach my children Torah stories using our 3 part cards plus supplemental activities. I introduced the story of God Watches Over the Israelites (Exodus 16-17) with our 3 Part Cards yesterday. Today was our first supplemental activity, this time focusing on God’s promise that the hungry Israelites would soon have food. Talking about this promise with my kiddos was easy to do while they made their own Q for Quail craft!

What You’ll Need

Blue construction paper
Brown construction paper
Black construction paper
Orange construction paper
Googly eyes
Scissors
Glue
Sharpie
Pencil
Q is for Quail free printable

Putting It Together

Cut an uppercase Q out of the brown construction paper. Make sure to add a little head in the upper left, diagonal from the tail. If your child is able, you can outline this and have them cut it out themselves. This type of cutting is too advanced for my younger two so I did it but had other cutting opportunities available for them.
Draw a beak on the orange paper using a sharpie.
Draw feet on the brown paper using a sharpie.
Draw the quail’s head poof on the black paper using a pencil.
Print out the Q is for Quail free printable.
Invite your child to create their quail by gluing on the brown Q and googly eye. Then cutting out each of the other parts from the papers you drew them on, then gluing them to the Q.
Read the Q is for Quail free printable as they work, pointing out the quail photo and discussing its characteristics.
Talk about how the quail features in the Torah, either by using our God Watches Over the Israelites 3 Part Cards or by simply sharing that God promised the hungry Israelites would have food and then the quail arrived.
If your child is ready to trace letters, invite them to trace the upper case Qs on the printable.

Finished & Loving It!

My three younger children are all obviously at different ages and developmental stages but I love how simple and fun crafts can still not only speak to each of them, but excite and encourage them to be involved and get creative!

The cutting practice was mainly for my youngest two; my ten year old is very comfortable with cutting and handling scissors but it’s still a good practice to do, especially when it’s not just your normal straight across lines. Having to maneuver scissors around short cuts is a challenge! For the youngest two I encouraged them to try what they felt comfortable with but that they also didn’t have to cut out every little piece.

My preschooler really likes letters right now so I loved that he got to make a big Q! And how fun that it turns into a bird too! Connecting to their interest and also trying to associate it with something else they love (like animals!) really helps with learning new things like letters.

Setting out the 3 Part Card that talks about quails was an easy way to remind the kiddos about the Torah story we learned yesterday. Combining it with the Q is for Quail free printable helped us all learn a little bit more about quails. Learning doesn’t have to be intense and long, for us these few minute chunks work really well. I never knew that quail migrate over the Sinai desert. It felt pretty special to learn alongside my children!