Challah Crumbs recommends My Menorah

With Chanuka nearly here, chances are you have loaded up on all the gifts you are going to need this holiday season. Let me add one more to your baskets: My Menorah app, a new Chanuka app from the folks who brought us Whack-A-Haman and Shabbat Interactive. Jewish Interactive has created a new free Chanuka app for children ages 3-5 years old.

I have spent my fair share of time trying to cajole my iPhone out of my children’s hands so I am particularly pleased to replace Subway Surfer with a new app. My Menorah has a couple of strong selling points. Visually, the app keeps up with anything on the market today. It is vibrant and the animation is great. Children are asked to light the Chanuka menorah and are taught colors and numbers in both Hebrew and English. It is unusual to have bilingual features so I appreciated the Hebrew/English mash ups. They also have a guide for parents focusing on different values for each day of the holiday.

The app is narrated by an adorable menorah that leads kids through the candle-lighting experience. Children can spin a dreidel, light the menorah, and recite the brachot. Then they can open their presents (I was pretty happy to receive an accordion as one of my virtual gifts).

With plenty of family time on its way, this app is a great way to prepare your young kids for the excitement of candle lighting. It is also a creative and dynamic tool to reinforce the messages of Chanuka.