Children get in the Hanukkah spirit with holiday singalong

Kids at the Jacob Duman Early Childhood Center near Lake Zurich got a head start on Hanukkah with an all-school singalong for parents Friday.

"While it's a couple of days before Hanukkah, we wanted to celebrate together as a community before many of our families go away for vacation time," said Sharee Patt, assistant director of early childhood at the center. "One of the big perks about being in early childhood is the community that we can create," she said.

The more than 50 children sang 11 songs, some with accompanying choreography, and many wore hats they made in class. The youngest group started with "Candles in the Menorah" and "If It's Chanukah and You Know It." Older groups sang "Sivivon" and several others before everyone joined in to close out with "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah" and "Where is the Oil?"

A pair of menorahs were lighted at the end of the celebration for Hanukkah, which begins at sundown Sunday and runs for eight days.