Seven weeks after Passover ends, it’s time to celebrate Shavuot. This holiday marks the biblical story of receiving the Ten Commandments and the Torah at Mt. Sinai. While many families don’t regularly celebrate Shavuot, it’s a holiday that’s totally made for kids—a perfect excuse for sleepovers, flower picking, ice cream socials, and lots of other fun activities.

Although Shavuot was originally a harvest holiday, today people celebrate the day by studying the Torah, staying up all night, crafting paper cut-outs, eating local foods, and of course, indulging in cheesecake and blintzes. The tie-in to the Torah and Ten Commandments also make Shavuot a perfect opportunity to reinforce so many of the values that parents are already imparting to their children: telling the truth, honoring others, and sharing.

As many PJ readers learn through the stories told in our holiday-related Jewish children’s books, the Jewish holiday of Shavuot has roots both in agriculture and religion. While reading together as a family is certainly a good way to introduce young readers to Shavuot, families can encourage further Jewish-agricultural connections by introducing related artful (and tasty!) holiday projects