Challah Bread Making and Celebrating Shabbat

This term, Year 1 enjoyed a hands-on RE lesson as we learned about challah bread and why it is important in the Jewish faith.

We worked together to add and mix the ingredients to make our own challah dough. However, there was a twist! We left out one secret ingredient and challenged the children to work out what was missing. After lots of thoughtful guesses, we revealed that the missing ingredient was sugar.

We talked about how sugar gives challah its slightly sweet flavour and why this makes it different from many other types of bread. The children enjoyed discussing their ideas and learning more about the traditions and customs linked to challah.

The lesson was a fantastic way to bring our RE learning to life. Everyone enjoyed getting involved, working together and discovering something new through a practical activity.

To continue our learning, Year 1 held their very own Shabbat party in the classroom.

The children came to school wearing their own special clothes, helping to make the celebration feel extra special. We listened to traditional Jewish music and enjoyed tasting some of the foods that are often eaten as part of Shabbat. The children tried challah bread, chicken soup, crackers and apples dipped in honey, before finishing with a cup of grape juice.

Throughout the celebration, we talked about why these foods are important and how Jewish families come together to welcome Shabbat. It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience some of the traditions they had been learning about in RE.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and showed great curiosity and respect as they explored another faith and its customs. It was a memorable way to bring our learning to life.