Themes

Omer Calendars

Aim: To design omer calendars.

Materials: Paper and pencil

Procedure:

1. Have students view and discuss the work of art below. Discuss with students:

• How is this object used?
  
• Why do you think someone would create an object like this?
  
• Have you ever counted the days until an anticipated event? What was the event? Why did you count the days? What was the experience of counting the days like?

2. Have students design their own omer calendars. Encourage them to think creatively about different ways to mark the 49 days of the omer—for example, using 49 pegs in a peg-board (as in Tobi Kahn’s work), creating tags to hang on 49 hooks, building a spinning “omer wheel,” designing a counter that keeps track separately of the weeks and days.

3. Alternatively, you can have students design counters to count the days until some other event (for example, the end of school, the start of camp, students’ birthdays, or another holiday).

4. After students complete their designs, you might ask them to construct and use their counters.