Kara writes, "Preparing for Exhaltation manual, Lesson 10 (Fasting) - This lesson includes the story of Queen Esther from the Old Testament.  Since the feast of Purim was just last Sunday (or more accurately began sundown on February 27th), it's also timely. Teach them about how the Jewish people celebrate Queen Esther by dressing up as characters in the story, and everytime the name Haman appears, use noisemakers to "blot" out his name (we slapped our hands on our thighs), and make Hamanstachen or Haman's hat which is 3 cornered, like the type of hat worn during the American Revolution time period. 

Tell the story of Esther beginning with King Ashaseurus and Queen Vashti or better yet, read from the scriptures.  Show the area they ruled over on a map--quite vast for that time period. 

You can find recipes for Hamanstachen on the web.  Traditionally, a poppyseed filling is used, but I altered it a little for my class by using prepared pie crust, canned raspberry or blueberry pie filling, and a powder sugar glaze.  Using a cookie cutter, I cut out 3-inch rounds from the pie dough, placed about 1 TBSP. of the pie filling in the center, wet the rim of dough with a dab of water all the way around and then folded the sides, pinching together the corners to form the hat.  Bake at 400 degree oven until crust is lightly browned, then lightly glaze with a squiggly line after cooled (we joked by saying the lines were Haman's comb-over).  You could also use puff pastry but make sure you REALLY pinch the edges together well. Yummy and seriously easy!"