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, 

The Kabbalah of Smell... with Guest Blogger Chana Rachel Schusterman

The Power of Using our G-d Given Talents (and Helping Our Children Recognize Theirs.)

There are twelve months in the Jewish calendar.  The talent of SMELL is the eighth, the month of Cheshvan, (October-November.)

Individuals who have this unique talent are sensitive and intuitive and have an inexplicable knowing beyond logic and reason.  They are deeply attuned to their inner visceral responses. They can "sniff" out a situation and determine what is really going on. For these people, the ability to judge beyond the conscious level through gut feelings is very strong.  They can just "smell it."   Discriminating with this heightened sensitivity awakens a recognition of whether something is bad or good, whether it reeks or is fragrant.  Their sense of smell guides them. This is the way they move through life and the world.

We can be role models to our children by encouraging them to tune in to their inner world and to pay attention to their gut feelings.  It is important to recognize that people with this talent need to check in with themselves and not to be dominated by another people's ways of doing things. As we raise them to have good character traits, we can ask them to sense how they might do things in a better way. Encouraging them to trust their own gut intuitions 

strengthens and guides them in relating to the world. 

 

Tools For Developing Your Sense of Smell:

1.  Take a deep breath and tune in to your soul intuition.

2.  There is a halacha (a Torah law) that says that “If the smell of food is bad, discard it.”

     The Talmud explains:  “That’s why G-d created the nose above the mouth.  One should

     first smell and then taste.”  If it smells bad then it’s not something to take into your life.

3.  Get into the habit of taking in only what is good for you, not the opposite.

4.  Develop empathy in an intuitive, gut way.  Sense where to care.

************************************************************************************************************************

The Kabalah of Smell:

The sense of smell is the most spiritual of the senses.  Through smell, it becomes clear how to give real pleasure to the soul.  On the highest level of smell, a person 

can have “Ruach Hakodesh,” which is a hint of prophecy.  

The month of Cheshvan immediately follows the month of Tishrei, which is full of holidays which connect us to G-d.  After each Shabbos, we smell sweet spices in order 

to take the smell of the holy Shabbos with us into the week. Similarly, we take the smell of the holidays of Tishrei and bring it into the year through this month’s talent. 

This ability guides us to retain our spiritual pleasure and connection as we go forward into the new year.

The tribe which corresponds to the month of Cheshvan is Menashe.  The letters of the name Menashe are cognate in Hebrew to the words Nishimah (breath), and Neshamah (soul).  

Chana Rachel Schusterman is a Jewish spiritual counselor and coach. If you would like to contact her, please email me at Jewishmontessori18@gmail.com.

Gotta love Noah's Ark!

Talk about a fun Parshah to learn and teach- I mean the ideas are endless, between all the animals and rainbow activities, this week is pretty much set.

So here's some fun stuff we did on this Parshah, just CLICK HERE

And here is a little activity pack I made- Click Here to download it

The idea's are really endless, so have fun:)

Have a great week,

Always,

Back to life...

 Okay- we made it. We made it through the High Holidays:) The never ending cooking, cleaning, guests, planning, trips, running, coming and going. We made it. Congratulations!

Now as nice as it would be to go to the Spa for a week to recuperate (okay, a day would even be nice), us momma's have to get right back into the swing of things.

So in honor of this weeks Parshah, Parshas Bereishis, here is a really cute Activity Pack I made for my kiddos and for you all to enjoy~ 

Just click here and print it out

And here are a few previous blog posts I did on this weeks Parshah- Click Here to check them out.

Wishing you all a really peaceful and relaxing Shabbos. You deserve it.

Always,

The Kabalah of TOUCH- with Guest Blogger Chana Rachel Schusterman

The Power of Using our G-d Given Talents (and Helping Our Children Recognize Theirs.)

There are twelve months in the Jewish calendar. The talent of TOUCH is the seventh, corresponding to the month of Tishrei (September - October.)

People who have this talent are great connectors.  Whether it is through sensory perception, physical touch, or spiritual connection, they have an intuitive sense of how to reach out in the way that will be most effective. They can reach out and touch in a myriad of ways. They love to bond and create meaningful friendships and relationships. This talent draws people to them. Their touch can often be transformative or healing. Their desire to be close and to create deep connections with others needs to be channeled so that it is expressed appropriately.

When we have children with this talent, we can help them to experience expansiveness by giving them opportunities to experiment with tactile games. When they feel sand running through their fingers, or the joys of finger painting or molding clay, they feel touch as a gateway to a deeper connection to themselves and then to others.  

A touch on the arm or on the cheek lets this child know that there is a loving parent nearby.  We can be role models to our children by showing an example of appropriate touch. When we don’t touch what is not ours, they learn that this sense (as with all the senses) has boundaries.  

Tools For Developing Your Sense of Touch:

1.  Recognize that how and whom we touch can bring harmony or the opposite.

2.  Develop boundaries to be “in touch” with appropriateness in relationship.

3.  Develop the desire for closeness with family and good friends by keeping in touch.

4.  Being in close touch with a friend helps us to give as well as to receive. This creates intimacy in friendship.

5.  Sometimes it’s necessary to wait for the right time to touch or to be in touch.

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The Kabalah of Touch:

The talent of Touch is based on the desire for closeness. It is really a desire for spiritual union. The hands can reach above the head (the mind) to reach for connection with what is Above, for G-d.

The month of Tishrei is full of holidays which connect us to G-d and to our people.  The first two days of Tishrei are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This is a time to pray for a blessed year and to recognize G-d as our King and the ruler of the Universe.  The tenth of Tishrei is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year.  It is a day of fasting and deep essential union with G-d.  Soon after is the week of Sukkot in which we dwell in a sukka (see chabad.org for more information about Tishrei its many holidays), shake lulov and esrog and celebrate with great joy.  Simchat Torah is the holiday when we complete the yearly cycle of Torah reading of the Five Books of Moses (the BIble) and then begin again.  On this holiday we dance with the Torah scrolls and rejoice in our legacy of the Torah that guides us.  

The tribe connected with this month and talent is Ephraim, whose name is related to fruitfulness.

Chana Rachel Schusterman is a Jewish spiritual counselor and coach. If you would like to contact her, please email me at Jewishmontessori18@gmail.com.

And the winner is...

 ***Sheina***

Please send me the best email address to reach you so I can send you the gift card!

(Jewishmontessori18 AT gmail DOT com)

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, wonderful and sweet new year!

Always, 

TORAH TOY Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

Okay, my wonderful readers- this is just for you!

In honor of Rosh Hashanah and to start your New Year off on a really sweet note, TorahToy.com  has generously given me a $25 gift card to give to one lucky reader! 

Yes, by this Sunday, YOU and your munchkins could be the lucky owner of this:

I know, how awesome is that?

But first, let me tell you a bit about this company. 

Torah Toy.com  contacted me a few weeks ago and I agreed to do a review of some of their products, which they sent me free of charge. I am sure you have seen lots of cool different Jewish toys that my kids use for different holidays and Jewish events on this blog. Well, Torah Toy.com pretty much has all of those toys and SO much more. I finally chose a few products and made the order. They were so professional and enjoyable to deal with. Any questions I had were answered right away. Their prices are SO reasonable. I get SO many emails asking me where I buy my Jewish toys/books/activities and its always a bunch of different websites for each different product. The beauty of Torah Toy.com is that all these products are on ONE website. 

They carry a FANTASTIC selection of Jewish books for all ages as well as Jewish Arts'n Crafts projects, Alef bet activities, CD's, Jewish Toy's, DVD's- they have so many products, in fact, just CLICK HERE real quick and go check them out for yourself - but come RIGHT back here to find out how to win the gift card:)

Nice... welcome back:)

Okay, now that you've seen their awesome website, here are the rules of the Giveaway:

1. Go to www.TorahToy.com and tell me ONE product you would buy if you won the $25 gift card

2. LIKE A Jewish Homeschool Blog on Facebook

3. Subscribe to A Jewish Homeschool Blog

4. Share this Giveaway on Facebook

5. Tweet about this Giveaway

Let me know in the comments below which of the above you have done.

You can leave a different comment every day telling me the different products you would buy until the Giveaway is over. 

Remember, every comment you make on this post is an entry into the Giveaway.  

The winner will be announced this Sunday morning, September 16. I know it's Erev Rosh Hashanah, but if you enter, just check back here first thing Sunday morning to see if you won.

The winner will receive the Gift Card right away via e-mail, so you can start shopping the second Yom Tov is over:) 

GOOD LUCK and have fun!

Always,