Kodomo No Hi

I hope everybody had a great Spring Break!
This week we will be venturing to Japan to celebrate Kodomo No Hi, or Children's Day. Traditions for this holiday include flying carp windsocks, displaying Kintaro figures, and Kabuto. We will also be trying out mochi!

Preparing for our Purim celebration...

The kids and I made bowling pin versions of Haman's sons to knock down tomorrow.

Purim

This week our class is traveling to Israel to celebrate Purim. 

Purim is a Jewish festival which commemorates the deliverance of Jews from Persia and from the efforts of Haman to destroy them, as recorded in the book of Esther. 

During the Megilla (or scroll) readings, children often dress up as their favorite characters in the story and it is traditional to use noisemakers to drown out the "evil" name of Haman whenever it is read. Purim has a carnival-like atmosphere. 

 

St. Walpurga's Night (Walpurgisnacht)