At Yavneh, we’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Hanukkah through hands-on learning experiences and festive activities! This year, our 3rd-5th graders had the honor of performing at the annual Menorahs and Miracles event at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose. They helped bring the magic of Hanukkah to the greater community.
Throughout the school, students have been immersing themselves in the history and traditions of Hanukkah. In Kindergarten, our students participated in a special JSTEAM (Jewish STEAM) activity that explored how the Maccabees used oil and containers to light the menorah. They experimented with three exciting stations: creating their own oil-holding containers from oranges, smashing olives to extract oil, and learning about how wicks work in candles.
Amber shared, “Morah Vanina, I can’t believe how much oil we made as a class while smashing the olives!”
Isaac reflected, “The Macabees used oil pitchers to pour the oil in “the holes” of the Menorah to light it.”
Second graders also got creative, building their own 3D hanukiot (menorahs) using various construction tools, while all our students have been learning the Hanukkah blessings in Hebrew class.
In addition to the classroom learning, Kindergarten families had a blast decorating Hanukkah cookies and playing games together. Meanwhile, many of our students are eagerly preparing to make latkes this week in the Learning Kitchen—what a delicious way to experience the holiday!
We can’t wait to gather with you tomorrow for our Hanukkah Shabbat from 2-3pm. It’s sure to be a joyful celebration!
Wishing you all a Chag Hanukkah Sameach from all of us at Yavneh!
