Chew it Over- a book review

How often do we try to teach our kids (and ourselves) to think things through before doing anything. Before eating something, before going somewhere, before bringing someone into our lives, pretty much everything we do requires us to think it through or as this wonderful book written by Getzel Rubashkin says, 

'Chew it Over'.

I love how he has taken the lesson from how Kosher animals need to chew their food a few times before it gets digested and turned it into a very applicable life lesson for everyone, both adults and kids alike.

The cow chewed a mouthful, it swallowed and then

 It coughed it all up again and it chewed it again.

  All kosher animals chew that way too

 What is that lesson? What could it be?

And that is a lesson for me and for you.

  Read "Chew it Over," turn the pages and see.

Here is a peek at some of the wonderful illustrations and words from Chew it Over:

Chew it Over is such a fabulous addition to any children's library. You can purchase a copy Here- buy one for your kids, your nieces and nephews, your next door neighbor... and it makes a really special Chanukah Gift!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Always,

 

Jewish Book Reviews

You know that saying, 'too much of something is never good'?

Well, I must disagree.

In my humble opinion, you can have too many toys, too many games, too much nosh and too much stuff. 

But there is one thing I think you can never have too much of: 

Books. Good books.

If you are going to make one investment into your kids homeschooling journey, I say buy books, books and more books. A home filled with books is a gorgeous home.

Having said that, Feldheim has sent me 4 adorable books to enjoy, review and share with you- enjoy:

Shuki's Upside-Down Dream

By Yaffa Ganz

           Did you ever have a funny dream? How about a topsy-turvy, upside-down dream? After Shuki protests elderly Aunt Esther's upcoming visit, he has a very strange dream that helps him see things in a whole new way. This important "wake-up call" turns Aunt Esther's visit into a special time. This classic book by Yaffa Ganz has been reprinted with new illustrations to help children of today's generation with the mitzvah of respecting the elderly.

We Can Do Mitzvos Around the Jewish Year

By Yael Zoldan

            Jewish children can be part of the action as they join their parents and get involved in the holidays! With lively rhymes and vivid illustrations, We Can Do Mitzvos Around the Jewish Year tells what each Yom Tov is all about, showing mitzvos that kids can do on each of these special days.

Around the Clock: A Jewish Child Learns to Tell Time

By Aviva Werner

            When a child becomes curious about clocks and time-telling, Around the Clock is the perfect place to start! In this beautifully illustrated book, author Aviva Werner and artist Avi Katz team up to capture the essence of a day in the life of a Jewish child. Page by page, children will love learning to recognize the hour hand on the clock and how it relates to their own day.

Good Shabbos, Benny!: A Young Boy's Countdown to Shabbos

By Chani Fischman

          What's Benny counting? His Shabbos clothes, of course! Benny can't wait to get dressed for Shabbos. Join him as he hangs an additional piece of clothing on his bed each night. And when the most special day of the week finally arrives, you can be the very first one to wish Benny, "Good Shabbos"!

My kids absolutely LOVED these books, we read all four before bedtime tonight and I could not recommend them enough.

Your kids deserve a home filled with good Jewish books, it is worth every penny. Get started!

Good Shabbos,

Always,

Montessori and Chanukah Fun Printables and More!

My dear and very talented friend Nechamy has very graciously started contributing her gorgeous and very well made Montessori inspired printable activities to my blog for all of you to enjoy-

Feel free to download and print some or all of these fabulous Chanukah activities for your munchkins, all made and put together by Nechamy just for you... 

Chanukah Fun Sheets

Chanukah Parts of a Whole

Menorah Match

And of course, these adorable books from Mish and Mush- just click on the images to purchase and enhance your Chanukah experience...

And check out these super cute Chanukah themed card games and activities from Emily Sper...

Just click on the above images to make these adorable activities yours~

Enjoy the rest of your week and stay tuned for a wonderful Alef Bet curriculum review and some more fantastic Alef Bet activities from the wonderfully talented Nechamy!

Always,

Childrens books for Yom Tov

Apple Days: A Rosh Hashanah Story

By Allison Sarnoff Soffer

Illustrated by Bob McMahon

Ages 2-7

 Katy's favorite holiday is Rosh Hashanah in Apple Days: A Rosh Hashanah Story. It's the time of year when she gets to pick apples and make applesauce with her mother. But what happens when the family tradition is interrupted by the arrival of a new baby cousin?

  

A situation to which every child and family can relate, this is a story about what happens when a child realizes that family priorities must sometimes change. Luckily for Katy, her friends and her community are there to help her in this charming story about a beloved fall custom. Applesauce recipe included!

New for Simchat Torah!

 The Patchwork Torah

By Allison Ofanansky

Illustrated by Elsa Oriol

Ages 4-8

A Torah Scribe and His Family Rescue Damaged Torahs in a Story Spanning Four Generations

  

 As a child, David watches his grandfather, a Torah scribe or sofer, finish a Torah scroll for the synagogue. "A Torah is not something to be thrown away," his Grandfather explains in The Patchwork Torah. David's grandfather carefully stores the old Torah his new one has replaced in his cabinet, hoping to one day repair the letters so the Torah can be used again.

 

David grows up and becomes a sofer just like his grandfather. Through the years, people bring him damaged Torahs they have saved from danger and disaster - one damaged by Nazi soldiers during World War II, one damaged in a fire in a synagogue, and one in flooding during Hurricane Katrina. David stores each of these precious Torahs in his cabinet, until his granddaughter Leah gives him the idea to make a recycled Torah from the salvaged Torah scrolls.

A Watermelon in the Sukkah

By Sylvia A. Rouss and Shannan Rouss

Illustrated by Ann Iosa

Ages 3-8

Michael's favorite fruit might prove more than the sukkah can handle in A Watermelon in the Sukkah.

  

Miss Sharon's students have all brought their favorite fruit to hang in the sukkah, but Michael's favorite fruit is a watermelon! It looks like the watermelon can't hang in the sukkah, until Michael comes up with a unique solution.

****

 Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, Sweet New Year-

Shana Tova uMetuka! 

Always,

Fabulous Book Reviews

I was very fortunate to receive two wonderful books to review from the nice folks over at Artscroll.

The first book is called Look What My Parents Give Me

{Click on the image to purchase this book}

This book is all about what us parents give, teach and do for our children.

As we were reading through the book, it made me realize just how much we actually do for our kids! While I am all for my kids figuring out how to do things by themselves, this book made me feel like we, as parents, should actually take a little credit where credit is due! 

Another wonderful thing about this book is that it gives our kids an awareness of how much we actually do for them. While it is not the most natural thing for a child to appreciate what their parents do, this book points out in a very sweet and gentle way just how much we help our kiddos grow.

We actually went through every page and discussed how mommy and daddy actually do each of these things- just like in the book.

Click Here to take a look at some of the pages inside the book.

The second book is called Imagine If,

{Click on the image to purchase this book}

Now if you have any Dr. Seuss fans in your house, this book is an absolute winner. In our house, we absolutely LOVE Dr. Seuss and to have a 'Jewish version' is just the best thing ever! 

Its written in the exact same style as the Dr. Seuss rhyming books, but the story has depth and meaning with lots of Jewish words and names thrown in, as well as Jewish pictures which are drawn in that classic Dr. Seuss style.

Hands down, this book is the new favorite in our house and if Artscroll comes our with more volumes, we will be first in line to get them!

Click Here to take a look at some of the pages in Imagine If

I hope you had a wonderful week,

Always,

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!

{Click Here to Purchase}

{Click Here to Download the App}

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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

{Click Here to visit their site}

{Click Here to purchase books}

{Click Here to buy the App}

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!

 {Click Here to visit the site and for more Information}

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,

 

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,

Sweet Book Review and Davening Chart

I was recently given the pleasure of review two very wonderful Jewish childrens' books. 

The Tattered Prayer Book  is a gentle introduction to the Holocaust for children ages 6-10. Ruthie discovers a secret about her father, while looking through a box of mementos from the ‘old country.’ As her father tells his surprising story, Ruthie learns a piece of her father’s story, a slice of Jewish history and the circumstances under which the family fled Nazi Germany.  

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and it really gives the child a very gentle yet clear view of the difficulty during those times. It is not written from a religious perspective, but I found it really beautiful how once the father starts telling his daughter about this Siddur that he rescued from a burnt Shul you can feel the love that he once had for his precious heritage. You can purchase this book here.

Shabbat in the Playroom is a really sweet little story about Shira who's family is not religious. She learns all about Shabbat at school and asks her parents if they can celebrate Shabbat at home, to which they respond that they are too busy. 

Shira then decides to celebrate Shabbat with her dolls in her playroom and creates an entire Shabbat table using all her toys. When her parents see this, they realize how much this means to her and begin to celebrate Shabbat.

The only issue I had with this book was that she made Yalmukahs out of napkins for her dolls and she used one for herself. My kids didn't really notice it as it could look like a doily that some women use when lighting Shabbat candles, but I thought it would be important to mention that. You can purchase this book here.

*****

Another thing I wanted to mention was something I started doing with my kids that is working out really well.

While I really don't believe in rewarding kids for doing things that they should be doing (learning, davening) I found that they are sometimes 'less enthusiastic' about davening so I wanted to do something that doesn't give immediate reward, but enough of an incentive that they get a little more excited to do it. Here's what I came up with:

During davening, I give out these raffle tickets to the kids who are looking inside their Siddur and singing nicely and clearly. Even my 4 year who doesn't know most of the tefilos likes to sit in and pretend he's saying the words now that he can get raffle tickets.

After we finish davening, everyone writes their names on their tickets and we have a raffle where a different kid picks the name out of Daddy's hat every day. 

Each child has their own Raffle chart like the one below and each time they win a raffle, they stick their winning ticket onto their chart. Once they fill in all 10 boxes with winning raffle tickets, they get a prize. Although they know this may take a while, they really love the excitement of doing the raffle every morning.

This is more of a summer thing that I am sure will ultimately lose its momentum, but we will keep doing it as long as the kids are enjoying it! You can Click Here to download a Pdf of these charts to print out for yourself. I laminated both of them and the kids use dry erase markers to write their names on their tickets.

Hope you are ready for a fabulous summer~

Have a wonderful week,

Always, 

Jewish Homeschooling 101 (for the little ones)

I receive many similar e-mails from lots of Jewish moms asking me "where to begin" when it comes to Jewish Homeschooling. Now I must tell you that I am a rookie in this department since my oldest is almost 7 which means I have been doing this less then 6 years. But I will tell you what works for me and my family as every mom is different and every family is different.

From the age of 0-6, our kids have an amazing ability to truly experience the world. What does this mean? It means that instead of focusing on "teaching them things" we should focus on giving them the tools to learn how to figure things out for themselves. And how do we do this? By letting them experience the world through all five senses: sight, taste, smell, touch and sound.

These early years are so important for our kids to explore and discover. You don't need fancy toys. You need simple toys. Blocks, balls, crayons, musical instruments. The simpler the toys, the better. 

If you go through this blog, you will find many activities involving the 5 senses. These are great for them to do at this age. Allow them to help you in the kitchen. Let them learn how to pour their own milk. Peel their own apple. The more you allow them to figure things our and do things by themselves, the higher their self esteem and the easier it will be for you!

Another very helpful thing to do is set up a daily routine and stick it up on the wall- it can look something like this:

Remember, this is for the early years, when most of your kids are under the age of 6. Playtime is free play. Time for them to just play. Its usually early in the morning so they want to do their own thing. Let them. If you have a playroom, great. If not, have a special section of the house with their toys, preferably not their bedrooms. make sure it is not cluttered and all the toys are visible to them and organized. They should be able to clean up after themselves when finished playing.

Activity time is when you present activities to them that you have prepared. Pouring beans from one container to another. Stickers, art project, sorting, stamping, cutting, gluing, painting etc. You can do this at the kitchen table or at a special school table if you have the room in your home. Let the kids see the difference between free play and doing an activity. 

Don't worry about content. They are young and will ultimately learn the Parshah and Holidays. Right now it is all about giving them the skills to absorb lots of information when the time comes. Don't beat yourself up on drilling information into their heads. Its all about them learning how to learn. 

In regard to davening with the little ones, using a CD always works well, doing motions, using musical instruments. Make it fun. You can do it before activity time or playtime. 

They will learn their Alef Bet, ABC's, numbers and shapes when they are ready. And you will know when they are ready because they will begin to show an interest. Trust me, trust yourself and most of all, trust your little ones.

In regard to Jewish content, flood your home with Jewish books and Music. There is a lot out there and it should be a priority when purchasing anything for your kids. 

 

When my kids start 1st grade they begin the Shluchim Online School which is an Online Yeshiva. So far, my son who is in 2nd grade absolutely loves it. He does this in the morning and we do his English studies in the afternoon. My 5 year old will start 1st grade next year. 

Many of you are afraid that your kids wont be up to the same level as kids in school. Studies show that homeschooled kids are actually far more ahead of children in school. If this is something that worries you, find a contact at a Yeshiva that you respect and ask them to help you out in that department. Maybe get in touch with a teacher who teaches the age of your kids and ask if you can get an idea of where the students are up to every few months. Maybe she can even email or mail you the quizzes and tests she is giving to her students. There are lots of possibilities. Or if you have  friends or family with kids the same age or older as your kids, ask them to save their kids worksheets and tests and send it to you. You can use this as a guide for yourself.

 I really hope this post answered some of your questions and addressed some of your concerns! It is not an easy journey Homeschooling, but we figure things out along the way.

Wishing you all a wonderful week,

Always, 

Parshas Chayei Sara Arts'n Crafts

We woke up at 6am this morning (nothing new:) and the little guy decided that he wants to MAKE a well (the well that Eliezer met Rivkah at)... so this is what we came up with, including the camel:)

The camel is made out of an egg carton, clothes pegs and pipe-cleaners. The well is made with a Tupperware, Popsicle sticks and a pale that picks up water- he had so much fun with it!

We printed a bunch of projects out from www.chinuch.org and this is one of them: A picture of a well, a camel, the sun and a dish to drink out of for the camel. The little guy decided to glue Popsicle sticks to his well... i really recommend this website, it has so much to offer.

We are reading Kind Little Rivkah, a really sweet book about Rivkah at the well and her kindness to Eliezer. You can get it here:

While the little guy worked on his project, my munchkin painted in her Dora coloring book. Here she is:

This is our schedule board. We tried workboxes, but it didn't quite work for us. So instead, every morning we sit with our cards and decide what our schedule for the day will be. We have lots and lots of options so it really works well. The kids get really excited about picking what they want to do and then as they finish one task, move on to the next. Hey, it works for us!

We received this game as a gift and my little guy had such a ball playing it. It says it is for ages 3 and up, but my munchkin didn't quite have the patience for it (she just turned 3) but the little guy loved it. It really helps them practice their letter recognition, both upper and lower case. I think (if I have the time) I will make a Hebrew letter version with print and script.

And thats what we've been up to!

Have a great week!

Weekly Plan- Parshas VaYeira

So I found a fabulous weekly planner somewhere in my files. I have no idea where I got it but it looks perfect for us and the way our week goes.

Because we dont have a strict routine, I like this planner because it just highlights what I want to get done. It dosnt matter when or how long each activity takes, but as long as it is done over the week, by Shabbos, then I know I am in good shape!

Now it is just a Theme Planner, meaning that it is planned around the weekly Parshah or Jewish Holiday. It does not include Hebrew Reading or writing, although I would like to incorporate that at one stage. For now, here it is:

And here is a pdf version with clear boxes:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1yNhR_r8JrmMTQyZGI5MTUtYTRjZC00YzNjLTgxMzctYzZjMTVhNjBlMDg1&hl=en

(I usually love color and graphics, but for this planner, I left it pretty simple)

And here is how I filled it in for the week:

Theme:

Parshas VaYeira

Mitzvos:

Hachnasas Orchim (Hospitality to guests), Bikur Cholim (Visiting the sick)

Numbers/Shapes/Colors:

Triangle Tent

4 Entrances

3 Malachim

99– age Avraham Briss

100– age Sara gave birth

Hands-on Activity:

Build a tent with 4 entrances, someone pretend to be Avraham with food to offer “guests”

Snack:

Eat snack inside the tent that is built

Art:

Make a Tent out of paper with 4 entrances

Glue real sand to the floor

Make a welcome mat

Science/Discovery:

Discuss ways we can stay healthy, make a chart of healthy and unhealthy foods

Discuss ways that you are and how to be hospitable and host guests

Related Activities:

Discuss North, South, East and West

Make a compass (from http://www.youthonline.ca/crafts/makingacompass.shtml):

Supplies

Sewing needle, 1 inch long.

Small bar magnet (refrigerator magnets may work)

A small piece of cork.

A small glass or cup of water to float the cork and needle.

How To Make It

1. Your compass will work better if you first run a magnet over the needle a few times, always in the same direction. This action 'magnetizes' is to some extent.
2. Cut off a small circle from one end of the cork, and drive the needle through it, from one end of the circle to the other, instead of through the exact middle
3. Float the cork and needle in your cup of water so the floating needle lies roughly parallel to the surface of the water.
4. Place your compass on a still surface and watch what happens. The needle should come to point towards the nearest magnetic pole (north or south as the case may be)
5. If you want to experiment further, try placing a magnet near your compass and watch what happens.

Notes:

The earth produces a magnetic field. This field, although weak, is sufficient to align iron and other paramagnetic compounds such as your needle within it. By floating the needle on the cork, you let it rotate freely so it can orient itself within the earth's magnetic field, to point toward the north or south poles of the planet.

Books:

Hope someone finds this somewhat helpful!

Parshas Lech Lecha and keeping the little ones entertained...

My little guy just loves being read to- so reading about the Parshah is actually such a treat for him, he always asks me to keep reading on to the next Parshah to see what happens next:)

So today we read from Parshas Noach until Parshas Chayei Sara in My Parshah Reader which he just loved and then went on to make a cute little project on this cool paper that a friend of ours gave us. It is plastic, multi colored and painted black. He used a tooth pick to make stars in the sky just like Hashem told Avraham that his children and grandchildren would be as many as the stars in the sky... and next thing I knew, the little guy ended up making a bunch of shooting stars and planets and rockets etc all in this cool sky of his:) hey, that's the beauty of Homeschooling, let them make their own creations, let those little imaginations run wild!

Here he is in action:

We also read this fabulous book from Hachai called "A Little Boy Named Avram" all about how Avraham discovered Hashem at the age of 3- it is very sweet, highly recommend it!

Here are 2 songs from 613 Torah Avenue on this weeks Parshah- we have the CD, its adorable:

Song for Parshas Lech Lecha

Song about Avraham discovering Hashem at the age of 3

Then for quiet time (for those in the family who outgrew their naps) we watched Malkali Bereishis, also a wonderful DVD all about the Parshahs. You can get it here. In fact, ALL here DVD's are so great for little ones, we have a bunch of them

And here are just a few great activities my munchkin did today, she's almost 3...

And my luck, my little guy is obsessed with doing Science experiments. Too bad Daddy is a Rabbi and mommy barely passed her way through every Science in high school AND college! But thanks to other mom blogs and websites, we manage to keep him entertained:)

This one was cool:

2 cups of water, blue was cold, red was hot (we used food coloring to color them)

Then using a piece of thin hard card board, we turned the hot water upside down and placed it on top of the cold water. Due to the density of the hot water, the two did not mix! Now even I found that pretty cool:)

Hey, we do what we can to keep those little tykes happy!

A great week to all,