Inside: Use this Hanukkah Kindness Interactive Emergent Reader to focus on kindness during the eight nights of Hanukkah.
Growing up in an interfaith family, I always loved December because I got Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations, decorations, and traditions.
And while I absolutely love Christmas, since I’m Jewish I tend to “protect” Hanukkah from the Christmas. During our 8 Nights, I try to pause Christmas and we enjoy the lights of the menorah and play dreidel games and eat all the latkes we can.
We seek out out Hanukkah community events and do Hanukkah crafts and host Hanukkah parties for our non-Jewish friends to teach them more about Hanukkah.
Related: 8 Things to Know About Hanukkah but Didn’t Know Who to Ask
And we try to bring some Tikkun Olam into our Chanukah days, focus on kindness, and teaching our kids how to be a mensch. And being an active mensch who helps others and gives to others is way better than being a Mensch on the Bench who just sits there and sings.
To help them understand all the different ways to show kindness during the eight nights of Hanukkah, we use this Hanukkah Kindness Emergent Reader Set.
Other Ways to Celebrate Hanukkah with Kids
Do you celebrate Hanukkah like my family does?
If you’re looking for ways to make Hanukkah more meaningful, you’ll love these 8 ways!
You’ll also love these Hanukkah crafts: Dreidel Sewing and Menorah Pointillism and Dreidel Spinning Art Activity.
We focus on kindness during Hanukkah with this Kindness Paper Chain Countdown where we do one kind thing a day for all eight days of Hanukkah.
We play this Kind or Unkind Sort game where we sort kind actions and unkind actions on the gelt to the correct dreidel.
We practice how we can be kind with this Hanukkah Kindness Role Playing Cards that are perfect to practice with before family comes over on Hanukkah.
We use this I Want/I Want to Give Printable to help kids focus on giving rather than getting this Hanukkah.
And we read these Chanukah books:
You can read Hanukkah Kindness Books like these:
Gracie’s Night: A Hanukkah Story
Related: For 70 more book ideas and Hanukkah gifts, click here.
And I love these Interfaith books if your family celebrates Hanukkah and Christmas like my family does:
Daddy Christmas, Hanukkah Mama:
And we also read our Hanukkah Kindness Emergent Reader.
How to Use the Hanukkah Kindness Emergent Reader
1. Purchase and download the Hanukkah Kindness Emergent Reader Set.
2. Print out the version you wish to use: color or black and white and cut them apart. I swear by my paper cutter I bought my first year teaching because I can’t cut a straight line.
If you use the black and white version, use these skin color crayons so students can color in the people.
3. Staple the pages together and then read the book together. You can follow up with partner reading, silent reading, group reading, or reading to a class pet/stuffed animal.
4. Use the Discussion Starters to further the conversation about how they can show kindness and be helpful during Hanukkah.
5. Students can write or dictate about Chanukah and how they can show kind acts during the 8 nights.
Happiest of Hanukkahs and may your dreidel spin straight and your latkes be delicious.
Ready to get the Hanukkah Kindness Emergent Reader Set?
Purchase the Hanukkah Emergent Reader on Teachers Pay Teachers.
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