Pesach
Starter
What's the BEST song on the Seder night!? That's right! MA NISHTANA! Have a small discussion with your little one about Ma Nishtana. Have they heard the song before? How does the song go? Ma Nishtana is a song that is usually sung by the youngest member of the family, but sometimes the whole family joins in! The song poses 4 questions that are written as if they came from the mind of a child:
1. Why do we eat Matzah tonight, and not chametz as we do usually?
2. Why do we eat Marror? (Ewwwww)
3. Why do we dip our veggies twice?
4. Why do we lean when we eat instead of sitting nicely?
Day
4
Welcome to...
MA NISHTANA
Choose 2-3 20-30 minute activities from the options below:
Ma Nishtana Cards
Materials needed:
4 big cards (cut an A4 piece of paper/ cardboard in half)
Coloured markers
Each of the 4 cards should correspond to a question in Ma Nishtana. On one side draw what we 'usually do' according to Ma Nishtana and on the other side draw what we do on seder night also according to Ma Nishtana.
What we usually do:
Eat Chametz
We don't eat Marror
Dip once
We sit to eat
What we do at the Seder:
We eat Matzah
We eat Marror
We dip twice
We lean
Your toddler can use these cards at the seder when they are singing, and flip them around as they go through the verses.
Credit: Etta Ben David
Sensory Ma Nishtana
Grab your playdough and help your toddler mold matzah and marror. Prepare a bowl of water for 'dipping twice' and a vegetable that your toddler can dip in the water. The last element you need is a chair that you can decorate with pillows and sheets. Set each of the four elements at different points around the room, and begin singing the song. At every verse, your toddler should run to the next station and hold up the element, or act with it.
Sing and Dance the Ma Nishtana
Watch Ma Nishtana on repeat to learn the tune and the words. Start singing it faster and faster encouraging your toddler to clap and dance with you.
Indoor Active
Outdoor Active
Ma Nishtana Fruit Salad: Find 4 toys/ pictures that resemble the 4 questions in Ma Nishtana. Place them in 4 corners of your lounge or garden. Call out the name of one and have your toddler race to the toy/ picture. Repeat this until all 4 have been covered and feel free to do a few more rounds!
Social
Have a zoom playdate with your toddler's friends from daycare and have a song contest of who can sing Ma Nishtana the loudest, the softest, the squeakiest or the most high pitched.