For Easter, March 31, 2024:
Braille and Audio Materials:
For more than 100 years, the Xavier Society for the Blind has provided free materials for Easter and throughout the year to people of all ages year round. Their catalog consists of over 1,000 titles in braille and more than 800 in audio, along with digital talking books. Accessible format materials are available all year and include readings, responses, and prayers for Mass on Sundays, special Feast days, and more. Textbooks and periodicals can be obtained as well. Read more here about the Xavier Society for the Blind.
Ideas for Easter Egg Hunts and Decorating:
With some adaptations, the whole family, including those with vision loss, can enjoy an Easter egg hunt. Beeper eggs and glow eggs can be used to add to the sensory experience. A “Sensory Bin” can be created as well, filled with paper grass and eggs. Those wishing to create their own materials can decorate eggs with accessible, tactile designs. For example, using hard-boiled eggs, tactile decorators can attach feathers or wrap such items as pipe cleaners, yarns, and beads to the eggs after they’ve cooled. For more ideas, read the Paths to Literacy webpage with Easter Egg Hunt Ideas and More and the APH Connect Center piece on Tactile Easter Egg Decorating For Your Child Who is Blind or Low Vision.
For Passover, beginning the evening of April 22, 2024:
Free, Accessible Haggadot
For more than 90 years, JBI has provided free large print, braille, and audio Haggadot to people who are blind, visually impaired, or have a print disability and are participating in a Passover seder, where it is read. Throughout the year, JBI provides access to the written world for people of all ages who are blind, have low vision, or are print disabled to connect with and “participate fully in Jewish cultural, literary, educational, religious, and communal life.” The organization creates, produces, and distributes thousands of materials in audio, braille, and large print formats and delivers them directly to patrons’ doorsteps. Anyone who needs an accessible format Haggadah may order one before April 11 by visiting JBI’s website or www.JBILibrary.org or by calling JBI toll free at 1-800-999-6476. Many different versions are available.
Celebrating Passover: How to Involve a Child Who is Blind or Visually Impaired:
Tips for including a child with visual impairment in celebrating Passover can begin with the preparation. Some pointers, offered by APH Family Connect, include:
Discarding foods with leavening agents: “As a reminder of the Israelites fleeing in haste, before their bread had time to rise,” families discard leavened food before Passover. To do this: Find foods that utilize a leavening agent (or rise, like bread or bread crumbs) or ask the child to help with sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting to eliminate crumbs.
For the Seder, or “ritual meal:” Invite the child to join in traditional food preparation or familiarize children with the holiday’s symbolic food items by, for example, forming pyramids from the Harosit (chopped nuts, apples, and grape juice or wine).
For additional suggestions, read the article on Including Your Child Who is Blind or Visually Impaired in Passover Traditions.
