What does Miriam has to do with sibling rivalry?!

Many things come to mind when I think of Moses older sister Miriam. A strong woman, a musician, a prophet, a poet and I am sure there are more I am missing. There is this basic virtue in Miriam that I have always taken for granted, Ori’s teacher has pointed it out to me the other week and I wanted to share it with you.
Miriam is a responsible and caring older sister. A virtue we tend to take for granted not only in Miriam but also in our own family relations, yet sibling rivalry is something we try to resolve almost on daily bases.

Miriam kept on following Moses in his little basket without loosing track of him, making sure she knew where he ended up and who drew him from the water.

If sibling rivalry is an issue in your house, you may use Miriam as an example for caring relations between siblings.
A great way to tell the story is by acting it with puppets.
You may also build a little scene such as the one Ori did in her school, with Miriam made out of a spoon, hiding in a toilette paper roll decorated as reeds, and little baby Moses in his basket.  Tell your kids the story; emphasize Miriam’s care for Moses and her acting out as a responsible sister.
Try and have a conversation with your child of how does he/she care for their siblings, give he/she examples from your sibling relations of how you care for each other. (You don’t have to tell them how you have released your brother from jail, although it does have a FREEDOM theme that works great with Passover…. try and keep it down to stories they can understand and relate to…)

This is what Ori made in her school which I thought was a great play tool that could help get the message across:



You will need:
Cardboard (for base
Blue paint
toilette paper roll
green tissue paper or white paper colored in green (for reeds)
plastic spoon or a popsicle stick
a small baby toy
egg carton or a small basket
pebbles
pipe cleaners
fabric scrap (for Miriam’s dress)
glue
scissors
drawing tools

How to:
Phase 1: The base

1. Paint the cardboard base in blue (mimicking the Nile river)
2. Paint the paper roll in shades of brown
3. Glue some green paper strips around the paper roll, trying to make it look like reeds
4. Glue the paper roll onto the cardboard base
5. Glue some pebbles on to the cardboard base
6. Set aside to dry

Phase 2: Miriam

1. Turn the spoon or Popsicle stick into Miriam,
2. Draw a face, add a dress using paper or a fabric scrap and some pipe cleaners, add some hair using paper or yarn
3. Set aside to dry

Phase 3: Moses

1. Turn egg carton cup into a basket by painting it in shades of brown
2. Glue some green paper strips around the paper roll, trying to make it look like reeds
3. Line the basket with some fabric (so baby Moses will be comfortable)
4. Place baby Moses in his basket. (if you dont have a small doll, you may also draw a baby on a paper, or mold one using modeling clay etc. use your creativity.
5. You may glue the basket onto the base

When done, place Miriam in the toilet roll, as if she is hiding in the reeds looking after Moses.

Note:
For this craft project I don't have process pictures like I usually do. I hope the image of Ori's project from school will be clear enough. I trust you will use your creativity in helping your child construct the scene. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I do hope to get some pictures from you.

If you want to read more about sibling rivalry, my friend Emily has some great input on her fantastic blog - child perspective


Happy Passover
tali