For future Hanukkah celebrations, here is a quick, fun activity that requires only a little simple preparation. Students of all ages will enjoy transforming themselves into a “Living Menorah.”
Set-up:
Make nine “candles” by rolling a piece of colored construction paper around a cardboard paper towel roll. Tape the construction paper along the seam and tuck any extra paper into the roll.
Cut out nine flame shapes each 4 inches high, from red construction paper.
Cut out nine smaller flame shapes from blue construction paper.
Cut out nine even smaller flame shapes from yellow construction paper.
Glue the yellow flame shapes onto the blue flame shapes.
Glue the combined blue/yellow flame shapes onto the red flame shapes.
Now, you’re ready to create a living menorah.
Creating a living menorah:
As part of a lesson on the meaning and traditional rituals of Hanukkah, show students a variety of menorahs (Hanukkiot) both antique and modern. Textbooks about the Holidays and Jewish calendars often have illustrations of menorahs. Students might be asked to bring in their own menorahs or photos of their menorahs to show. Bring the class to the synagogue gift shop where a varied selection of menorahs is sure to be on display.
After they’ve viewed a number of menorahs, ask students to identify the design elements common to all menorahs. (nine candleholders with one candleholder higher than or in front of the other eight).
Choose one student to be the Shamash or “service” candle. If there are fewer than 8 other students, ask some to hold a candle in each hand. If there are more than 8 other students, divide them into small groups who will pose as a single candleholder.
Assist younger children to arrange themselves as candleholders in the menorah, making sure the Shamash is higher or in front of the others.
Older students may be given a few minutes to creatively arrange themselves as candleholders to form the living menorah.
“Lighting” the “Candles”:
Decide how many candles will be “lit.” If this activity takes place during Hanukkah, “light” the number of candles appropriate to that evening.
If this activity takes place before Hanukkah, “light” the candles as though for the first night to practice the three Blessings. Then, “light” again as though for the last night in order to give everyone a chance to hold a candle.
Point out that candles are traditionally placed from right to left and lit by the Shamash candle from left to right.
Give a cardboard candle to each individual or group “candleholder” to be “lit.”
To “light” the candles, tape a paper flame shape to the Shamas candle and then tape flame shapes to each candle to be “lit.” Using a circle of masking tape or blue painter’s tape on the back of each flame shape, makes it easy to remove the flame shapes from the cardboard candles, so that the activity can be repeated.
Once all the candles have been “lit,” photograph the living menorah for your Religious School or synagogue website or create a class Hanukkah poster to display.
Since the “Living Menorah” activity moves along quite quickly, it may be repeated a few times to allow students to arrange themselves in different configurations that still maintain the pattern of eight candleholders plus a ninth Shamash candleholder in a different position. They might even try to imitate the design of some of the menorahs which they saw at the beginning of the lesson!
Enjoy!
Happy 5th Night of Hanukkah
- Home From Camp & Back to School - August 6, 2014
- May Their Memory… - July 2, 2014
- Starting Over, Starting Up, Reviewing and Re-thinking….Again! - June 6, 2014