Escape Room

My co-teacher and I are always looking for new and creative ways to spice up our lessons, but after a full day with 3-4 year-olds, we’re too tired to do more than read our emails.  But when I opened the recent email from ECE-RJ about a Purim Escape Room, I was instantly excited.  This activity was brilliant! 

We have 16 children in our 3-year-old class at The Gan at Temple Sinai.   We tweaked the activity to fit our space and time frame.  Our director, Laura Freedman, was happy to see us jazzed up and assisted in securing additional space in our school/temple for us to use.  We reached out to our room parents to help with the treasure box and treats! 

• We started with a letter from Queen Esther asking for our help

• Each challenge was worked in pairs or as a whole class, cheering each other on

• We used what we had already-puzzles, hula hoops, tunnels to crawl through

• We used our classroom, the kitchen, science lab, teaching garden, and the chapel

• As we finished each challenge, we clapped for ourselves and read the winning clue to figure out where to go next

• We did all the challenges but 1 and it took us an hour

• We finished with a “thank you” from Queen Esther and all the treats inside our treasure box

The children were thrilled…to say the least.  They are still talking about it a week later!  It was an amazing lesson that we plan to continue to use for the foreseeable future.

Melissa Vagn

Parparim teacher (3 & 4 year olds)

The Gan at Temple Sinai, Sarasota, FL