These 8 suggestions from Gateways: Access to Jewish Education will help make your Hanukkah celebration child-friendly and fully accessible for children with special learning needs:

 created at: 2012-11-29

 1. As Jewish parents and educators, we place a lot of importance on students learning how to say the Hanukkah blessings.  However the act of reciting a blessing isn’t as meaningful if a child is simply repeating words in Hebrew that have no meaning to them.  Since students with special needs are often strong visual learners, adding symbols to the blessings can help them to learn the meaning of the Hebrew words and phrases.  As an added bonus, over the past few years many parents of students with special needs have told me that they had been reciting these blessings all their lives without understanding what the words meant until they looked at our visual blessings!  

          – Rebecca Redner, Teacher, Gateways

 

created at: 2012-11-292.  Did you know that the body learns 10 times faster than the brain – and forgets 10 times slower? Here are some ways to incorporate movement into your Hanukkah traditions. is a fantastic opportunity to incorporate practicing fine and gross motor skills – while having fun! Building Menorahs out of Legos or Play Doh, creating a 2D menorah out of shaving cream or finger paint and cutting strips of paper to make a paper chain menorah all help with motor, visual, and spatial planning.  Depending on the material you use, it can also serve as a multi-sensory experience. And did you know that spinning the dreidle helps improve finger movement for a child’s pencil grip?

           – Ilene Greenwald, Occupational Therapist

 3. One menorah for each family is good – but one for each person in the family is even better!  When you have multiple children and only one menorah, siblings may feel left out or have a difficult time waiting for their turn to light the candles. Having a menorah for each member of the family helps the kids feel more engaged and invested in our traditions. Plus, it is an opportunity to practice properly setting up the candles and lighting them. For very young children, you can buy or create a fabric or paper menorah with Velcro candles and flames.

           – Sherry Grossman, Director Community Special Education Services, Gateways

 4. Making  – and eating – latkes is an integral part of Hanukkah and children with a wide range of needs can participate in helping to prepare them. The key is breaking the process into easy, single-action steps that match your child’s abilities and motor challenges. You can do this by creating step-by-step instructions using simple language and pictures. Set up stations – one step per station – with all the supplies they will need for that step. This gives them independence and a sense of ownership and makes cooking with your kids less stressful for you!

           – Arlene Remz, Executive Director, Gateways

 5. Many children have difficulty with transitions – and waiting. That’s why it is a good idea to separate gift giving from lighting the menorah. I find that kids just want to rush through lighting the menorah to get to the gifts, making it less special. Also, giving kids toys at night (especially on school nights when they won’t have time to play with them) can be challenging. In our house the gift can come at any time during the day, depending on what it is used for: jammies and books at bedtime; new shoes or winter coats, scarves etc., before school; and toys, afterschool so they have time to play. When we light the menorah, we have time to enjoy the process of setting up the menorah, lighting it and playing dreidle. 

           – Nancy Mager, Director, Jewish Education Program, Gateways

 6. Games are a great way to develop social skills and to practice taking turns. Here are some Hanukkah gift ideas that are your kids will love – and in addition to social skills, it will also help develop executive function and other critical skills:

  • Guesstures: One word charades in a fun format.  Helps kids practice reading and using body language to convey messages.
  • Getta Letter: One minute rounds thinking of words in categories. Learning to categorize is an important skill. 
  • Guess who? and Hedbanz: Children guess their opponent’s “person” or object by asking descriptive questions. Helps kids use descriptive words and deductive reasoning.
  • Rush Hour: The object is to move cars out of the way so one car can exit the board. This helps with motor and visual planning.

           – Sharon Goldstein, Director Day School Programs, Gateways

 7. In advance of Hanukkah, one of my teachers has a discussion about Jewish heroes in her class (which you can easily do at home). The students identify 8 heroes who made an impression on them; the teacher makes up a packet with info about each one to send home. The students then can read about a different hero with his/her family each night as they light the candles. The heroes they choose range from the obvious to the unsung.

           – Ilene F. Beckman, Director, Rabbi Albert I. Gordon Religious School, Temple Emanuel, Newton, MA

 8. For children who love and learn best through engaging technology, there are some great Hanukkah apps out there for iPads and smartphones!  My top five favorites are:

          – Beth Crastnopol, Director, Professional Development Programs, Gateways

 

 

Visit Gateways’ website for additional Hanukkah blessings with visuals, social stories and more:

http://www.jgateways.org/Resources/Chanukah

 

 

 

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