Mini Tu B’Shvat Terrarium

Something a little different for Tu B’Shvat this year!

Our theme for our kids program is “Tu B’Shvat Fruit Ninja”….a fun take on the popular game “Fruit Ninja”.

Now, I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen the game or played it, but lets just say it was a ‘middle of the night, I can’t sleep, brainstorm!’ and a fun way to have kids come and celebrate Tu B’ Shvat.

So, besides eating the Shiva Minim and learning about Tu’ B’Shvat, we will make these adorable, long lasting terrariums, and play a super fun “Tu B’Shvat Fruit Ninja Game!”

The terrariums are easy to make and a great way to talk about the different components of a tree and how we relate to trees. (Ki Ha Adam Eitz Hasadeh)….roots, foundation, etc.

This is a project that will be enjoyed over and over again, and can be kept in the child’s room, on the table, counter or window sill….it’s message is everlasting and so will be the memories of the fun time spent at your program!

All you need is:

• An Acrylic Jar (I’d avoid using glass:)…click here to see what I used (3 oz jar)
• Mini Wood rounds (click here to purchase)
• Small Pebbles (click here to purchase)
• Dried moss (click here to purchase)
• Moss covered branches (click here to purchase)
• Vellum for tag (or simply write or print on any kind of paper, brown craft paper would look great too!) (vellum can be found in craft stores like Michaels and works well in laser printers)

Fruit Ninja Tu B’Shvat Game:

Take orange/yellow/green/purple/red balloons (water balloon size), and before blowing them up place a paper inside balloon of the shiva minim as well as other random fruits (see documents below). The balloons are colored similar to fruits played on the Fruit Ninja game, so feel free to stick some leaves, stems etc. on the top of the balloons to make them look more like fruit. (use colored paper and regular tape or glue dots for this.)

Once balloons have papers inside (you can fold them small to fit), carefully adhere them to a board, a wall, and easel, using glue dots or tape.

(Depending on how many kids you have, you will need to adjust quantity of balloons. You will want to have a set of balloons filled with the shiva minim per team, and then add as many regular ‘fruit’ balloons as you wish.)

Divide the children into 2 teams. Each child will have a turn to come up (alternating teams). The child will choose a balloon to ‘cut’ using a sword (like in the real game). The sword can be made from cardboard, and you can simply stick a bobby pin on the end to ‘help cut’ the ‘fruit’ (keep the ‘sword’ short, about 6 inches long) .  If you do not wish to use a sword, or simply wish to play this game with no connection to Fruit Ninja, then you can use anything with a pointy edge to ‘pop’ the balloons.

Once their balloon is popped they open up their paper and bring it back to their team to place on the Tu B’Shvat board.

Whichever team gets the shiva minim on their board completed first, wins!

HAVE FUN!

Fruit Ninja Board for Game Fruit Ninja Board for Game

Fruit Ninja Fruits Fruit Ninja Fruits

Tu Bshvat fruits Tu Bshvat fruits