pesach costumes !!!

natmichal

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 2:28 am

Ok, you might all think I'm crazy, which is partly true since as is I have no clue how top be ready in time for pesach with the rest of my day to day load on top, BUT... I thought - and dh agreed, that it could be really great for the kids at our seder (4 aged 2 1/2 to 6) if we handed out "Bne Yisrael costumes" at the seder. The idea is to really get them through the experience of Yetsiat Mizrayim. I've looked through the web (biblical and nativity (!!!) costumes ) and I think I have a general idea of what to do. Question is, does anyone has tips to give to keep it to minimum work ? Also, dh was considering "acting out" Par'oh - do you think it's a good idea, and how would you do it?

Marion

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 2:41 am

White bathrobes, white headscarves, and black rope (keffiyas). We did that one year at my parents'.

Some of the, um, less observant "streams" of Judaism have put out child-friendly haggadot in the last decade or so. Among them are puppet shows and skits that the kids can participate in for Maggid.

Tamiri

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 2:42 am

While it sounds like a great idea - do you really have that much time on your hands?
For the girls: a robe with a kerchief = Miriam or bnot yisrael. For the boys: a robe with a kafiya-type head dressing = Moshe/Aharon/Bnai Yisrael. Top it off with a staff if you wish. Abba can wear the same. Why would he be Par'oh?
However, don't you think that what they learn in gan/school plus sitting around at the seder with their parents should be more than enough? I know there are these Seder kits available for purchase, with flying frogs and real live lice to keep the kid up and busy but I never saw the point. Then again, I am old fashioned. I do believe in kids employing their own imaginations and occupying themselves in this manner.

natmichal

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 2:52 am

Tamiri wrote:

However, don't you think that what they learn in gan/school plus sitting around at the seder with their parents should be more than enough? I know there are these Seder kits available for purchase, with flying frogs and real live lice to keep the kid up and busy but I never saw the point. Then again, I am old fashioned. I do believe in kids employing their own imaginations and occupying themselves in this manner.

My daughter and one niece will have learned a lot. The other niece is the smaller kid and my son (5 1/2) is a bright kid, but he's in a not religious special ed gan (last year there, b"h), and from my experience with previous years, we'll need extra for him - plus he learns much more with "hands on".I want to give him the option of not being "let out" by his same age "but in regular dati gan with ganenet teaching all the midrashim" cousin.
oh- as for abba being par'oh - it's just a joke - he saw a costume and said it looked "cool" - but we're not sure about it. maybe just for acting out maggid for a bit.

freidasima

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 3:33 am

Why do we always think that Moshe Rabbeinu and Bnai Yisroel dressed like modern day bedouins? Maybe we are too influenced by Charleton Heston and "The Ten Commandments"?

Marion

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 3:33 am

We made up our own plague boxes from year to year. A band-aid, rubber frogs, lice comb, stuffed cow, a "my pet monster" doll, calamine lotion, golf or ping-pong balls, rubber locusts, a flashlight (with the batteries & lightbulb removed). I don't think we ever did Makat Bechorot.

ValleyMom

Sun, Mar 15 2009, 8:55 pm

OMIGOD A family in our neighborhood totally does the Pesach experience
The dining room walls are covered in hieroglyphic fabrics, the chairs are draped in fabric
They even have a mummy in a sircauphagus in a corner of the dining room
Everyone drinks from big golden goblets
I havent' beent o their seders but the whole first floor is Ancient Egypt
They hang blue drapes between the living and dining room to simulate krias Yam Suf
As a kindergarten tecaher I thought it was awesome!!!!!!!!

yojewmama

Tue, Mar 17 2009, 1:39 am

My kids are teens now but I'll tell you Pesach was a great adventure for the little years.

For crossing the sea, we used mylar curtains (cheap) or you can use shower curtains.

You can go hear and buy bags of little frogs
http://www.orientaltrading.com/
(do not get squishy sticky ones, they can leave stains on walls)
Jungle animal finger puppets are great
we've used dark glasses for choshech and also the eye covers they give away on airplanes.

Keep your eye out for an Egyptian costume or head piece so someone can be pharaoh.

We use a spoon (may look for a plastic microphone this year) to "interrupt this regularly scheduled program" for a "Live Report". This is improv... and always fun for everyone. We ask questions like "Pharaoh, what was it like for you to see the Jews leaving?" (Have you seen the who let the Jews out video?)

We've used fabric pom-poms for hail.

TzenaRena

Tue, Mar 17 2009, 3:47 am

Quote:

Ok, you might all think I'm crazy, which is partly true since as is I have no clue how top be ready in time for pesach with the rest of my day to day load on top, BUT

do you think you'll be ready on time to do all this, then?

Isn't the seder colorful and exciting enough, without distracting from it by doing costumes on top of it? Of course the children should have their beautiful, colorful haggadahs, but that's focusing them into it, especially their special part of saying the Four Questions. Why change the traditional way? It was always exciting for the children, the four cups of wine, eating the matza and moror, everything about the Seder is new and different, and hands on.

OTOH, there are some minhagim that do symbolically act out yetzias mitzrayim...maybe it's fine, just not get too carried away, it shouldn't be at the expense of the actual Seder, and all the Pesach preparations.

yojewmama

Tue, Mar 17 2009, 7:21 am

TzenaRena, on one hand I understand what you're saying. I wish that all you said was enough. We are in competition for our kids though.

If the seder is intended to transmit the story to my kids, then I want to anchor it in a way that will catch them for life, from their tongues, to their bones, to their imaginations. I don't have many memories of the seder from when I was a kid (except that I was the youngest and had to read the questions for far too long!). There are way too many Jews who are off the derech and we've got way too much competition. I'll do what ever I can to keep my kids engaged, interested, happy, good, and connected. Hashem ya'azor.

Marion

Tue, Mar 17 2009, 7:25 am

I'd also like to point out that...

The "why"s of the 4 cups, 3 matzot, maror, karpas, etc...are not attention keepers for children who learn about it in school/yeshiva ahead of time.

The answer to "mah nishtana" is not much of an attention keeper for kids beyond "avadim hayinu".

Once you get into the reading of maggid, unless you make sure to ask the kids questions they can answer, it can get rather boring. Even for adults.