OUTLINE:  

Start the year off with a creative crash course in the Jewish ritual calendar. Invite community members to gather to learn about the Jewish calendar as they make their own personalized calendars to use for the year ahead!

MATERIALS:  

• Printed calendar template
  • HebCal Calendar Customizer
    • At HebCal’s site you can customize and print Jewish calendars with all of the Jewish holidays and Torah portions.
  • Make your own on Canva
• Printed Jewish Calendar Scavenger Hunt sheet
• Hole punchers
• Ribbon
• Stapler
• Printer/construction paper
• Collage supplies
• Glue sticks
• Tape
• Writing implements: colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc..

PROGRAM OUTLINE (~90 minutes): 

• Welcome and Framing (10 minutes)
• Calendar Scavenger Hunt (20 minutes)
• Calendar Making (60+ minutes)

Welcome and Framing (10 minutes)

• Welcome guests, invite them to grab snacks/drinks and get settled.
• If you’re seeking an ice breaker, consider having everyone respond to the prompt: What’s the most underrated Jewish holiday!
• Begin to gather the group and say something along the lines of…
  • In celebration of the Jewish new year, we will be exploring the Jewish ritual calendar! In a moment we will break off into groups of two to do a short, partnered learning activity that will help us get to know the Jewish calendar a little better. Then we will spend the rest of the time getting to make our own decorated and personalized Jewish calendars for us to take home and use for the rest of the year!

Calendar Scavenger Hunt (20 minutes)

• Break everyone into groups of two (make sure everyone has a device they can use) and pass out the Jewish Calendar Making Scavenger Hunt sheet. Be sure to let your guests know that they’ll have about 20 minutes to work through the sheet with their partner.

Calendar Making (60+ minutes)

• Now it’s time to get creative! Give everyone a 12-month calendar template and access to all the art supplies.
  • Encourage guests to make the calendars their own, draw little symbols or designs around each of the holidays. Put in other birthdays and important personal holidays or dates.
  • Consider making a painting, collage or other artistic design as the image for each month so each month has a fun artistic surprise!