Amy Barriger
Author's posts
Apr 08
Preparing for Pesach
The children in Shalom Chaverim (“Welcome, Friends!”) spent time getting to know the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Pesach this week. Together, we explored the question– “What do we see on the Seder plate?” The children examined real Seder plates, and incorporated them into their play. They also explored the symbols on the plate …
Feb 11
Hebrew Literacy in Shalom Chaverim
This week in Shalom Chaverim, the children were busy exploring Hebrew letters together. There were Hebrew letters to investigate on the scroll tucked inside a mezuzzah! There was even a Hebrew letter right on the front of every mezuzzah we investigated– the letter shin, for Shema. Of course, there are so many different things to …
Jan 28
Mezuzzah Exploration in Shalom Chaverim
This week in Shalom Chaverim, the 0-3 year olds and their special grown ups set off to explore mezuzzot. What is a mezuzzah, exactly? Something “hard,” and “cold,” the children decided, after exploring one inside a mystery box. But, where can we find a mezuzzah? We set off to look together. Armed with magnifying lenses, …
Jan 20
Tu B’Shevat in Shalom Chaverim
Tu B’Shevat is a special holiday for young children. The past two weeks in Shalom Chaverim have been all about exploring trees, growing things, and planting. Look at all of the wonderful things we did! There were trees to count, to touch, and to press into play dough. We even built our own trees using …
Dec 17
Saying “Shalom” to Hanukkah in Shalom Chaverim
This week in Shalom Chaverim, the children spent one last session together exploring the sights, sounds, tastes, and symbols of Hanukkah. Even though Hanukkah is over, it is exciting to observe the children connecting to ideas about the holiday in ways that have deepened over the past few weeks together. When we first began exploring …
Dec 13
Celebrating Hanukkah in Shalom Chaverim
Over the past two weeks, the zero to three years olds (and their grown-ups!) in Shalom Chaverim have been celebrating and exploring Hanukkah together. There were ritual objects to explore in many ways. The children discovered hanukkiyot buried in the sensor table, in stories, in singing, and even through artistic expression. As the children developed a deeper understanding …
Nov 18
Shabbat Explorations in Shalom Chaverim
This week in Shalom Chaverim marked the conclusion of our exploration of the holiday of Shabbat (for now!) Over the past several weeks, the toddlers and their grown ups in Shalom Chaverim have been busily exploring many of the symbols of Shabbat: special foods, candlesticks, and other ritual objects. The children had opportunities to paint, …
Nov 05
Exploring Shabbat in Shalom Chaverim
This week in Shalom Chaverim, the children began an exploration of Shabbat. Of course, the way young children explore just about any concept is through rich sensory exploration– so, together with our grown ups, that’s exactly what we did. Through stories and songs and games, we heard about some of the special foods Jewish people …
Oct 21
Exploring the Torah in Shalom Chaverim
For the past two weeks, the zero-three year olds and their grown-ups in Shalom Chaverim have been investigating a special Jewish book– the Torah! We unrolled a Torah together, and peered inside. We discovered lots of Hebrew letters written on soft parchment! We cared for our own (toddler-friendly!) Torah by building it an aron hakodesh …
Sep 30
Sukkot in Shalom Chaverim!
This week in Shalom Chaverim was a joyous celebration of Sukkot all together. Before we could celebrate, though, the zero-three year olds in Shalom Chaverim had a big question to answer: what is a sukkah, exactly? We set to work exploring sukkot through songs, through building, and through sensory play. Look at some of …