An easy DIY Sukkot decoration

The Seven Species
“A land of wheat, and barley, and vines; of fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.”
The Seven Species (Shivat Haminim) are wheat, barley, grapes (wine), figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey (made from dates) .Mentioned in Deuteronomy as the main produce of the Land of Israel. They are also significant because the bikkurim, or first fruits, tithe for the Holy Temple in Jerusalem derived from these seven agricultural products.

Make your own “7 Species” decoration

To assemble your Seven Species sukka decoration:
• Affix the entire cover page or printouts of circles to a piece of card stock or light cardboard.
• Cut out the four circles.
• Glue, back to back, circle A-1 to circle A-2, circle B-1 to circle B-2.
• Cut along the dotted lines.
• Slip the slit on the A circle into the slit on the B circle.
• Glue a string along the center where the two circles meet.
• Hang the Seven Species decoration in your sukka!

 from: newjerseyjewishnews

Shivat Haminim easy mobile

The Seven Species (Shivat Haminim in Hebrew) are the seven types of fruits and grains named in the Torah  as the main produce of the land of Israel. In ancient times these foods were staples of the Israelite diet. They were also important in the ancient Jewish religion because one of the Temple tithes derived from these seven foods. The tithe was called the bikkurim, which meant "first fruits."
Today the seven species are still important agricultural items in modern Israel but they no longer dominate the produce of the country as they once did. On the holiday of Tu B'Shvat it has become traditional for Jews to eat from the seven species

Shivat Haminim rustic mobile. Laminated hand painted cards hanging from a natural branch.

Tu b'Shevat shivat haminim paper box

Tu B'Shevat, also known as Tu B'Shevet or Tu Bishvat, is the day that trees come of age according to Jewish law. Jewish people mark this day by eating a symbolic meal of fruit and nuts or planting trees.
According to some readings of Jewish law, fruit that ripens in the first three years that a tree gives fruit is considered orlah. This means that it is not kosher and thus not acceptable for Jewish people to eat. Tu B'Shevat marks the "new year" or "birthday" of trees. Fruit that ripens in the third year on or after the 15th day of the month of Shevat is kosher. Traditionally, the fruit that ripened in the fourth year was taken to the temple as a tithe (form of taxation). This is now paid symbolically using coins.
Some Jewish people began to hold a symbolic sedar on Tu B'Shevat after 1600 CE. This consisted of different types of fruit and nuts, each of which had a specific spiritual meaning.
Symbols
Important symbols of Tu B'Shevat include different types of dried fruit arranged on a platter, flowering almond trees and the "seven species". These are:
Barley.
Dates.
Figs.
Grapes.
Olives.
Pomegranates.
Wheat.
The seven species are associated with the Land of Israel in the Torah so they have an important place in Jewish culture.

DIY SEVEN SPECIES PAPER BOX FOR DRIED FRUITS

Make a paper box with shivat haminim decorations to use it for dried fruits on Tu bShevat.
Download and print the template.

download the box template HERE

Shivat haminim bookmarks

7 Species cards and trees placemats

Shivat Haminin cards on ecological paper

 

I'll you want to download the banner and print it on the paper of your choice. A heavier paper is always best for a banner but even for the card to hang in your home for tu b'Shevat. Print, Cut each flag out , laminate and punch a hole in each unit. 
Idea and source: Craft This 7 Species Banner In 15 Minutes from chaiandhome.com

trees shapes placemats

Print the trees on a heavy recycled paper them laminate them . You can use them as Tub'Shevat placemats.
Download the tree template HERE

Tu b'Shevat Shivat Haminim cards

Shivat Haminim cards

Create cards for Tu B’Shevat featuring the Shivas Haminim in the form of beautiful silhouettes or pre-colored illustrations.Select the Shivas Haminim pictures of your choice. Print. Cut out each of the Shivas Haminim squares and laminate.
Idea and source from: Chinuch.org
download printable PDF here

Tu B'shevat

Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. The Torah states that fruit from trees which were grown in the land of Israel may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is for G-d, and after that, the fruit can be eaten. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shevat, no matter when in the year it was planted.
It is customary to plant trees and partake of the fruits of the land of Israel to mark the occasion
The reason for the festive mood of the Rosh Hashanah of trees is that the 15th of Shevat recalls the praise of the Land of Israel, for on this day the strength of the soil of the land is renewed. With reference to the fruits of the trees and the produce of the soil, the Torah praises the Land of Israel: “A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey” (Devarim 8)

 Shivat Haminim poster

A beautifully designed  poster which features colored pictures of the Shivat
Haminim along with their Hebrew names. Use to decorate for Tu b'Shevat, when learning Parshas Eikev or when doing a unit on Eretz Yisrael. 
From Chinuch.org

Shivat Haminim with children

Learning Shivat Haminim with my children following the memory cards.

They enjoy to put names and images together and get used with hebrew names.

Tu B’Shvat is a Jewish holiday whose origins stretch back thousands of years, to the days when most Israelites were members of an agricultural society. In this vein, this series of Tu B’Shvat crafts and games attempts to bring the Jewish perspective to bear on agriculture and trees, and on how this life, its challenges, and the mitzvot connected to agricultural living can inform Jewish life today. For older children reflecting around the time of Tu B’Shvat is meant to provide classic material for discussion of contemporary issues of food (and its unjust distribution), social justice, and poverty.

Or see below the "Go fish" card names