Fun Hanukkah lessons and activities! Learn about the Hanukkah story for teaching kids about Hanukkah with traditions, menorah, dreidels, Hanukkah blessings (including printable Hanukkah story)! Holiday resources for lesson plans, Hanukkah games and activities, and Hanukkah crafts for kids to learn about the Festival of Lights.
Hanukkah Lessons And Activities For Kids To Learn About The Festival Of Lights
These Hanukkah teaching resources are great for homeschool holiday lessons or Hanukkah classroom activities! (If you’re wondering how to teach Hanukkah to preschoolers or younger kids, these will help too!) Add these great ideas to your month of December activity calendar and curriculum activities.
How do you teach children about Hanukkah?
Hanukkah Classroom Games and Activities for Kids:
- Watch videos about Hanukkah festivals / Hanukkah video for students
- Read children’s books about Hanukkah for Hanukkah story read aloud times
- Learn about the Maccabee Revolt
- Observe Hanukkah traditions for the Jewish celebration
- Play the dreidel game for a fun Chanukah activity (you can get inexpensive packs of plastic or wooden dreidels for Hanukkah games for classroom or homeschool co-op for the spin the dreidle game)
- Sing Hanukkah songs
- Learn how to make potato latkes in olive oil with sour cream or applesauce and other traditional foods for Hanukkah
- Use Hanukkah blessings printable to understand the blessings
- Take a virtual field trip to a Jewish museum
- Play a Hanukkah game online with friends
- Make traditional Hanukkah food
- Recreate the story using Hanukkah storyboards with felt
- Watch a history of Hanukkah video (see below!)
- Use cut-outs and Hanukkah objects to create the Hanukkah story in pictures
- Color a menorah with a menorah craft template (Chanukah candles)
- Make a dreidel craft
- Create a Hanukkah-inspired sensory bin for little hands to practice fine motor skills
- Make an oil lamp craft to explain the Hanukkah lamp story
- Include Hanukkah science activities (like projects with candles or dreidel activities)
- Color Hanukkah cards and send as holiday greeting cards
- Use Hanukkah story sequencing pictures to understand the history
- Use a printable menorah and candles to tell the Hanukkah candle story
- Get your own menorah and light candles to honor the celebration with family members
Use any of these creative activities for Hanukkah kindergarten lesson plans, preschool ideas, or even elementary and middle school lessons and into high school for the holidays.
MORE FAVORITE HANUKKAH ACTIVITIES: KEEP SCROLLING FOR MORE HANUKKAH IDEAS FOR KIDS AND TEACHING RESOURCES AND HANUKKAH CLASSROOM GAMES AND ACTIVITIES FOR HOMESCHOOL! ALSO, DON’T MISS THE HANUKKAH PRINTABLE FOR KIDS!
Hanukkah Dates 2023
Hanukkah 2023 begins on the evening of Thursday, December 7, 2023, and ends on the evening of Friday, December 15, 2023. Some years, Hanukkah and Christmas are the same dates, but that is not always the case. The Hanukkah dates change each year on the 25th day of Kislev, or the ninth month of the Jewish calendar.
Why does the date of Hanukkah change every year?
The date of Hanukkah changes each year. Hanukkah is based on the 25th day of Kislev of the Hebrew calendar, which is based on the Sun and Moon cycles (unlike the Gregorian calendar, which is based on 365 days divided into 12 months).
Are Chanukah and Hanukkah the same thing?
Both Chanukah and Hanukkah are correct. Hanukkah is the most widely used spelling in English speaking worlds, while Chanukah is the more traditional spelling for the festival. (The “C” in Chanukah is silent.)
Hanukkah Story – What Is Hanukkah and How Is It Celebrated?
How do you explain Hanukkah to a child?
The Hanukkah Story for Kids:
What does Hanukkah celebrate? Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that is celebrated each year for eight nights by lighting candles on a candelabra called a menorah. The holiday honors regaining control of The Second Temple and a miracle where only one day of menorah oil lasted eight days and nights. The holiday is also called The Festival of Lights (or Miracle of Lights) because of the lighting of the menorah and is celebrated with food, games, and gifts.
(Don’t miss the Jewish Hanukkah story printable below, including a printable Hanukkah bingo game! It’s a great printable Hanukkah story for preschoolers, too.)
What is the lesson of Hanukkah?
What kids should know about Hanukkah?
Story of Hanukkah summary: Hanukkah is celebrated to honor The Second Temple rededication after the Maccabees revolted against the Greeks, who wanted the Jewish people to no longer honor Jewish traditions. The menorah in The Temple was supposed to remain lit, but during the desecration, the menorah was no longer lit. After regaining control of The Temple, there was only one night of oil for the menorah. However, the story tells that a miracle happened and the menorah remained lit for eight full days and nights on only one day of oil!
What is the short story of Hanukkah? (Great for Hanukkah in the classroom lessons)
GRAB THE HANUKKAH ACTIVITY PACK: 33 Printable Hanukkah Learning Pages!
Pack with fun Hanukkah activity pages / Hanukkah worksheets for holiday kids activities! Includes introduction of Hanukkah holiday concepts based on recipes.
The Hanukkah booklet printable includes:
✔️Hanukkah History & Traditions
✔️Food for Hanukkah
✔️Hanukkah Recipes
✔️Hanukkah Coloring Printables
✔️Hanukkah Worksheet ActivityPages
✔️Hanukkah dreidel printable (with song lyrics to color and printable Hanukkah symbols) for a Hanukkah games printable
✔️FREE Hanukkah bingo printable cards
& MORE!
Great for Hanukkah worksheets preschool / Hanukkah kindergarten worksheets and older ages into elementary school ages (Hanukkah lessons for elementary students) and middles school Hanukkah ideas!
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE: Printable Hanukkah Story and Activities
The Hanukkah Miracle: Story Behind Hanukkah
The eight nights of lighting candles in a Menorah comes from something known as “The Hanukkah Miracle.”
The Hanukkah story miracle goes like this:
During the Jewish revolt of the Maccabees against the Syrians in the year 165 BC, the story goes that there was only enough oil to burn the lanterns for one night.
However, the sparse oil continued to burn for eight nights, allowing them enough time to find more oil.
This miracle inspired an eight-day celebration each year.
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What Happens During Hanukkah?
Hanukkah Facts For Kids
- During Hanukkah, or The Jewish Festival of Lights, a family lights candles in a candelabra, called a hanukkiah, on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.
- Even though there are eight nights of Hanukkah, the Hanukkah candelabra actually has nine candles.
- The ninth candle is called the shamash, or “helper” candle, because it is used to light the other candles.
- Blessings are usually recited during the lighting of the candles each night.
- The night also includes eating special foods, exchanging a gift, and also spending family time together playing games like Dreidel, a spinning top with four sides.
- The Hebrew word for “dedication” is “Hanukkah.”
- Hanukkah is not the “Jewish Christmas.”
Does a menorah have 7 or 9 candles?
A menorah has seven candles and represents the seven-branched lamp from the Second Temple. It is the one that remained lit during the “Hanukkah Miracle” tale.
A hanukiah has nine candles and is the candelabra that is designed specifically to use for Hanukkah. One is the “helper” candle to light the other eight candles, one each night of Hanukkah.
A traditional menorah has 7 candles.
Today, the words menorah and hanukiah are often used interchangeably to mean the candelabra that is lit during Hanukkah, with menorah being the most often used term.
FUN PRESCHOOL IDEA: This wooden menorah playset will encourage learning more about Hanukkah.
What food is eaten during Hanukkah?
What kind of food is served at Hanukkah?
- Sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts)
- Latkes (potato pancakes)
- Matzo ball soup
- Challah (a special braided bread made from eggs)
- Rugelach (a flaky dough pastry filled with cinnamon or chocolate)
Do you give gifts for Hanukkah?
Traditionally, coins or chocolate was given to children on each night of Hanukkah. However, many parents today give each child one small—thoughtful and personal—gift after the lighting of the Menorah.
Is Hanukkah in the Bible?
Here’s what History.com states about the story of Hanukkah in Bible, “The story of Hanukkah does not appear in the Torah because the events that inspired the holiday occurred after it was written. The [Hanukkah story in the Bible] however, is mentioned in the New Testament, in which Jesus attends a ‘Feast of Dedication.'”
How to Play Dreidel Game
Dreidel (or dreidl) is a fun game that you play during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It is a four-sided spinning top game with special characters painted on the side.
(Get a dreidel letters printable below!)
What does the dreidel mean?
The word comes from the German word drehen or “to spin.”
What are the symbols on the dreidel?
There are four Hebrew letters, one on each side of the dreidel.
They are:
- Nun, meaning nothing
- Gimmel, meaning all
- Hei, meaning half
- Shin, meaning put in
They also stand for the Hebrew phrase nes gadol hayah sham, meaning “a great miracle happened there.”
How do you play a dreidel?
- Give each player an equal number of game pieces (usually 10-15) like coins, raisins, candy pieces, or chocolate gelt.
- Each person puts one game piece in the center, which is the pot.
- The first player spins the dreidel. Depending on the character facing up, the player does one of the following:
- Nun: the player does nothing
- Gimel: the player gets everything in the pot
- Hei: the player gets half the pot
- Shin: the player adds one game piece to the pot
- Repeat the process. (If the pot is empty at any point, the players put one piece in.)
- When the player is out of pieces (or Hanukkah gelt), they are out of the game.
- Continue play until everyone is out but one player.
If you have all have your own dreidl set, you can easily make this part of your virtual Hanukkah games! Get the rules for dreidel printables below!
Why do we play dreidel?
The legend of the dreidel says that it was a way for children to hide that they were studying the Torah, which then was a punishable offense.
17+ Lessons to Help Learn Hanukkah Traditions and Understand The Hanukkah Story
Use these fun Hanukkah activities, projects, lessons, and crafts to learn more about the Hanukkah Story. Great for studying the story of Hanukkah for elementary school and up or even Hanukkah projects preschool and kindergarten Hanukkah kids activities and Hanukkah in the classroom ideas.
Lesson Ideas and Resources for Teaching About Hanukkah
- Get Hanukkah Printable Coloring Pages and Activity Sheets for Hanukkah themes for kids (great if you’re looking for Hanukkah activity for kindergarten and preschool Hanukkah printables, too!)
- Celebrate Hanukkah in Israel
- Read about The Maccabees: The Jewish Freedom Fighters
- Make Hanukkah art and Make Your Own Maccabee Shield and display it as part of your Jewish decor for classroom or Hanukkah bulletin boards
- How Much Oil Would You Need? lesson plan (great for holiday STEM projects or science lessons for Hanukkah)
- Learn All About Judaism
- Make Hanukkah interactive and Design your own Dreidel
- Do Hanukkah crafts / Hanukkah printable crafts
- Make a Macaroni Menorah! while discussing Hanukkah
- Create edible Dreidels craft
- Make an oil lantern
- Practice probability by spinning Dreidels with Hanukkah math worksheets
- Play online Hanukkah games, songs, and more for kids
- Watch Hanukkah video for students (Hanukkah history video)
Do you have ideas for the best Hanukkah activities for kids? Let us know and we’ll add them to our learning list!
Children’s Books About Hanukkah
Read children’s books about Hanukkah (great for teaching Hanukkah to preschoolers!)
. Use these books to go along with your list of Hanukkah activities:
Learn About More Winter Holidays For Kids
Kwanzaa Crafts And Activities For Children
- Sing Kwanzaa children’s songs
- Learn about the 7 principles of Kwanzaa for kids
- Make Kwanzaa cookies or a traditional Kwanzaa dish
- Discuss the Kwanzaa symbols and meanings
- Do a kwanzaa mkeka paper mat craft
- Make a DIY Kwanzaa Kinara
- Play a game with Kwanzaa kid friendly facts (Kwanzaa trivia) to help them better understand this holiday and the Kwanza definition (play Kwanzaa bingo as a fun Kwanzaa quiz!)
GET KWANZAA LESSONS AND KIDS ACTIVITIES
Happy Hanukkah!
Enjoy your Hanukkah celebration for the holiday season!
