5 Meaningful Nine Days Activities for Kids: Creative Ways to Build a Love for the Beit HaMikdash

A few years ago, a friend told me that, in her opinion, the Nine Days are placed in the wrong spot on the calendar. She had a detailed explanation for why it seemed so strange that right in the middle of summer vacation — when everyone is enjoying the beach, the pool, outings, and attractions, there is suddenly a pause for mourning practices.

For someone who grew up in a Torah-observant home, this may seem completely natural. A Jewish child grows up knowing that Tisha B’Av is a fast day commemorating the destruction of the Holy Temple, and that the days leading up to it are days of mourning.

But for someone newly returning to Judaism, the Nine Days can be a completely new concept.

As parents, especially of young children, the challenge can be even greater. We are asked to help our children connect to a sense of longing for something they have never seen or experienced, yet whose absence is deeply felt.

Since then, that friend has greatly expanded her knowledge of the Jewish calendar, halacha, and mitzvot. Yet I still smile whenever I remember that conversation — especially when I start planning “Nine Days activities” for my own children.

Helping Children Connect to the Meaning of the Nine Days

During the Nine Days, we reduce expressions of joy. We refrain from eating meat and drinking wine, avoid celebrations and music, do not buy new clothing, and do not get haircuts. These are genuine mourning practices.

For adults, the sense of mourning is often tangible and meaningful. For young children, however, it can simply feel like “just another day of summer vacation.”

How can we use these days to help children develop a longing for the Beit HaMikdash and anticipation for redemption?

Instead of hearing “I’m bored” during these slower-paced days, we can place some crayons, paper, and imagination on the table and invite our children into meaningful, value-based creative activities that leave them with a genuine sense of connection and longing.

Following are five creative ideas for the Nine Days and even for Tisha B’Av itself.

1. Build a Cardboard Model of the Beit HaMikdash

Gather cardboard boxes, paper towel rolls, and other recyclable materials, and build a model of the Holy Temple together.

It doesn’t need to be historically accurate — the intention is what matters. Children can paint it gold, add gates and columns, and decorate it however they like.

From experience, children love this activity and can spend a long time working on it. If you don’t have cardboard, you can build using construction toys, magnetic tiles, or building blocks.

Either way, it becomes a meaningful and engaging project.

2. Paint Stones with Positive Messages

Collect smooth stones and paint them with acrylic paints.

Once dry, write encouraging words or phrases such as:

• “Unconditional Love”

• “Unity”

• “Kindness”

• “Peace”

Anything that reminds children how important love and unity are within the Jewish people.

3. Create the Walls of Jerusalem

For younger children, draw a simple outline of Jerusalem’s walls on a sheet of paper.

Invite them to fill the walls by gluing pieces of colorful paper onto the drawing. If the children are very young, you can prepare the pieces ahead of time and help them glue them in place.

This simple craft provides a visual connection to Jerusalem and its significance.

4. A Mitzvah and Good Deeds Challenge

Draw or print a simple picture of the Beit HaMikdash and hang it on the refrigerator.

Each day, write down every mitzvah or act of kindness your children perform on large round stickers and place them onto the picture.

By Tisha B’Av, the image of the Temple becomes filled with good deeds and mitzvot, helping children see how their positive actions are like adding another stone to the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.

5. Read Children’s Books About the Beit HaMikdash

Read age-appropriate books that teach about the Holy Temple and Jewish history.

Children can copy illustrations from the books and color them, or you can print simple Beit HaMikdash coloring pages (available online), and color them together using bright, cheerful colors.

Creating Meaningful Memories

The Nine Days are intended to remind us to pause, mourn, and long for what has been lost.

But they also provide an opportunity to create meaningful family moments — to sit together, talk, create, and experience Jewish values through play and creativity.

Creative activities during these days help children connect to the loss in a simple, colorful, and age-appropriate way.

These memories can stay with them for years to come, becoming treasured moments of faith, connection, and love — memories that, God willing, will help nurture a genuine longing for redemption and the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.