. . . No that’s not the set-up for a joke! This strange beginning was the inciting incident of an impromptu puppet drama acted out by the Shorashim learners on Tuesday. Using toilet-roll trees we’d made earlier in our Tu b’Shevat mini-theme, and Boker/Leyla (Morning/Evening) puppets from our Shema exploration (the teddy bear and toothbrush in particular) and a selection of our other Jewish toys (like the kid-sized kiddush cup), the children autonomously transformed the top shelf of the sheet-covered mitbach (kitchen) into a forest stage.
The children set the stage for their puppet drama
The puppet show they performed was a wild and woolly story full of threads and details relating to many of the different Jewish themes we’ve explored in Shorashim this year. Trees said the Shema, the teddy bear tried to convince his toothbrush and comb friends to go on a Rosh Hashanah picnic, Shabat was mentioned, and Hanukah was too. It was fascinating to see the way different Jewish concepts and celebrations combined together to form one very silly, joyous group-told story.
A Glimpse of the Puppet Show Performance
