Spring Holiday Resources
You can make Easter and Passover celebrations inclusive and meaningful for people of ALL abilities, and Learn Play Grow is here to support you with free resources!
Video social story to prepare for Easter egg sensory and social experiences
Easter egg hunt accessibility guide for people of all mobilities and abilities
Visual schedule and explanation for each part of the Passover seder
Passover bingo, matching game, and song sheets with visuals
How I make gatherings inclusive and successful for all ages and stages
Easter resources
Easter egg hunts can be so much fun, and the colors, textures, tastes, and turn-taking can be overwhelming. This video shares developmental insights, a social story, and ways to practice with play to set everyone up for success at Easter egg hunts. It also includes some hilarity from my own childhood experiences. You will never see the Cadbury bunny in the same way!
Common Ground Society created a great accessible egg hunt guide to make celebrations accessible and inclusive for people of all mobilities and abilities.
Include non-food items inside eggs so people with allergies or food sensitivities are not singled out.
Provide egg grabbers, tape eggs to the wall, or put them on a shelf so people with mobility and balance challenges do not have to bend down.
Put a noisemaker inside the egg so people with visual challenges can participate by tracking the sound.
Passover resources
Matan, an amazing organization that promotes inclusion in educational, communal, and spiritual aspects of Jewish life, offers FREE printable resources for Passover. They have a visual schedule and explanation of each part of the Passover seder as well as Passover bingo, matching game, and song sheets with visuals.
I hope you enjoy my video with a dramatic reading of This is the Matzah to bring the Passover story to life!
Here’s how I set up for more inclusive fun and less stressful festivities
Here are my top keys to success:
Share the menu in advance and get feedback for substitutions or different ideas
Share clear expectations for noise levels and movement opportunities
Offer sensory supports that are accessible to everyone for the whole time
Delegate helper jobs so everyone feels included and has a role and a goal
When hosting a multigenerational dinner party, I shared the planned menu with each guest in advance. Being clear about the menu, and inviting guests to be clear with me about their needs, helped accommodate allergies, make substitutions, and add new options.
I also shared movement and volume expectations. Boisterous movements and loud voices impact both my guests and my neighbors, so I told everyone that "feet and voices will need to be quiet." In response to these clear expectations, someone reached out with concerns and offered not to bring their amazing and animated child. I reassured them that it would not be a party without them and that there would be sensory supports, alternative activities, a calm down spot, and lots of flexibility and creativity to keep their child positively engaged.
Clear expectations are most meaningful with support to follow through, so I created a sensory toolbox, strategically located things, and delegated specific helper jobs.
Sensory tools, including fidgets, pop-its, chewy necklaces, and more offered positive input and energy outlets and supported quiet feet and voices.
Strategically locating things kept everyone safe and prevented power struggles. Rather than waiting for battles over someone touching juice cups or double dipping, I strategically located the juice cups on a tray in the kitchen to be supervised by an adult and put plates and spooks next to the veggie platter so people could make "Ranch mountains" of their own instead of double dipping in the "Ranch sea" (individual serving packages also work well). Clear is kind, and support leads to success.
Delegating specific helper jobs gave everyone a role and goal. I wrote jobs on sticky notes and delegated them strategically. Adults worked on taking and filling drink orders while children worked on counting how many people wanted fish sticks and choosing games and toys for different ages and stages.
We had a blast, and intentional preparation set everyone up for success!
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Rebecca A. Weiner, M.Ed. Is a neurodiversity affirming educator and creator of Learn Play Grow. She helps young children with diverse abilities and their families, teachers, and schools experience success on their own terms through play-based learning, parent and teacher coaching, consulting in schools, and neurodiversity-affirming inclusion support in early childhood programs.