Purim is just around the corner! At Beit Issie Shapiro we are already getting in the spirit, with fun decorations popping up everywhere and hamentaschen for sale in the kiosk.

There are many ways to incorporate the iPad into Purim lessons and festivities, from helping the children to learn about the holiday to allowing them to participate in the many holiday customs.  Here are a few of our ideas.

Explain Everything
One of our kindergarten teachers created a wonderful how-to-video using the app Explain Everything, teaching the children how to create a clown, putting the parts of his face and body in the right places.  The app can be played together in circle time and the group can even create a video together as they use the game.

Dressing up is one of the favorite Purim activities and there are many great photo apps out there that allow you to “dress up” your photos and make some funny characters.

Mojo Masks (iTunes)
Mojo Masks adds face makeup to your photo.  The makeup fits perfectly on the face in the photo and stays on the face as the face moves, allowing you to even record short videos.  The free version includes a few fun samples but there are many in-app purchases to choose from.

Classroom tip: If you have access to an Apple TV, you can create an album of funny photos and have the kids enjoy a slideshow.  They can even try to guess who is hiding under all those fun stickers. Make sure to take a screenshot of the accessory page in each app to help create symbols or choice boards for children that need some extra help to choose what they would like on their photo.

Doodle Bomb – InstaBlend(iTunes)
This app is a classic photo editing app with many cartoon accessories to choose from.

In all of these apps the photos can be saved and printed.  Be sure to make funny photos of the staff as well and hang the photos around the class.  It’s a great opportunity to encourage conversation and laughter amongst the children. The photos can also be used in other apps creating fun “guess who?” type games.

Be sure to check out the galleries in Jigzi and Bitsboard, there are sure to be many Purim activities already waiting to play.

We also suggest checking out the Jewish Interactive website. It has some great activities for Purim including using apps to create talking Purim cards.  One of the ideas includes using Chatterpix, an app that allows you to turn any photo into a talking image. Once you create a funny photo with a photo editing app, like the ones mentioned above, you can import that photo from the gallery into Chatterpix and create a talking card.  You can also import images from the web, creating talking hamentaschen or other funny things.

Wishing everyone a Happy Purim!

Jewish Interactive has started working closely with the experts at Beit Issie Shapiro to ensure that our future apps will be made as accessible as possible to children with disabilities.