Yerushalayim Puzzle for Tisha B’av

Put Yerushalayim back together this Tisha B’av!

Searching for meaningful activities on Tisha B’av can be tough. I wanted to create a craft that would give children a sense of the day. A puzzle seemed like a great format. By putting together the pieces, they can create the whole, just as we long to do with the Beit Hamikdash.

The concept here is simple – create a picture and then cut it up and let them put it back together. I drew a very simple image of Yerushayalim, but a coloring page printed out from google works fine.  We painted it using sponges and brushes, but if paint on Tisha B’av is above your mess tolerance level, crayons, markers or whatever you want of course works just fine.

Should your kid be the type who would cry if you cut up their picture, definitely do not do this step! Creating the picture will be enough art for this kid!

May the symbolism of children putting Yerushalayim back together serve as metaphor for our redemption!

Looking for more Tisha B’av projects?
Rebuilding Yerushalayim (in paper)

Yerushalayim Puzzle

Time:
Active: 15-20 minutes
Drying: 15 minutes+ if using paint

Age: 3-7

Materials:
Paper (We used card stock so it would hold up to cutting better. Thin cardboard like a cereal box works as well.)
Sponge
Paint
Scissors

Process:
Decorate your paper with a Yerushalayim scene. Cut a sponge into squares and dip it in paint to create the impression of bricks. Try not to leave too much white space or the puzzle will be too hard to put together.

I found the sponge paint to be thicker and take longer than usual to dry, so feed the kids lunch and then come back and check on it. When it’s dry, cut it into as many pieces as is age appropriate. Be careful cutting so you have some sort of color close to the edges to match up when putting it back together.

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