Oct 24
To conclude our exploration of the fall chagim (holidays), children in Shalom Chaverim (“Welcome, Friends!”) explored Simchat Torah. (Check out this article to learn more about Simchat Torah). This friend pulled himself all the way up to stand at the sticky paper and put foam Torahs onto the wall. He enjoyed the feel of foam …
Apr 09
One of the very cool ways we are getting ready for Pesach (Passover) in שׁוֹרָשִׁים (Shorashim– ‘roots’ for nursery) and שְׁתִּילִים (Shteelim– ‘saplings’ for kindergarten), is by having a sensory experience with the items that might be on a seder plate. Last week, we made and ate חֲרוֹסֶת (Charoset, made with, shredded/chopped apples, banana, cinnamon, and grape …
Jan 25
This week in Tu B’Shevat was all about exploring plants, trees, and even dirt as we prepare to celebrate Tu B’Shevat. We made our own trees, with play dough and lots of beautiful leaves and flowers. We planted our own seeds after decorating our own pots. We can’t wait to see what grows! We built …
Nov 12
Over the past two weeks, the children in Shalom Chaverim have been exploring the different ways we experience Shabbat with our gufim (bodies.) We have prepared lots of Shabbat dinners to share with our special grownups! Today we used our senses to explore the ways we say “Shalom!” to Shabbat when it is time for …
Nov 10
This week in Shorashim we’re continuing to play the story of Avraham V’Sarah! In order to learn about how Sarah made bread for her visitors, we made some salt dough. We added water, flour, and LOTS of salt. Morah Lizzi helped us measure all the ingredients. When the dough got too thick to stir, …
Jan 22
This week in Shalom Chaverim we used our guf (bodies) to explore the ways Jewish people around the world celebrate Shabbat! There were ample opportunities to use our af (nose) to smell the spices of Havdalah as we created our own spice paint together– and then we used out etzbaot (fingers) to create colorful and fragrant …
May 25
This week in Shalom Chaverim was all about reflecting upon our year together. Together, we remembered the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of our Jewish year. We looked back on some of the symbols of Hanukkah as we built our own hanukkiyot, spun dreidels, and created Hanukkah paintings. We looked back on Tu …
Oct 15
Tuesday was another special day at the Jewish Enrichment Center. For many of our children, we saw, touched, listened to and smelled the scrolls of a Torah for the first time. It was also the first day we introduced ידידים (yedidim — buddies) to the Jewish Enrichment Center. ידידים are a unqiue opportunity for the …
Apr 06
This week in Shalom Chaverim was all about including young children at the Seder table. We spent lots of time creating objects for children to interact with authentically as they learn the story of Pesach. We focused throughout the morning on sensory experiences for children relating to Pesach– things for children to touch and feel …
