Happy Hanukkah!
My friend Esti introduced me to Shalom Sesame a little while ago. It is a series of 12 episodes that introduces kids (from all backgrounds) to the Jewish culture. Since my first attempt to introduce Michael to Hanukkah a few years ago was a bust (see “Bananukah Was A Bust” ), I thought that this would be a fun way to try again. Michael has moved on to older shows, so this time I tried the Shalom Sesame videos out with Sean.
Sesame Workshop sent me the first 2 episodes to review, so Sean and I watched them today. I really like how the series introduces kids to new things – Hebrew places, sounds, words, songs, toys, etc. I must admit that I walked away with a greater appreciation of both the culture and the Hanukkah celebration myself!
In Volume 1 (Welcome to Israel), Anneliese van der Pal is excited to be going on her first trip to Israel. She is going to Sesame Street there. When she arrives in Israel, she travels throughout Jerusalem. The silly factor revolves around a search for falafels with Grover. This episode did a great job of showing both the similarities (riding on buses, playing basketball, etc.) as well as the differences between children raised in the U.S. and those that live in Israel. I found the differences (special hand-washing and prayers before meals, the beautiful architecture, etc.) intriguing. I would love to visit Israel so that I can see and hear more. I would especially like to hear the various groups praying at the Wailing Wall and visit one of their grocery markets. Everything looked so fresh and tasty! Sean’s favorite part of this video was learning the various meanings of Shalom (Hello, Peace and Goodbye). At one point, he confused Hebrew with Spanish. Then again, he calls practically every foreign language Spanish. That might have something to do with his “crush” on Dora, but that’s another post! Sean’s final analysis about the DVDs: “Cool!”
Volume 2, (Chanukah: The Missing Menorah), revolves around the search for Anneliese’s family’s menorah that she lost right before Hanukkah/Chanukah. It was really sweet to hear various young Jewish kids explain the celebration of Chanukah. Both Sean and I learned about the history of the Maccabean Revolt and the miracle of the olive oil that burned for 8 days and nights. The Count did his “number of the day” skit – with Hebrew numbers. (Of course, the number of the day was 8!) Then, they showed a young Jewish boy making own olive oil. I happen to love olives/olive oil, so it was cool to see the process (crush the picked olives using a stone; the resulting olive paste is pressed and the oil drains out; then, it is collected, filtered and bottled). The fun aspects of the celebration – singing, latkes, dreidels and such were explained and several kids shared how they celebrated Chanukah with their parents in songs and dances. Finally, the muppets acted out the Chanukah miracle. Forget about the kids (not really!), but the parents will also learn and be entertained…which is excellent.
Sean’s final analysis of the DVDs: “Cool!” (I happen to agree.)
You can learn more about Shalom Sesame at www.shalomsesame.org. Meanwhile, I will leave you with Michael’s 2008 Hanukkah art and singing (audio only), since he hasn’t done anything this year yet!
ART (MENORAH)
MUSIC (CHANUKAH DREIDEL SONG – audio only)
(Post Image Courtesy of Shalom Sesame)