Use paper to create your own version of Yerushalayim on Tisha B’av.
Tisha B’av marks the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is also one of the hardest days to be a parent. You don’t have the luxury of spending the day in shul and then taking a long nap. There are small people waiting to be fed and want you to play with them. Additionally, you want to convey some sense of the day to them, just as you would with any other holiday, but in an age appropriate way.
I am always on the lookout for Tisha B’av projects that relate to the day. One that you can do even with small kids is building a paper Yerushalayim. You can cut out the shapes in advance or have older kids cut their own shapes. Then let them mix and match and create their own Yerushalayim. Show the kids how to layer the shapes to show dimension, so some buildings are close up and some are further away.
You can add in print-outs of friends or family living in Israel, or the kids themselves. We used plain construction paper but any type of textured or shiny gold paper would add an extra dimension here. Print out close ups of Jerusalem stone to add in as “bricks” or buildings. You could do a Kotel scene, or any other place in Israel that has meaning to you and your kids.
We hope that by next year, we will already see the real rebuilt Yerushalayim!
Building Yerushalayim
Time:
Active: 30 minutes, depending on involved you get
Age: 2-8
Materials:
Construction or any other kind of colored or textured paper
Glue
Scissors
Process:
Cut out a variety of shapes. We mainly used squares, rectangles and domes, with a triangle for the sun and some bird shapes but really almost anything will work.
Arrange the pieces on a sheet of paper. Layer pieces to create a full city with depth. Once you have arranged the pieces to your satisfaction, glue them down.
Did you do this project? Share your pictures on our facebook page!
Jewish Kids create 