BEDAZZLED TZEDAKAH BOX
Everyone will want to give more tzedakah when they see that your kiddos have made a Bedazzled Tzedakah Box! All the sparkles will remind them that tzedakah means “justice,” and it’s our obligation to help those in need. Kids LOVE any craft that involves gems — it’s so fun to look at them all and decide which ones to pick. Sequins work, too; but I think we all know that gems are the best! Your kiddos will surely enjoy making this colorful craft AND making it easy for your family to do one of the most important mitzvot — giving tzedakah!
MEGA TZEDAKAH BOX WITH SUPERSIZE COINS
When your kiddos make a Mega Tzedakah Box, everyone in your family will be inspired to GIVE BIG! Use a shoebox or whatever box you like, cut a hole at the top (that part, of course, is best done by grown-ups), and then decorate the box with paint, markers, washi tape, stickers, etc. Finally, glue on some tzedakah graphics from the Tzedakah Graphics PDF and any other items you like, such as craft gems or sequins! It’s also fun to make some supersize coins — just use paper coasters, wood circles, or cardstock paper and sketch in a design. Kids will enjoy taking a closer look at an actual coin for inspiration or creating their own unique coin design. When it’s complete, put the tzedakah box in a place of honor in your home, reminding everyone of this central Jewish value and obligation — tzedakah!
PENCIL BOX TZEDAKAH BOX
In Judaism, tzedakah, meaning “righteous behavior” or “justice,” is not something we do just when we’re feeling generous. It’s an ongoing obligation and one of Judaism’s most important mitzvot. Here’s a creative way to make tzedakah central to your family values — make a Pencil Box Tzedakah Box! It’s bigger than a traditional tzedakah box, and little hands enjoy lifting the lid up and down to add money. Decorate it with colorful tissue paper or any way you like! Be sure to add some graphics from the Tzedakah Graphics PDF, too. Happy Giving!
CHESED CONFETTI
Judaism teaches us that the world stands on three things: Torah, service to God, and acts of loving kindness. Kindness (in Hebrew — chesed) is foundational to living Jewishly, and every time we are kind, we not only help create a better world, we also make joy for ourselves. This simple craft gives children a concrete way to understand our duty to sprinkle chesed everywhere we go. Sometimes we can sprinkle a lot of chesed; other times, we may only leave a little. Either way, every act of loving kindness is immensely valuable and helps build the kind of world we want to live in.
CHESED BOOK
Help your kiddos explore how they can show kindness (in Hebrew — chesed) with this sweet little craft book! Using the letters of CHESED, each page features a way to be kind:
Be…Caring
Be…Helpful
Be…Empathetic
Be…Sincere
Be…Encouraging
Be…Delightful
Kids can decorate each page however they like — with markers, stickers, dot markers, crayons, colored pencils, paint… anything! When they’re done, see if they can think of even more ways to show kindness! This is a great companion craft with the wonderful book Be Kind: You Can Make the World a Happier Place by Naomi Shulman.
MITZVAH CARDS
Teach your kiddos to notice when other people do a mitzvah with these cute little cards! On one side write “You just did a mitzvah! Thank you for making the world a better place.” On the other side, your kiddos can decorate it however they like. Sky’s the limit — markers, stickers, paint, collage! And when kids notice that others are doing mitzvot, they’re more likely to do some themselves! Pretty cool!
COUNTING BLESSINGS AND BEADS
The Talmud teaches us that we must each recite at least 100 blessings a day. Doing so encourages us to live a life focused on gratitude and helps us truly appreciate all the good in our lives. This simple craft gives kids a tangible way to count these daily blessings and to see what 100 looks like. Plus, they have so much fun examining the beads, deciding which ones to choose, and then stringing them onto the pipe cleaners — ten beads each on ten pipe cleaners. Surprisingly, even the tiniest beads fit on the pipe cleaners, reminding us that we should say a blessing even for the seemingly smallest good things in our lives.
HAKARAT HATOV JAR
Hakarat Hatov is the Jewish value of GRATITUDE, and it literally means “recognizing the good.” Judaism teaches us to be vigilant about noticing the abundance of blessings that surround us. Knowing that a regular practice of gratitude is scientifically proven to make people happier should put a smile on your face, too! Teach your kiddos to notice all the things they’re thankful for starting at a young age. Making a Hakarat Hatov Jar will give them a tangible way to do just that! Give them a little pad of paper, and every time they see something they’re thankful for, they can draw a picture of it and put it in their special jar. Before they know it, their jars will be filled with all the good in their lives; and won’t that be wonderful!
TIKKUN OLAM SPARKS TRACKER
Howard Schwartz’s book Gathering Sparks is perfect for teaching children the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam — repairing the world. In the book, he writes, “For every good deed you do, one of those hidden sparks rises up and a little bit of the world is repaired.” What a wonderful visual to understand that when we do something helpful or kind, it really does make a positive difference. Your kiddos will love keeping track of their “sparks” and seeing that they’re helping make the world a better place with this Tikkun Olam Sparks Tracker (link to the free PDF below). When they fill up one chart, they can start a new one! To keep things interesting, there are three different versions. It would be fun to collect them in a binder for a full year to see how many “sparks” your kiddos collect!
I CAN DO A MITZVAH - NECKLACE
This gorgeous necklace coordinates with every outfit — that’s because mitzvot are always in style! Doing a mitzvah will be top of mind for your kiddos once they make this fun and meaningful craft. And if they’re anything like my kindergarten students, they will LOVE using a hole puncher — always a crowd pleaser! The TEMPLATE comes with eight different mitzvot (e.g., donating food, taking care of the earth, being welcoming when guests visit) and also eight blank squares so that you and your kiddos can brainstorm more mitzvah ideas!
TIKKUN OLAM SUPERHERO CAPE
If you tell your kiddos that they are Tikkun Olam Superheroes and we all need their strength, bravery, and kindness to help save the world, they will be up, up, and away in a flash! Tikkun Olam, which means “repair the world,” is a central Jewish value that calls on everyone to do mitzvot and everything possible to fix what is broken in our world so that it may become whole. Help your little superheroes look the part by letting them create their very own Tikkun Olam superhero cape. They can make a matching superhero mask, too! In the wise words of Spiderman (although it sounds like something Moses could have said): “With great power comes great responsibility.” Indeed it does!