Lesson Theme: Hanukkah traditions: lighting the menorah
Hanukkah falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev (late November-December), when the days are shortest. Lighting the Hanukkah menorah (in Hebrew, a hanukkiah) for each of the eight nights of the holiday reminds us of the Maccabees’ miraculous victory as they stood up like candles against the darkness of oppression.
In the books suggested below, each of the families involved show us the coziness of Hanukkah with plenty of warm moments – eating fried foods as a reminder of the miracle of the oil (latkes, anyone?), playing dreidel, and singing songs.
Learn at home with your preschooler using the following suggestions:
Read
Pick one of these sweet books, then use the reading prompts, activity ideas, and guided activities below to learn at home together.
While You Read
We can learn about Hanukkah rituals by looking closely at the characters in each book. We see friends playing dreidel and eating oily foods which are very fun customs, but we also see the characters lighting a Hanukkah menorah (hanukkiah in Hebrew). This is a special ritual and the most important part of the holiday. It’s why Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights.
We can see that as characters light their menorah, they put the candles in starting from the right. But don’t be fooled! As you add an additional candle for each night of the holiday, always light the newest one first, lighting from left to right. They also use the shamash – the helper candle – to light all the other candles. The shamash is kept separate in some way, often sitting higher than the other candles. With supervision, young children can help place candles and watch as grownups light the menorah.
- What other lights do we see during Hanukkah? Street lights? Stars in the sky? Talk about it.
- What are things that you can do year round to help light up someone’s day?
- The shamash helps light all of the other candles – how can we each be a helper every day?
Hands-On Learning
Make a Shiny Menorah
Make an Air Dry Clay Menorah
Roll Up Your Own Beeswax Candles (instructions follow for this great fine-motor activity).
You will need:
- Sheets of beeswax
- Long pieces of candle wick
- Scissors to trim the wax sheets and wick
To make the “candle”:
- Warm a piece of the beeswax in your hands – if the sheet is too large, cut it down to a small square.
- Place a wick in the center
- Roll up the sheet around the wick and press the seams together.
- Done!
More
Easy Hanukkah Crafts to Make With Things From Around the House
The Hanukkah Story (For Kids)
The Easy Hanukkah Guide: Recipes, Gifts and Activities For Each Night
November 21, 2025