Parshat Pinchas and Coral Reef Helpers

We continued discussing marine life with a focus on coral reef. 

Here is our hand print ocean life poster:

The idea for the multicolored hand print fish came from http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2011/07/ocean-theme-easy-handprint-fish.html

 

To make this craft, 'A' decided to cut coral reef out of construction paper. So she did. She kept cutting and cutting and cutting. She was so proud of all the little squares she made. This was perfect since we just learned from the book below that there are hard and soft corals.So her squares were the hard coral and her fingerprints were the soft coral.

This book gave a great simple explanation on all the important relationships that keep the coral reef alive and healthy.

If any one is interested, here is a mini lesson on some of the symbiotic relationships that take place in a coral reef:

1. Cleaner shrimp use their claws to pick stuff off the fish's body. The fish gets a good cleaning and the shrimp enjoys a meal of fish trash.

2. The clownfish's bright colors reel in fish food for the anemone and the anemone protects the clownfish since clownfish are the only fish that are immune to the poison of sea anemone.

I then connected the idea of coral reef helpers with the story of the daughters of Zelophehad. The daughter of Zelophehad needed help to make their case that they should be allowed to inherit their father's land. They sought the help of Moses and through his aid, they were able to gain legal rights to the land.

We discussed how important it is to help others in all different types of scenarios.With older kids, this story is a perfect way to lead into a conversation on women's rights.

We then watched the video “Parshat Pinchas: Women Standing up for their Rights in the Bible” to provide a visual explanation of this portion of the Parasha. I skipped the beginning portion of the clip when I showed it to the girls:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UhZoihnMII0

This was followed by a paper doll chain craft to depict the daughters. The girls didn't really feel like decorating. But, it's still a physical item that will be brought to the Shabbat table to help springboard a conversation about the parasha.