Religious School News
Dear Parents,
I don't think any of us could have anticipated having our lives turned upside down the way they now have been when we first heard about the COVID-19 outbreak in China just a few months ago. This is a stressful time for all of us, including and especially our children and teens, as we are homebound for an indefinite period of time, and we worry our health and the health of our loved ones and those of our friends and neighbors in the community. Please be kind to yourself and to your spouse or partner, patient with your kids and teens and stay connected with those in your circle.
If you need some additional support or encouragement or have a need to vent to a neutral party, I am hear to listen. You can email me at edu_dir@shaare-shalom.org. I'm available anytime between 9 in the morning and 9 at night.
To continue your children's Jewish education while we are closed down, my mission is to send out interesting web sites with Jewish content for you and your children and teens to explore at your leisure. I'll also send out some sites where your children can practice their Hebrew.
We will all get through this together!
Michele Zuckerman
Director of Education and Youth Activities
Resources
PJ Library's Resources for Quarantined Families
Behrman House Online Learning Center
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3rd and 4th graders (and anyone else who needs a little reinforcement) can work on decoding skills by clicking on the Practice Hebrew tab
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5th, 6th and 7th graders can work on the reading of the Torah and Musaf service prayers by first clicking on Prayer Practice and then on any of the prayers in Level 3
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For anyone interested in exploring modern Hebrew, give Ulpan Alef or Modern Hebrew Word Cards a try
National Museum of American Jewish History
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You can take a virtual tour of this Philadelphia museum and explore its many pieces of Judaica up close
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For all those missing baseball, check out the Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American exhibit. You can even sing along with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"!
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For our 6th graders, this is a great web site to explore, having completed their unit in American Jewish History!
Days features holiday in a box kits for a variety of religions and cultures. Their Passover box includes a seder plate to design, the Passover story to color and read, a 10 plagues memory games, an interactive Haggadah to use at your seder, seder steps stickers and more. There is a fee for the kit, but if you join their list and order by tomorrow, you get 15% off and free shipping. They also have a variety of subscription options from which to choose.
The kits make great gifts for family members and friends you cannot be with this year.
Second Worldwide Synagogue Sing
Is your child's favorite part of religious school Sunday music class? Do you love to sing? This one is for the whole family! Join Jews from around the world for the Second Worldwide Synagogue Sing. It takes place this Sunday at 11 a.m. I can't think of a better way to feel connected to the Jewish community! Be sure to register so that they can send you the link to join.
Here's a fun way for your children to practice their Hebrew reading skills and test their Passover knowledge all at the same time. These games were created by one of the staff members at the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland. Try the matching, tic-tac-toe or match up options. Recommended for students in grades 4 and up.
Here's a great project to keep everyone in the family busy and get ready for Passover at the same time. This site allows you to create a haggadah that works for your family. Choose your artwork, blessings, readings, songs, translations and more. It's free to use and you can download your finished product to your tablet or print it out.
https://padlet.com/edu_dir/c9rnqenmvoc3
I've created a Padlet (think virtual bulletin board with sticky notes) filled with ways to celebrate and learn about Passover for children, teens and adults. You'll find recipes, read-aloud story book videos, music videos, articles on all kinds of Passover related topics, a video to learn/practice the Four Questions, Passover humor and more.
This is my favorite web site for learning all things about life in Israel. Learn all about Israel's technology and medical innovations, culture, places to travel in the country, food scene and so much more. There's a weekly e- newsletter you can subscribe to that always has interesting articles to read.
A fun non Jewish-related activity for you and your children - learn the ASL alphabet. Danielle Sirinsky, better known as Miss Danielle to our RUJEC students and Mia Sirinsky, known as Madricha Mia to the second grade class, made this video for the RUJEC families and graciously shared it with us.