11 Rosh Hashanah Activities To Do at Home With Kids

September feels like a refresh for most families. The weather cools down and kids head back to school. For Jewish families, there is even more reason to take time to be mindful about the year ahead since the holiday Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.

There are many ways to get kids feeling the holiday spirit. Shevy Vigler, the founder and director of Alef Bet Preschool on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the mother of 8 children including 3-year-old triplets, shares fun ways you can celebrate with your kids and bond at the same time.

Honey Sensory Bags

Honey is a symbol of the holiday because it represents a sweet New Year. "Fill double Ziploc bags with honey, then tape the top of the bag," explains Vigler. "Kids can write on the bags and you can also add drops of food coloring to each one to create different colors. It's a great sensory activity."

Honey Jars

Decorate mason jars in the spirit of Rosh Hashanah with paper, beads, and markers. Then fill them with honey!

Honeycomb Bubble Wrap

If you dip bubble wrap in yellow paint, it looks like a honeycomb!

Shana Tova Cards

It's customary to send cards out to family and friends wishing them a sweet new year. Let kids get involved and help decorate the cards with you.

Count Pomegranate Seeds

Because pomegranates have so many seeds, we eat them in the hopes of having a year filled with as many merits. It can be fun to get kids involved with them. Have them count the seeds as they eat them for a sweet snack!

Bake Cookies in Holiday Shapes

You can bake cookies of any kind or stick to the honey flavor. Shaping them with special cookie cutters of a shofar—a ram's horn that we blow as an awakening for the new year—an apple, or a honey jar adds a really fun touch.

Bake Honey Cake

Honey cake is also a staple dessert this time of year. You can bake it in a mason jar which also makes a great gift to give out to family and friends.

Bake Round Challahs

Have kids help decorate with raisins or chocolate chips inside or load it with fun, sweet toppings.

Make Applesauce

Apples also represent sweetness for the year ahead. If you wind up with lots of apples, get the kids involved in making applesauce! They'll feel even more connected to the spirit of the day.

Decorate the House With Apples and Décor

Of course, decorations always make things look more festive. You can have kids make art for the walls and place cards for the festive dinner table.

Read Books and Sing Songs About Rosh Hashanah

Vigler also suggests going to the library to take out books about Rosh Hashanah to read during the holiday. Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah by Sylvia A. Rouss and It's Shofar Time by Latifa Berry Kropf are favorites in her house. You can also find holiday music by searching for "Rosh Hashana playlist for kids" on Spotify.