Parshat Bechukotai: RAIN

A google search of "melting crayon art" will lead you to THOUSANDS of versions of this excessively popular "pinterest" craft. Although intrigued, I never had a "reason" to try out this technique for myself...until this week's parsha.

This short parsha is pretty miserable - first, there are about 10 verses about the blessings that the people will receive if they follow God's precepts, followed by a much longer description of what will happen if they do not - shock, consumption, fever, diseases that cause hopeless longing and depression, enemies, plague, wild animals, and eating the flesh of your own children. Not pretty.

I decided to focus on the very beginning of the parsha in which the first blessing that the people are promised is that of RAIN - וְנָֽתַתִּ֥י גִשְׁמֵיכֶ֖ם בְּעִתָּ֑ם - "I will give your rains in the right time." I always want to focus on something fundamental and the blessing of rain is a major concept in both Bible and prayer and continues to be relevant in modern-day Israel. I also liked the idea of focusing on rain because it works well with the different modes I try to incorporate, including - science/sensory, Torah, art, movement/music (I am playing with a new acronym - "STAM" education :))

It also happens to be that the weather in Israel, and Be'er Sheva in particular, has been crazy and it actually RAINED the day I taught this lesson! Rain here in May is NOT normal but I was pretty psyched about the coincidence.

I was super excited to start off the lesson with the "rain game." (Where did we do this? NCSY? camp? school? I don't remember but I used to love it!):

Rub your hands together. (This is the wind)

Tap one finger on the palm of your hand. (These are the first raindrops.)

Tap all 4 fingers. (Many more rain drops.)

Full out clapping. (It’s getting more intense!)

Slap on the floor, or your thighs. (Thunder enters!)

After a big crescendo, repeat all the activities in reverse order as the storm dies down, until you’re rubbing hands together.

Then quietly stop, and there should be absolutely silence.

But, I also needed an art project! Even though there are a number of cute rain and umbrella-themed art lessons out there, I was not excited enough about any of them and felt like I needed to do something very different this week. And then I remembered the ubiquitous melting crayon craft!

Many versions of the craft use the crayon drippings as raindrops pouring down on umbrella-holding silhouettes like these...

As I often do, I first experimented at home with (or "on") my own kids. I gathered up lots of broken pieces of crayons that were floating around the house and we got to experimenting together. It was a bit messy (think flying wax on the floor and walls) but it was also really fun and exciting to watch the dripping and splattering.

Even though I ALWAYS have the kids do their own individual art, I decided that this week, we would just do one large canvas that would then hang in the school's hallway permanently. The downside of this of course is that the kids did not actually create their own art this week but they were VERY engaged watching the process unfold. They all gathered around to watch me blow-dry the crayons and they directed me, begging for me to do more on one color or another. I stopped periodically to describe what was happening and to point out mixing colors or "drizzling" vs. "pouring." Here is our super-cute final product...SHABBAT SHALOM!