Teaching Tisha B’Av to children can feel challenging, especially in a Jewish classroom, homeschool setting, or Hebrew school program. Unlike many Jewish holidays, Tisha B’Av is not centered around celebration, food, songs, costumes, or crafts. It is a serious day of mourning and remembrance, connected to the destruction of the First and Second Beit Hamikdash, the loss of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, exile, and many painful moments in Jewish history.
Still, Tisha B’Av can be taught to children in a meaningful, gentle, and age-appropriate way. The goal is not to overwhelm students with every tragic event connected to the day. Instead, a good Tisha B’Av lesson can focus on simple themes children can understand: Jerusalem, the Beit Hamikdash, sadness, memory, kindness, unity, and hope.
A strong way to begin a Tisha B’Av lesson plan is with a story. Children often connect more easily to Jewish history when it is presented through characters, illustrations, and emotion. A story gives students something to imagine and discuss before moving into deeper learning.
For older children, The Old Olive Tree: A Story for Tisha B’Av can be used as a read-aloud book or classroom discussion starter. In this Tisha B’Av book for kids, an ancient olive tree overlooking the Temple Mount tells children what it has seen over thousands of years.
This helps students learn about the Beit Hamikdash, Jerusalem, Jewish history, and the meaning of remembrance in a thoughtful and visual way.
For preschool, kindergarten, and younger Hebrew school students, Tisha B’Av Story for Kids in Sweet Rhymes offers a softer introduction. With gentle rhyme, colorful illustrations, and a child-friendly story, it can help young learners understand sadness, change, comfort, and hope without making the day feel too scary.
After reading, teachers can guide students with simple questions: What was lost on Tisha B’Av? Why do Jewish people remember Jerusalem? What does it mean to care about something from long ago? How can we bring more kindness into the world today?
A classroom activity can include drawing the Beit Hamikdash, the Kotel, or Jerusalem. Younger children can color a picture of Jerusalem, while older students can write a few sentences about why Jerusalem is important to the Jewish people. This works well for Jewish schools, homeschool families, Hebrew school lessons, Sunday school programs, and summer camp learning groups.
Another meaningful Tisha B’Av activity for kids is a kindness project. Since Tisha B’Av is often connected to the lesson of sinat chinam, baseless hatred, teachers can create an ahavat Yisrael chart. Students can write or draw acts of kindness, such as helping a friend, speaking respectfully, including someone, sharing, or saying thank you.
For older students, a simple Jewish history timeline can also be useful. Teachers can create cards with key ideas: the Beit Hamikdash stood in Jerusalem, it was destroyed, the Jewish people mourned, and we still remember and hope. This gives children a visual way to understand the story of Tisha B’Av.
Parents and educators searching for Tisha B’Av lesson ideas, Hebrew school Tisha B’Av activities, Jewish homeschool resources, Beit Hamikdash lesson plans, Tisha B’Av books for kids, Jewish holiday books for children, or Jewish classroom read-aloud books can use stories, art, discussion, and kindness projects to build a meaningful lesson.
Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning, but in the classroom it can also become a day of learning, memory, compassion, and hope.