Tu B'Shvat חַג ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט
The Seven Species — including the olive whose oil burned for eight days.
See the Tu B'Shvat pack →
The Festival of Lights · early elementary Judaic Studies
Chanukah lesson pack חַג חֲנֻכָּה
Eight nights of light, eight nights of joy — taught the way early elementary kids actually learn. 14 slides, all 3 brachot in vowelized Hebrew, miracle-first storytelling, and a religious-freedom framing of the Greek conflict that's gentle enough for young learners.
Ages 5–9 · K–3
14 slides + 7 worksheets
Digital download
What's inside
Everything you need to teach Chanukah in 30 minutes (or a half day).
- English presentation deck — 14 slides, 16:9, with a full speaker script in the notes.
- Hebrew vowelized deck — same 14 slides in Hebrew with full nikud.
- Worksheet pack — 7 printable pages: color the chanukiah, trace vocabulary, trace dreidel letters, count & circle, draw, word match, reflection.
- Teacher prep PDF — 14 pages; slide image on top, full Hebrew speaker notes below.
- Parent guide — 11 pages including 1-day & 8-night lesson plans, Hebrew pronunciation help, the 3 brachot transliterated, calendar context, FAQ.
- Scope & sequence — single-page curriculum overview.
The 3 brachot — fully included
Slide 10 of the Hebrew deck shows all three Chanukah blessings in full nikud, with the night-1-only Shehecheyanu clearly marked. Page 7 of the parent guide adds transliteration and pronunciation:
- L'hadlik ner shel Chanukah — the lighting blessing (every night)
- She'asa nissim la'avoteinu — the miracle blessing (every night)
- Shehecheyanu — the new-thing blessing (first night only)
The arc
Miracle-first storytelling, slide by slide.
We open with joy — eight nights, candles, light — then gently fill in the harder pieces. The Greek conflict is framed as religious freedom (no battles), the Maccabees come home, the little jug of oil burns for eight days, and Jewish families today light a chanukiah in every window.
Slides 1–7 · the story
- Title — Chag Chanukah Sameach
- What is Chanukah? — eight nights of candles
- The chanukiah — 9 spots, the shamash, chanukiah vs. menorah
- The Beit HaMikdash, long ago
- A hard time — religious freedom framing, no battles
- The Maccabees come home
- The little jug of oil
Slides 8–14 · the celebration
- The eight-day miracle
- Lighting the chanukiah today
- The 3 brachot (with Shehecheyanu marked night-1)
- Latkes & sufganiyot — foods cooked in oil
- Dreidel & gelt — Nes Gadol Haya Sham (with Israel "Po" note)
- Songs — Maoz Tzur, Sevivon
- Chag Chanukah Sameach!
Why parents love it
Built for early elementary learners (K–3, ages 5–9). Written for the parent teaching them.
No Hebrew required
Every Hebrew word transliterated. Every speaker note in English. Page 7 of the parent guide has a pronunciation cheat sheet for every Hebrew word in the pack.
Gentle history
The Greek king didn't want Jews to learn Torah — that's our framing of the conflict. No battles, no weapons. Just courage to keep being Jewish.
One big idea per slide
Never two concepts at once. Big readable type, lots of pictures, plenty of white space. Designed for the attention span of a young learner.
FAQ
Questions parents ask about the Chanukah pack.
Does the pack teach all three Chanukah brachot?
Yes — slide 10 of the Hebrew deck shows all three blessings in full nikud, with Shehecheyanu clearly marked as said only on the first night. The parent guide (page 7) adds transliteration and pronunciation.
Is the Greek conflict shown in a violent way?
No. We frame the conflict as religious freedom — "the king did not want Jews to learn Torah or do mitzvot" — never as battles or weapons. Age-appropriate for early elementary learners (K–3, ages 5–9).
What's the difference between a menorah and a chanukiah?
A menorah has 7 branches — the one that stood in the Beit HaMikdash. A chanukiah has 9 spots (8 candles + 1 shamash, the helper) and is what we light at home for Chanukah. Slide 3 of the deck explains this gently.
Are the dreidel letters covered?
Yes — slide 12 covers Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin and what each one stands for (Nes Gadol Haya Sham — "A great miracle happened there"). The slide also includes a callout that in Israel the Shin becomes Pey (Po = here). Worksheet page 4 lets your child trace each letter.
Is this Chanukah or Hanukkah?
Both spellings refer to the same holiday — חֲנֻכָּה in Hebrew. We use "Chanukah" in the lesson; you can use whichever spelling your family prefers.
Can I teach this across all 8 nights?
Yes. The parent guide includes an 8-night lesson plan — a few slides per night, designed to be your bedtime story leading up to candle lighting. By night 8 your child will know the whole story.
Pairs beautifully with
Other packs in the Jewish Calendar Series.
Chanukah and Tu B'Shvat both center on oil — the same olive oil that fueled the miracle of the menorah is the same oil whose tree is one of the seven species. Buy them together and your child sees the connection.
Yom HaAtzmaut יוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת
The story of coming home to Israel — the modern continuation of the Maccabees' story.
See the Yom HaAtzmaut pack →
Ready to teach it?
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