Making Tu B’Shevat Greeting Cards

(For ages 6-10)

Tu B’Shvat Discussion and Introduction to Activity

Discuss Tu B’Shvat as the “New Year for the Trees” (see "What is Tu b'Shevat?" for a simple explanation) and how Hashem has given us all of the very useful and beautiful things in nature (i.e. acorns for squirrels to eat, fallen leaves for kids to play with, melting snow from which to get water). Ask children to think about what they appreciate in nature and write their ideas on a chalk board, white board, or poster board.

Tell the children that they will be creating Tu B’Shvat greeting cards for someone special (i.e. grandparents, an elderly person in a Jewish nursing home, friend, parents, etc.).

Creation of the Card

Fold recycled card stock in half for the card and distribute to children.

Front of Card: Decoration

The following are options for the front decoration of the greeting card:

1. If the weather permits, go on a “Nature Walk” outdoors and have the children find beautiful and interesting (small) things in nature (i.e. different shaped leaves, pine needles, berries, etc.) to make a collage for the front of the greeting card. Alternatively, bring some items in nature into the classroom for the children to select for their collage.

2. Crayon Leaf Rubbings (from Earth911.com)

A. Take a leaf and place it vein side up on a table.

B. Place a piece of paper over the leaf.

C. Using the side of a peeled crayon, rub the crayon over the paper where the leaf is until the leaf edge, stem and veins appear. You will need to experiment with how hard to rub the crayon over the leaf to get a good print—too light and the features of the leaf may not show up, too hard and the features will be lost in all the crayon wax.

D. Cut out the rubbing and glue it on the front of the folded card stock.

3. Provide old magazines (preferable nature-related ones such as National Geographic) and ask the children to cut out beautiful pictures of nature and possibly nature words or phrases they find (i.e. tree, sun, save the earth) and make a collage using these cut-outs by gluing them to the front of the card. Instruct children to arrange their collage first before gluing.

Alternatively or in addition, children can use the nature pictures on the Canfei Nesharim website (see Nature Images) in their collage. Either print out the Nature Images on white paper for children to cut out and glue onto the front of the card or use 81/2 x 11 Avery #5165 white label paper (one big label) for children to cut out and stick onto the front of the card.

4. Draw or paint nature pictures after a “Nature Walk” or looking at nature books or magazines for inspiration. Cut out these pictures and glue them to the front of the card or draw/paint them directly on the front of folded recycled card stock.

Inside Left of Card (Centered): Jewish Nature Quotes

Read over the nature themed Biblical quotes with the children. Help them to understand the pasukim and what sources they are taken from. Perhaps have the children read aloud from the original source. Ask the children to find nature images in the pasukim. Children select Jewish quotes that they like and that match with their collage. Then, they cut out the printed quotes or copy them onto the inside left of their card.

Inside Right of Card (Centered): Message

On the inside of the card, children address the cards to their special person and sign it from themselves with perhaps a personal note to the receiver (i.e. Happy Tu B’Shvat or Thank you, Hashem for nature, etc.)

“Using Canfei Nesharim’s Materials this Tu b'Shevat? Please fill out a simple form to tell us about your participation, and (if you choose) your community will be listed on our partners list.”

Thanks to Stephanie Frumkin for preparing this program for Canfei Nesharim.

This content originated at Canfei Nesharim.org.

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