Passover Sedar Ideas for a Toddler

Dear T.,
There are so many good books and things out there for this very subject.
A toddler can't be expected to participate in all of this wonderful holiday on and adult level, BUT, you can still read books and have him participate as you prepare the food and explain what each thing means as you go about it. I personally think he will absorb more if you go about it that way. Next year he will be 3. The next year he will be 4. There is time to introduce more and more as he grows and can fathom. Many families with young children alter things a bit so their kids can feel more a part of the celebration. An Orthodox family might find this out of the question, but my friends do the kid friendly thing when they have little ones in the house.
Telling the story is so important. Then they understand the celebration and what it means.

Chag Same'ach

What about having him make his own Seder plate. There are so many really cute Passover books that would be appropriate for a toddler, plus tons of really cute passover songs. There is a song about the frogs jumping all over, and he can jump like a frog while you sing the song. I would say he will love the plagues part and making dots on his plate while you recite the plagues. You can all dance and play instruments while you sing Diayanue(not sure how to spell this!!). There is nothing wrong with going through the Seder and picking only the parts that you can make fun and skipping the boring parts. Just tasting all the different Passover foods will make the night special.
Have fun and Happy Passover!!

A tangential answer... have you heard of PJ Library (http://www.pjlibrary.org)?

It's a non-profit organization that sends a FREE, age-appropriate book every month to your child, just for signing up. Many of the books are just surprisingly excellent secular books, and some, around holiday time, are designed to teach about Jewish holidays. There were a couple of great ones about trees for Tu B'Shevat, and we just received 2 for Passover - a lift the flap book about the seder for our 2-year-old and a board book for the 1-year-old.

Maybe not time enough for this year's seder, but a nice option nonetheless.

Enjoy!

Okay... I should start this off by saying that we're not Jewish. That said... most of our closest friends are, and we are EXTREMELY privileged to attend all of the high holidays (and several of the smaller ones) with them and our son. If anyone who is strongly Orthodox is reading this... pleeeeeaase stop reading now.

When the kids were all very little here are some of the things that were/are done in our circle of loved ones:

- The "have to stay at the table rule" was nixed (I know, HUGE deal)...
- Had a children's version of the hagaddah... a small booklet with pictures, with both English and Hebrew.
- The story was both abbreviated and partially acted out, but in English (kind of like 60 second Shakespeare), and then the prayers were sung (children encouraged to sing as well), wine drunk (juice for the kids, obviously) and repeat. This was actually a FAVORITE of all the children there, and has been for years. As they've gotten older it's become a mix of English and Hebrew, and I'm sure at some point the English will entirely vanish. <laughing> Actually one year there was a rather disastrous attempt to do both English and Hebrew together at the same time, that all the kids (and our Rabbi friend) loved as well... but was pretty mortifying to the parents... because the children were laughing so much no one at the table could keep a straight face.
- Each year before the Sedar, the itinerary is laid out (for both the benefit of the children and gentiles at the table -as someone quipped- pretty much the same thing). This is turned into a "repeat" game for the kids. Which gets fun because of the cyclical pattern of what happens, and also gives them a solid idea of "what's coming next".

As the kids have gotten older they've started taking turns reading from the hagaddah in E & H, and it's gotten more serious & deeply meaningful (not that it ever wasn't taken seriously BEFORE... but they're actually staying at the table at this point and able to pray in H... instead of needing to be called "Quick, guys, quick... it's almost time to drink, come get your cup!!!" as the appropriate point in the story was reached when 60 second reading turned into the complete reading. I must add... 4 glasses of wine in under 10 minutes is EXTREMELY difficult for those of us with low tolerances. If you DO do 60 second tellings, have very small glasses for the adults.).

Hands Down Toddler Favorites about Pesach:

Candles
60 second story & DRINK
The egg (keeping the egg in it's dish has almost been impossible some years)
Latkes

Joyous Passover,
R

Hi, and happy passover.
I recently asked a similar question to a number of my friends, and I'm happy to share. My age group is a little different, 3-5, and we are doing a full seder at our house, but here are some of the fun kid's elements you might want to use.
-Singing is a big part of the seder anyway. Try to teach him 2-3 passover songs (they don't have to be actual parts of the seder).
-Telling the story is the main part of the seder. Try reading him a passover story book, though again it doesn't have to be THE passover story. One of my friends suggested the following, though I haven't read them yet: Sammy Spider's First Passover, Matza Ball Boy, Dinosaur on Passover, The Matza Man
-Search for the Afikomen
-You can buy online a "bag of plagues"
-We have a plush seder plate, good for tactile kids

Maybe you could invite another family with a child your son's age to your home for this activity? Jewish stuff is always better in community.

Good luck!
-Sarah

In years past I have read my toddler "My First Passover Board Book" in lieu of doing a seder. It has the story in a simple format and lots of pictures. Add on a seder plate, the four questions (if you still have his attention, otherwise just let him play on the floor while you say or sing the questions), sing a few songs, and look for the afikomen and you are all set! Good luck.

I haven't looked really recently but there are some great resources and books out there (you might check the URJ website) with seders for very young children... also buying a cd with the four questions and playing it in the car might actually be a really nice way to do passover this year, since if he knows that at passover time you listen to the passover songs (I find i can reach my daughter most through music, she loves her shabbat songs... ) and then do a special dinner where you explain the foods and give a very abridged story...
I think that is what we are going to do on second night since we always have first night with family and it is not very small kid geared so I am not sure she really understands the story yet, I found a tape now I need a tape player that is called "mostly matzo" I am sure you could find it on cd...
and again just typed hagaddah for small children on google if you want an easy guide for how to do it... good luck!

Last year my family did a ton of the songs and my daughter loved it. Why not sing your way through the story?

I have seen kids' interactive seder kits at stores, but you could probably make one yourself. It might include little plastic frogs for one of the plagues, for example, and your toddler can play with them and even throw them at the appropriate time. At his age, I would not expect him to "learn" too much -- but he can enjoy lots of music, start to understand the ritual, and just associate celebrating Jewish holidays with having fun. Happy Passover!

Hello T.: As the mother of 5 I know that little ones esp 2y/o have a very short attention span. I have bought storybooks that teach the story in a beautiful way that is set up for little ones.My girlfriend also found a childs game that was made for 2-6 y/o at her church store. I would think that you could go to your own bookstore or Barnes and Noble and check this out. I know that for us-(gentile as my friends children say) we have with our 4-9 y/os acted out the entire story. I just want you to know that next year will get easier and by 4 your little one will be able to see the endearment of tradition and understanding what you believe and why. It is very important to all children that they learn all of these important values so they can build upon a firm foundation. God Bless, Nana Glenda

It's been a long time since my kids were that age but you might try calling one of the local Jewish pre-schools or synagogues and is them if they have a Model Seder book that you could buy or borrow from them. That's probably what they would be using in their pre-school or elementary school classes and you could easily adapt what you like. I haven't tried this but you might also get some ideas if you google family seders or something like that.

You can also have a special pre-school level prize for having him find the afikomen!

Have fun!

J. F.

Yes - the long Sedars are definitely too tiresome for toddlers (sometimes for adults as well!). If you want to introduce him to the tradition, I don't see anything wrong with starting the sedar before sundown (especially since daylight savings time has started!)
www.chabad.org might have some good ideas.
http://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/1606/jewish/Pa...
With our Sedars, I just let my daughter start eating when she wants to (she loves chopped liver - go figure, and who doesn't like charoset!). Keep some grape juice on the table and have fun! Be sure to hide the Matzo where he can find it :)