Ten ways to have fun with festival tech
When we said “Next year in Jerusalem” at last year’s Seder, I don’t think any of us ever meant it as much as we did that night. Did any of us dream we would still be in lock down for a second year’s Sedarim?
It is clear most of us will still be relying on technology to get through this Pesach, and although we are Zoomed out and desperate for human interaction, we might as well make the most of it. I’ve gathered some of my favourite ideas and projects that may inspire your family this holiday.
1. FAMILY HAGGADAH
Challenge your family to create their own Haggadah. There are many sites where you can do this with but my favourites are haggadot.com (best for age 10-plus) and jistudio.net (best for age five to ten). Both are free, and contain Haggadah templates that can be printed or used online. You could even include family photos and use the Ji Studio tool to add backgrounds of the pyramids or Pesach scenes from the hundreds of graphics and backgrounds in the site.
2. PESACH GAME
There are thousands of Pesach backgrounds and images on jitap.net where you can design and create games and quizzes, with no coding skills needed. All that is required is a login and the “create” section is free to use.
3. ZOOM BACKGROUND
If you will be Zooming with family and friends over the Pesach holiday, you can make it more engaging by using Pesach backgrounds. There are hundreds of Pesach backgrounds and graphics on Ji Tap, or see everydayjewishmom.com
4. INTERACTIVE ZOOMING
Get into costume and use the Zoom spotlight function to spotlight a character for each part of the story, or tell each Zoom participant to be ready to read or speak when spotlit by the host. Using the annotate tools, ask children to draw around objects on the screen or highlight an item on a Seder plate. Use the inbuilt Zoom poll button to create a Pesach quiz for the family.
Singing Pesach songs while Zooming loved ones and recording them on gallery view using the Zoom record feature is a great way to bring joy to people. You can create a Maccabeatsstyle fun video that can then be shared on family WhatsApp groups before the holiday or during the week.
5. SEDER SONGS WITH A GRANDPARENT
Using the share screen function on Zoom, jitap.net has more than 50 Pesach games and over 15,000 Jewish and Hebrew games the family can interact with and play. Many grandparents are using the combination of the Ji Tap platform and Zoom to have fun, learning sessions with their grandchildren — look at the Pesach Songs course to brush up on that Mah Nishtanah.
6. PARENT-FREE DIGITAL LEARNING
During the pre-Pesach madness, parents have been looking for guiltfree screen time while they can get some time out. Ji Bytes (bytes.jikids. org) has been specifically designed by expert teachers for an hourlong session for children age four to ten with online and offline activities and crafts for Pesach, needing minimum adult participation. There are 12 sessions, including cooking, arts and crafts and digital creation activities, and it’s all free. (Best used on a desktop or laptop.)
7. SPICE UP THAT WALK
Bored of going on walks to parks? During the week of Pesach, we want to get out the house and off the screens for a bit. Why not download an online scavenger hunt like thesecret.city? These have soared in popularity and I recommend the ones that take you around a city and give you clues to the next location via texts on your phone. They do cost, but really are great fun and can be completed safely and within legal restrictions.
8. PHOTO COMPETITIONS
Transform hikes or days of boredom with a photo challenge. There are so many photo apps out there. While on a hike, challenge kids to a “best landscape photo” — which they can edit when they get home to make it really special, inspiring budding young photographers while getting them into the fresh air.
9. ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN OF ALL NEEDS
Our friends at Beit Issie Shapiro, the leading experts of technology for people with disabilities, have a wide range of inclusive apps and Pesach content on their website: beitissie.org.il/tech/appsdigital-ideas-Pesach-fun/
10. ONLINE COOKATHONS
There are many chefs offering Zoom cooking sessions and you can book a session for kids as a great Pesach activity. Or devise your own with a friend and share a charoset recipe over FaceTime.
Inspire kids to cook by taking photos at each stage of the process, and then afterwards use an iMovie template to select your photos and instantly create a professional-looking video of the experience, for them to share. It adds a whole new dimension and becomes a memory to treasure and to look back on next year, when hopefully we will all be at a Seder together, truly celebrating our freedom.