Each spring, three major holidays are celebrated for the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths: Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims, was March 1 through March 30; Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus for Christians is April 20; and Passover, which began April 12 and will end April 19, celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

“We are teaching the kids about Passover,” said Jen Halpern, Agudas Achim Preschool director and director of young family engagement. “We are in the midst of learning about celebrating Passover, we are teaching them the elements of this story and lots of the traditions and rituals.”

Halpern used crafts and music to teach the class of 2- to 5-year-olds the story of Passover.

“We really want them to understand that this is a celebration of freedom,” Halpern said. “We want them to understand what it means to be able to make your own choices and to understand that this is a celebration of Jewish freedom and also a freedom for all people.”

Each class had a different craft ranging from creating matzah, Afikomen bags or preparing Seder plates.

“The rituals are the way that we celebrate and the objects represent a part of the Passover story,” Halpern said. “It's really important for all of their activities to be very hands-on -- we're not just talking at them but we're engaging them and engaging their senses.”

The Seder is the ritual meal used to illustrate the story of Passover.

“We use the Seder to feel as if we were there and to remember that in some way we were all present at this event,” Halpern said. “It is a very long meal but in many ways it was designed with children in mind. There are opportunities throughout the meal for the children to ask questions and to participate.”

The children also used music to learn about the plagues that befall the Jewish people with students creating props and performing a sing-a-long for family and friends.

“Even a silly story about frogs jumping around in a Pharaoh's bed or on his head or in his underwear help tell the story,” Halpern said.  

More importantly, Halpern added, “Three of the world's biggest religions celebrate a very special holiday. We celebrate Passover and our neighbors, many of them celebrate Easter and Ramadan and I just want to wish everyone a beautiful spring holiday season.”