There are many ways to introduce and celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah with children of all ages. 

Here are some stories for our Apples & Honey collection to share, and also some free, ready-to-go Sukkot and Simchat Torah lessons and activities for various ages that make good use of your limited time and their limited attention span. 

Storybooks 

Creation Colors 
Written by Ann D. Koffsky

Holiday(s): Simchat Torah, Shabbat
Ages: 3-7
Pages: 24

Day by day, God poured, planted and created the colors of the world in this vibrant Creation story.

Click here to download free coloring pages inspired by Ann D. Koffsky’s Creation Colors.

Sky-High Sukkah
Written by Rachel Ornstein Packer
Illustrated by Deborah Zemke

Holiday: Sukkot
Ages: 3-7
Pages: 32

A beautiful Sukkot picture book about friendship and community. With some help from the neighbors, Leah and her friend Ari find a way to have their own sukkah — on the roof of their city apartment building.

How It’s Made: Torah Scroll
Written by Allison Ofanansky
Illustrated by Eliyahu Alpern

Holiday(s): Simchat Torah, Shabbat
Ages: 5-8
Pages: 32

Visit the people who make Torah scrolls and decorations. Now available for a limited time in digital turn-page format so you can share it with your screen on students.

Find the free turn-page version here.Username: Torah Password: Scroll

Starlight Soup: A Sukkot Story

Starlight Soup: A Sukkot Story 
Written by Elana Rubinstein
Illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar

Holiday: Sukkot
Ages: 7-10
Pages: 118

Saralee Siegel is back! A magical chapter book about a girl who loves to cook for the family's restaurant. When something goes wrong, Saralee will need all her powers—and her friends—to avoid disaster. 

Lessons and Activities

Grades K-2 

Simchat Torah begins the evening of September 28, 2021.

Peek behind the scenes of how a Torah scroll is actually made. The free pages here take a close look at the work of the sofer (person who writes a Torah scroll) and the process such scribes use in their workshops in Israel and the United States to create Torahs.  

Click here for more information and another lesson idea. 

 

 

Grades 3-6 

For rich Sukkot learning, explore the shaking of the lulav and etrog as a idea that God is all around us. 

Here's a lesson from Make, Create, Celebrate: Jewish Holidays through Art that digs into this concept, as well as the how nature is an integral part of Sukkot. Have students go on a nature walk, gather natural materials, and create a piece of art inspired by the sukkah in order to understand the concept of impermanence.

Download the Sukkot lesson here, and the student material here. 

 

 

 

 

Grades 7 and up 

When we study Torah, we learn how to do our part to improve the world through gemilut chasadim, acts of loving-kindness. Simchat Torah is, of course, the holiday that marks the start and end of the yearly Torah cycle. 

Here's a simple lesson from Rediscovering the Jewish Holidays  that explores the rituals of Simchat Torah, the Torah's connection to acts of loving-kindness, and the idea of Torah as a Tree of Life. 

Download the Simchat Torah lesson here, and the student material here.  

 

 

 

 

 

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