I have many favorite traditions of Sukkot but one of them is the tradition of Ushpizin and discussing with my family who they’d like to invite into our sukkah. This year I made Ushpizin Dice to initiate ideas of different types of people we could invite. I thought that maybe some of these categories may not be ones the kids would normally think of themselves so I really wanted to give them a little push to think outside the box. It worked and was a simple and fun way to observe this tradition!
What You’ll Need
- Blank dice. We love these wooden blocks from Woodpeckers Crafts which make wonderful dice. You could make all kinds of dice with them—numbers, colors, sight words and more! Use WithLoveIma5 for a discount if you decide to get some too 😉 I’ve also seen blank dry erase dice from Dollar Tree that would work wonderfully as well.
- Sharpie or paint pens
- Acrylic paint and paint brushes (optional)
Putting It Together
- If you are using wooden dice and want to paint them, paint the base and, if desired, each square a different color.
- Whatever kind of dice you are using, write a different category of person on each side of the dice. The categories we used were: historical figure, author, teacher, woman, biblical figure, animal, and from a different country. You can use whatever categories you want!
- Have each person roll a die and read and respond to the category written on that side of the die.
- If you’d like some other ideas for Ushpizin traditions, check out our Sukkot Social Justice Ushpizin Nomenclature Cards and use some of the prompts included in the referenced URJ article.
Finished & Loving It!
We always ask the kids what guests (real or imaginary) they’d like to invite into the sukkah. We have them draw these answers on a piece of paper then we hang them as decorations in our sukkah.
This Ushpizin dice was a great way to inspire them to think about different types of people they might want to invite. I learned my oldest would like to invite the historical figure Justinian to our sukkah!
I loved this activity because it was simple to make and a simple concept to execute. But it also made this tradition of Ushpizin to be very hands-on and got the kids moving mentally and physically. I loved having them think outside the box and I really loved hearing who they would like to invite to join us.
Now the big question is, who would YOU like to invite into a sukkah? I’d love to hear!
We have a whole page dedicated to Sukkot, our Sukkot Hub. Check it out! It includes some of the Sukkot activities we 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!
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this holiday:
Chag Sameach!!
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[…] dead. It’s a fascinating window into their interests and curiosity. Last year we made these ushpizin dice to give some fun prompts to thinking about the different guests we could invite. I loved hearing my […]