The purposes of the children?s module include the following (in order of priority):

1. To occupy the pre bar- and bat-mitzvah children so that their parents are able to fully participate in the adult program.
2. To provide the children with an entertaining experience.
3. To teach the children something about Sukkot and a contemporary agricultural theme (organics or GE foods).

Plan

Before beginning:

1. Choose a theme (organics or GE foods). These themes coincides with adult the programming.
2. If you choose GE foods, prepare pictures of tomato, shrimp, soybean, and peanut. About 3 sets.
3. Arrive early and set up.
4. Place items for the first activity (pageant) in a different place from those for the second activity (crafts).
5. Assess the number of children, and their ages, to be somewhat prepared for the format of the skit.

Genetically Engineered Food Theme

Part 1: GE Food Pageant

1. Exchange names with everyone (in a circle?)
2. Briefly explain the issue of genetically engineered (GE) foods, at a level appropriate to the age of the children attending. It means scientists take a tiny piece of one animal or plant and put into another. The scientist ends up with a plant or animal that has characteristics of both. This takes place on a genetic level (very small). The changes can be very small and we may not be able to see the difference.
   Some possible questions include:
   • Ask what their favorite fruits/vegetables/meats/dairy products are
   • ?Who knows where the fruits/veggies/meat/milk in the store come from?
   • ?What are some problems that can happen at farms to damage food??
   • Explain some ways the foods are being genetically modified, and some reasons for this practice. Also explain some concerns people have. This binder has articles on GE foods for your reference.
3. Ask for volunteers to read, hold pictures and act out the skit.
4. Practice the pageant.

Pick four plants and animals (for example, peanut, shrimp, soy bean, tomato)

Let four kids represent these items plus 2 kids play scientists

Step 1: Tomato + Shrimp

Tomato: "I'm a tomato. I don't like the cold."

Shrimp: "I'm a shrimp. I'm treif, but I don't mind the cold."

Scientist: "I'm going to create a GE food"

Tomato and Shrimp hold hands

Tomato: "I still look and taste like a tomato, but now I can stay out in the cold."

Scientist: "Would you eat this GE food?? (to audience)

Step 2: Soy Bean + Peanut

Soy Bean: "I'm a soy bean. People eat tofu, which is made from me."

Peanut: "I'm a peanut. Some people are really allergic to me."

Scientist: "I'm going to create a GE food."

Soy Bean and Peanut join hands.

Soy Bean: "I still look and taste and like a soy bean. People eat tofu, which is made from me. But now some people are allergic to me."

Scientist: "Would you eat this GE food?" (to audience)

• Practice play several times
• Focus on speaking volume, timing of illustrations, facing ?audience?

Part 2: GE Food Crafts Activity

Connect the crafts activity to Sukkot by discussing why people decorate Sukkoth with fruits and veggies

Explain that students will have a choice of activities.

Choice A: GE Food Drawing

Using the provided drawing materials, create a hybrid food product that combines a plant with an animal. Replica fruits and pictures of animals can be provided to help the children visualize their creations. Ask the kids to combine these and any other living thing that they can think of into a GE food. Stress that in the real world, scientists can make very slight changes in plants and animals with genetic engineering. But for the purpose of this activity, we?re going to have fun and exaggerate. For older kids, we can explain that the combination is happening at the genetic-level, so a fish may still look like a fish, but behave a little like a potato. How would it taste? How would it behave? What's possible?

Then in the drawing ask, "What might be good or bad about making this GE food?

Choice B: GE Food Models

Children use the provided play-dough to create the above. This activity can follow the drawing activity too.

Choice C: Mini-Sukkah Building

Kids who aren?t interested in the GE food activity can use the provided recycled materials to create a sukkah. They can keep the finished Sukkoth when they?re done. They can also work with a partner if they can agree beforehand who will keep the finished sukkah.
[You should decide in advance if you want to provide this option, as it?s very messy and is probably not worth the effort for only one child, unless you have helpers.]

Leave time for a good cleanup!

Part 1: Apple Pageant

Children who can read the following script can do so. Make copies of this script before hand. If there are many kids, divide the speaking parts.
Kids can show the pictures of apples, etc. If there are many participants, each can hold one picture. If there are only one or two kids, they can hold several pictures and show the appropriate one as the narrators say it.
The youngest children can ?act out? the life cycle of the apple as it is described by the narrator?s at the beginning.
Script is in bold.

For Part 1
: Apples for everyone, cakes, juice, etc., pictures for appropriate apples and also 1 crab picture