Sukkot always arrives so quickly, fast on the heels of Yom Kippur and the High Holidays but luckily I was able to put together this very simple Sukkot Shelfie + Starter Activities 2022 set up so the kids can start learning, exploring and having fun while preparing for and celebrating the holiday of Sukkot!
What You’ll Need
- Your favorite Sukkot books (check out our recommendations here!)
- Your favorite Sukkot 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 Sukkot Shelfie.
- Sukkot Book Box and Reading Bingo Challenge
- Sukkot 3 Part Cards
- Cardboard Box Play Sukkah
- Etrog and Lulav Figurines
- Plushie Etrog and Lulav
- Play Food Harvest Basket
- Pumpkins and Gourds
- Pumpkin Patch Pom Pom Drop
- Orange Salt Tray with Sukkot Counting Cards
- Welcoming Guests Social Story
- Sukkot Playdough Mats
Book Box and Bingo
As you know, I always like to gather all our holiday themed books and display them in an easy book box. Decorated for the holiday, of course! This way we can move the box around the house, and out to the sukkah!, enjoying our books wherever we want them.
Last year we made this Sukkot book box from the fruit stamping we did. Fruit stamping is a fun and easy way to decorate for Sukkah. It’s also a beautiful and topical way to talk about the holiday and the significance of it being a harvest festival.
We played our Sukkot Reading Challenge Bingo as we looked through our Sukkot books. We have a few favorites that we absolutely have to read first every year (I’m looking at you Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast, The Very Crowded Sukkah and Watermelon in the Sukkah!) but we are excited about the new books we received from PJ Library this month! Playing the bingo game while reading the books is such a fun way to review the holiday and think about the connections the books make with the holiday.
Sukkot 3 Part Cards
Another way we like to kick off the holiday is with our Sukkot 3 Part Cards. This not only reviews (or introduces!) the holiday, its traditions, and symbols, but it also engages the kids in matching and reviewing the different aspects of the holiday while they interact with the cards.
Cardboard Box Play Sukkah
One of my favorite additions to this Sukkot is our Cardboard Box Play Sukkah. Isn’t it adorable? The kids had so much fun inviting the peg people into this sukkah and playing with them. I anticipate a lot of imaginary and open-ended (while holiday themed!) play happening over the next week!
Etrog and Lulav Figurines
Two years ago I made these sweet lulav and etrog for a sensory bin. I set them out on the shelfie this year so the kids could explore them throughout the holiday. They may end up in a sensory bin once again but the kids also had fun exploring them and using them in some imaginary play during this first round of activities.
Plushie Etrog and Lulav
Another fun hands-on way to explore the lulav and etrog is with a plushie set! I am so glad I bought this set. I use it each year in my class and also love watching my kids play with it. It’s a great way to practice shaking and turning and saying the blessings (without risking a real flying etrog!).
Play Food Harvest Basket
Since Sukkot is a harvest festival, it’s a great time to display some fall harvest play food. This basket of food allows for open ended and imaginary play. Will they set up a special Sukkot grocery store? Set up a pretend meal in the sukkah? So many possibilities!
Pumpkins and Gourds
And of course I couldn’t not include some real fall harvest produce! We already made our first trip to the pumpkin patch and my kindergartener was really excited to help me pick out these mini pumpkins and gourds.
I love using mini pumpkins and small gourds throughout the fall. There are all kinds of wonderful sensory bin and activity opportunities—washing the pumpkins, counting them, decorating them, etc. They are also another reminder of the connection of fall harvest to Sukkot.
Pumpkin Patch Pom Pom Drop
This Pumpkin Patch Pom Pom Drop was so easy to set up and was such a favorite with the kids! I used my acrylic circle insert but you can make your own from cardboard. I outlined the circles in orange and made pumpkin vines. I then invited the kids to drop in the orange “pumpkin” pom poms into the holes. Such great fine motor skill and concentration practice!
Orange Salt Tray with Sukkot Counting Cards
This was another new favorite this year. My kindergartener is working so hard with his letter and number writing. Adding a salt tray with these new Sukkot Counting Cards was a great way for him to practice writing his letters. I specifically made sure to include a ten frame on these cards since that’s how he is currently learning in kindergarten.
Coloring salt is so easy—just add a few drops of food coloring to the salt in a bowl and mix with your fingers! My kids love the texture of salt and it’s a really quick and easy way for them to practice all kinds of pre-writing and writing skills.
Welcoming Guests Social Story
I was happy to bring out our welcoming guests social story (see my daughter reading it to the boys above!). This was such a lovely way to learn about one of the special traditions of Sukkot, hachnasat orchim, welcoming guests. You can download your copy for free at the link above.
Sukkot Playdough Mats
Yep, I made new playdough mats for Sukkot and am also using them for some decoration on the shelfie. Why not? They help connect some of these main themes and traditions so the kids get extra exposure and review. You can download and print yours for free and use as decoration or for playdough play.
Getting in the mood …
This year Sukkot starts this Sunday, October 9th. We built our sukkah, started learning with this Sukkot Shelfie and the starter activities, and are looking forward to gathering together in our sukkah, spending time as a family, eating yummy food, making more decorations and crafts, and engaging in meaningful experiences throughout the next week.
Chag Sukkot Sameach!
We have a whole page dedicated to Sukkot, our Sukkot Hub. Check it out! It includes some of the Sukkot activities we plan to do this year, as well as the activities we’ve done in previous years.
And don’t forget our Sukkot Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards, a wonderful way to introduce Sukkot! 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:
Chag Sameach!
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