Jewish Lullabies, Book Sets and Chumash Tutoring

Here are some fabulous Jewish resources that I personally use and love- each comes highly recommended by yours truly and loved by all of my kids- I hope they are helpful to you!

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These are beautiful soft Jewish Lullabies. I play them for my little ones at bedtime and it really sets such a calm and relaxing mood for them making bedtime so much easier. Here is a link to get an idea of how the lullabies sound:

Really soft, serene and relaxing. So great to calm the energy at the end of the day.

Mish and Mush

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I have mentioned many times before how much we love reading in our house. Now that my 6 year old is starting to read by herself, she is constantly looking for books at her level to read. We received a bunch of books from the amazing folks over at Mish and Mush. My kids LOVE these books. They are perfect for them to read by themselves, the illustrations are adorable, the messages are all meaningful and based on Torah and the kids learn so much from each book. I cannot recommend these books enough. They are from Australia but find out if your local Judaica store carries them, or you can buy them HERE. The App is also adorable, as I mentioned in this post. Your kids will love them, my kids really do!

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Now this recommendation is for older kids (7+) who have started to learn Chumash. If you have been following my blog for a while, by now you know that I truly believe that a true education is not about feeding kids information. It is about giving them the TOOLS to figure things out by themselves, and teaching them HOW to learn.

My oldest son has started learning Chumash. His comprehension is off the charts. Tell him a story and he will repeat it back to you word for word. Explain a concept to him and he will get it right away. But he has had a hard time being able to open up a Chumash, translate the words and put them into a sentence.

Along came Rabbi Levi who is the brains behind The Shreiber Method. He sits with my son via Skype once a week and teaches him HOW to learn Chumash. He shows him how to break up each Possuk (sentence) and where a pause or a coma needs to go. He shows him how to translate the words and then put them together to understand what it is saying. My son actually came over to ME on Shabbos and asked to go over the Possuk he had done last week with Rabbi Levi to show me how he did it all by himself. He has actually grown to LOVE learning Chumash and looks forward to his tutoring session every week.

For those whose kids are just starting to learn Chumash, I cannot recommend The Shreiber Method enough.

Contact Rabbi Levi HERE and see for yourself how he will awaken this incredible love for learning Chumash in your child.

There are so many wonderful Jewish resources out there and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Have a wonderful week!

Always,

 

Chumash Shemot and the Hebrew letter TET

The Hebrew Letter TET Activity Booklet

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Montessori Inspired Activities for Chumash Shemot

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Have a fantastic week!

Always, 

Thank You Hashem Unit and the Hebrew Letter Chet!

 Here is a Chet Activity Booklet: (for Activity Booklets on the letters Alef-Zayin, Click Here)

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And here is a mini Unit on "Thank You Hashem" to remind our sweetie pies (and ourselves!) that everything we have comes from Hashem and how we should always be happy with what we have. Enjoy~

A Thank You Hashem Activity Booklet

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Here are some wonderful Jewish Books and Songs on Thanking Hashem and being happy with what we have:

Have a wonderful week,

Always,

Getting to know Ourselves and our Kids

The other night my hubby and I were sitting on the couch, feet up, both doing work on our laptops when suddenly he looks up at me for a few moments and goes, "Now it all makes sense. This is you. I totally get you now."

Someone had sent him this info graph:

I've never considered myself an introvert as I thought introverts were anti-social and shy, two qualities I can say that do not describe me. But after reading up on Introverts, I am proud to say that YES- I am indeed an introvert!

My hubby, the absolute extrovert (introverts often marry extroverts) never understood how my idea of date night is making pop corn and watching a DVD together on the couch in PJ's. I could not think of anything more enjoyable! To him, its getting a babysitter and having a night out on the town. We have been married almost 10 years and although he clearly see's that I am not a quiet person, it was difficult for him to understand how I just love being home.

Now having discovered this, I now see very clearly how one of my kids is a textbook introvert. I could not understand how he is super social when kids come over or when at the park playing with other kids. But yet he is just so happy staying at home playing by himself. It didn't make sense that he was a loner as he really enjoys the company of others but on the other hand, he also thrives on being by himself. This little kiddo is my little introvert! So instead of thinking something is wrong or strange that he likes his quiet time so much, I now know that not only does he enjoy it, he NEEDS it.

Discovering these things about ourselves and our kids really helps in our entire approach to raising them. 

My in-laws were just here visiting and my very wise mother-in-law (who raised 11 amazing kids) was telling me how wonderful it is to get know the talents and qualities of your kids to help them become the best people they can be.

Having tapped into this, I now see how one of daughters needs organization around her. She keeps her bedroom neat and tidy and does not do well if things are out of place. This helps me help her in her day to day activities and it also helps me understand her certain moments of frustration. 

One of my sons is a very visual person. When he talks to me, he needs me to look at him and answer him with YES, not 'uh huh.'

So for those of you who know me, yes, believe it or not, I'm an introvert. I love being around friends and family and enjoy social events, but I need my time alone like people need air to breathe. 

It also explains why I love writing this blog so much.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Always,

Nursery Rhymes... Are you Kidding Me?

In our house, we read. We read a lot. My motto is that you can never have too many great books. Our friends know how much we value reading, so we are often gifted with books.

Our latest gift was for my little ones. An absolutely gorgeous large print, colorful book with gorgeous illustrations called Nursery Rhymes for Children. On Shabbos, we love snuggling on the couch to read, and sing Shabbos songs. So we took our new book, on the couch to read/sing them and as I am paging through this beautiful book and my kids are enjoying me singing the songs, I am actually reading what some of these nursery rhymes are saying and it is ridiculous!

Most of us grew up hearing these rhymes and probably never thought anything of them, but as a mom, I now see the world very differently.

Okay, some nursery rhymes are sweet- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Here we go round the Mulberry Bush and Baa Baa Black Sheep. And apparently a lot of them have some historical significance or whatever.

But in this book, we meet the Queen of Hearts who BEAT the Knave because he stole the tarts. Don't even get me started on Rock-a-bye Baby... "Down will come baby, cradle and all." Seriously? then Old Mother Hubbard who has NO food for her poor dog! And then there's Jack and Jill who both broke their crowns tumbling down a hill and an Old Woman who lives in a shoe who whips her kids and doesn't give them any bread. And to top it all off, Goosey Goosey Gander talks about taking an old man who doesn't say his prayers and THROWING him down the stairs.

Wow.

Now to some of you, this post will not matter as you may not have Nursery Rhymes in your home- but for those who do, I have put together a really adorable Jewish Book of Songs and Rhymes to replace these insane nursery rhymes that the world apparently thinks are okay to sing to children- and I don't care about how poetic or meaningful some of them may be- children hear things at face value.

So here it is! Print it out on card stock, staple together and you will have 10 really sweet Jewish Children's songs and Rhymes to read and sing with your sweetie pies~

Jewish Songs and Rhymes for Children

{Click Here to Download and Print}

We live in Olam HaSheker- a world of lies, and it is up to us as mothers to only show our children that which is true. Which is something that is so beautiful about Judaism. There is only one truth to be learnt and taught.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Shabbos,

Always,

And the winner of the Giveaway is...

Mazel Tov Rena N! 

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Hope you are all having a fabulous Chanukah!

Enjoy your week,

Always,