Shofar Exploratory Activity

My kids have been very interested in the shofar these past few weeks so I was excited to put together this Shofar Exploratory Activity for them.

Today I wanted to give them the opportunity for some focused learning just on the shofar. I set up this little table so they could practice writing the word in English and Hebrew, read about what a shofar is and how it is made (did you know that some shofars come from rams and others from antelopes?), what the different special sounds are during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and what it looks, feels, smells and sounds like.

What You’ll Need

• A real shofar
• What is a shofar? Free printable
• Magnifying glass
• Toy shofar
• Crayons or other coloring instruments

Putting It Together

1. Print out What is a shofar? free printable
2. Set up your table with the papers spread out for easy reading.
3. If you want an awesome shofar blessing and sound guide, I used the one from Jewish Family Magic’s High Holidays Guide. Otherwise, Google and print out one that works for you.
4. Set up a tray with the real shofar and a magnify glass.
5. Invite your children to practice spelling the English and Hebrew words for shofar either by tracing with their finger or with a crayon.
6. Read through the fact sheet together.
7. Ask your child to inspect the shofar. Give them time to use their different senses to explore it.
8. Invite them to complete the chart that asks what the shofar looks, feels, smells and sounds like.
9. Invite your child to trace a toy shofar then color it as they desire.

Finished & Loving It!

This was such a fun Shofar Exploratory Activity! We usually keep our shofar safe up high on a shelf. It felt really special to be able to hold, touch and explore the shofar.

We started by looking at the English and Hebrew of the word shofar and tracing the words with our fingers. This a great and simple way for some letter and word exposure (in both English and Hebrew), and for learning how to shape these letters.

The magnifying glass adds another fun exploratory element. And it’s really neat to see what the shofar looks like up close!

We are used to hearing the shofar but the kids enjoyed thinking about the shofar in these different ways. It was neat learning that the different shaped shofars come from different animals. And … they definitely smell! The kids were grossed out about that but I love the idea of them using all their senses to explore this special object.

Tracing the shofar was a great way to practice some fine motor skills and coordination. It takes practice learning that you have to use your hand to put weight on an object so it doesn’t move while tracing. I love their shofar tracing pictures.

The kids of course took turns trying to blow the real shofar and the plastic ones. We tried to follow the shofar sound guide from Jewish Family Magic’s High Holidays Guide but as you might know, it’s really hard to actually blow a shofar!

We all really enjoyed this Shofar Exploratory Activity for some hands-one four sense (nope, no one licked it!) exploration of this special holiday object!

Check out our High Holidays Hub for more information, resources, and lots of activities for you and your kids to explore this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur!

A few of our favorite quick references:

PJ Library

BimBam

ReformJudaism

For some of our favorite High Holiday books, take a look at our Bookshop.org With Love, Ima Storefront (each purchase supports local bookstores!).

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