We are so lucky to have a Jewish holiday every week which makes learning about and exploring Shabbat something that can happen at any time of the year!
In the weeks since Shavuot, we finished a very busy school year culminating in multiple big milestones: graduation from sixth grade, graduation from third grade which is the last grade at the school the kids initially attend before moving to a larger school in fourth, completing the first year of kindergarten, and our last ever year of Toddler Class at our beloved preschool. Not only were these weeks intensely busy, but there were so many big (actually, humongous!) feelings for all of us.
Getting back on track with Jewish learning took some effort but it feels right and good to start our learning with a Shabbat unit. Of course my family is very familiar with Shabbat but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun and meaningful to explore it through play and intentional learning activities. Come explore with us! We kicked off our exploration with this Shabbat Shelfie + Starter Activities (of course!). The kids loved the hands-on activities and reading some of their favorite Shabbat books (we have a ton, thank you PJ Library!)
What You’ll Need
- Your favorite books about Shabbat (check out our recommendations here!)
- Your favorite Shabbat arts, crafts, toy sets, and activities that you already own and/or look below to see if any of ours inspire you to create similar ones!
Putting It Together
Here is the list of activities that I set up. Get inspired or grab whatever of your own! I also plan to add new activities as we create them to this Shabbat Shelfie.
- Shabbat Book Box
- Pretend Candle Lighting Center
- Jumbo Challah Braid
- Shabbat Playdough Mats
- Guess the Havdallah Spice
- Shabbat and Havdallah 3 Part Cards
- Wooden Shul Small World Play
- Peg Dolls with Clay Shabbat Small World Play
- LeeLaaLou Activity Booklet
- DIY Cardboard Star Size/Color/Number Puzzle
- Kiddush Sensory Bin
- 100 Blessings Sticks
- Tzedakah Box
- Star of David Chunkies
Finished & Loving It!
Shabbat Book Box
We made this sweet flower covered Shabbat book box to hold the many Shabbat books that we have. Many families like to gather special bouquets for Friday night Shabbat dinner so I thought it would be nice to decorate our Shabbat book box with DIY flowers. We cut out flowers from leftover process art sheets we had made for our end of the year teacher cards (marbled shaving cream, so fun!).
Pretend Candle Lighting Center
One of the central traditions of Shabbat is lighting the Sabbath candles. Our children are very familiar with watching myself, and sometimes the older kids, actually light the real candles on Friday night. Setting up a pretend candle lighting center allows kids of all ages to practice the physical act of lighting the candles along with saying the prayer. Just set out candles and popsicle stick flames to represent the lighter/matches.
I set out different sets of candles to represent how Shabbat candles can look different. We usually use the traditional white vertical candles in special candle holders that we received for our wedding. But when we are traveling, or sometimes just because, we use tea lights. Any of these options work perfectly well! Setting them up this way lets the kids see the difference and feel comfortable lighting the candles and saying the prayer.
Jumbo Challah Braid
How fun is this jumbo challah braid? We’ve stuffed fabric before and braided it to make challah stuffies but using the pantyhose really does make it so simple to set up and to practice braiding. I love that it’s large and easy for the kids to maneuver. They really enjoyed this activity!
Shabbat Playdough Mats
I made these Shabbat playdough mats for the preschool and then prepped a set for my own family because why not? They are such a simple way to expose children to the different holiday symbols as well as seeing the words in print.
Guess the Havdallah Spice
One of my favorite parts of Havdallah is passing around the besamim and smelling the spices. We’ve done some fun scent guessing games before and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do it again here.
I put three traditional Havdallah spices (cinnamon, cloves and cardamom) in three different spice containers. I taped around the outside so the kids couldn’t see the spices inside. I let them sniff and guess what spices were inside. Such a fun way to review some of the traditional spices as well as have a sensory experience.
Like the idea of scent activities? Here are some other ones we’ve enjoyed!:
Tu B’Shevat Montessori Smelling Bottles
Smell This! Seven Species Experiment
Shabbat and Havdallah 3 Part Cards
Last year I made these Shabbat and Havdallah 3 Part Cards so of course this was a good time to pull them out again. Reading the cards and having the kids match them make for such an easy way to review the holiday, its traditions, customs and symbols, as well as practice matching and reading.
Wooden Shul Small World Play
I made this wooden shul for another Shelfie but it’s such a simple way to set up some pretend Jewish synagogue small world play. Pair it with a book like We Go to Shul and let the kids act out attending synagogue. I also had peg dolls available for this imaginative play.
The wooden house chunkie is from Woodpeckers Crafts (use WithLoveIma5 for a discount!). We have made multiple lovely houses for imaginative small world play. So much fun, and so many possibilities!
Peg Dolls with Clay Shabbat Small World Play
The peg dolls also featured in this pretend Shabbat dinner set up. Years ago I made the polymer clay Shabbat figurines and not only is that such a simple way to create some Jewish play options for your children, it’s also such a lovely one to allow them explore acting out Shabbat.
LeeLaaLou Activity Booklet
We love LeeLaaLou and love their Shabbat activity book! It’s another simple and beautiful way to learn about and review Shabbat!
DIY Cardboard Star Size/Color/Number Puzzle
Another super simple activity was this DIY cardboard star puzzle. I loved the reminder of when Havdallah starts (three stars visible in the sky!). By using different colors, sizes, and numbers it was also such a great practice for the youngest kids to practice these skills. Creating your own DIY cardboard puzzles are not only easy, they are such a great way to personalize the learning for your kiddos!
Kiddush Sensory Bin
I created this simple sensory bin to allow the kids to focus on the practice of kiddush, saying the blessing over grape juice (or wine). All I needed was to dye the rice purple and add some kiddush cups. I threw in the Star of David chunkies too because they are so fun. The chunkies are available from Woodpeckers Crafts (use WithLoveIma5 for a discount!). You can decorate them however you want and use them for decorations but ours always end up in play too!
Super simple sensory bins like this can be very meditative for children. The kids focus on scooping and pouring. It sounds so simple and it is! But there is learning, and sensory exploration, happening at the same time!
100 Blessings Sticks
We made this 100 blessings stick bouquet a long time ago for another Shabbat craft. It reminds us of the Jewish tradition of saying 100 brachot (blessings) every day.
Tzedakah Box
This Tzedakah In-Kind Collection Box is another carry-over activity: we made it for our tzedakah unit last year and also used it for our Hanukkah shelfie! Many Jews give tzedakah on Shabbat. Since we will be doing some summer clean outs, I liked the idea of reminding my children that tzedakah isn’t always about money, it can very much be in-kind donations. And this way they can very much participate in this important practice!
Star of David Chunkies
I mentioned above that I used these fabulous Star of David Chunkies from Woodpeckers Crafts (use WithLoveIma5 for a discount!) in our Kiddush Sensory Bin. I also threw some other ones on the shelves as decoration. The kids enjoyed decorating them earlier this year and they can be used for decorations, play, stacking, matching, and so much more!
The kids really enjoyed exploring this Shabbat Shelfie + Starter Activities and I love how we took the time to really focus on this special holiday. We are so used to greeting it every week, but how wonderful to dive deeply into its meaning, traditions, customs, and experiences!
We created a whole page dedicated to Shabbat, our Shabbat Hub. Check it out! It includes some of the Shabbat activities we plan to do this unit, as well as the activities we’ve done in previous years.
And don’t forget our Shabbat Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards, a wonderful way to introduce Shabbat! And, now we also have all 13 Jewish holidays bundled together in A Year of Jewish Holidays 3 Part Cards.
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this holiday:
Shabbat Shalom!
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