This blog is filled with ideas to turn everyday moments into Jewish moments, especially for families with young children.
One of the mitzvot (commandments) of Purim is to have a feast with family and friends! When celebrating with small friends, I love making “No Bake” Hamantaschen
From creating joyful noise to playing carnival games to eating sweets, there are so many fun ways to celebrate Purim. When I was a young, what I loved most about the holiday was dressing up as Queen Esther.
The Hebrew word for flowers is Pra-khim (one flower is Perach). We thought it would be festive to make our own DIY flowers for Shabbat.
We think it’s important everyday to remind special people in our lives (family and friends) that we love them. For children, leaving love notes on a pillow, making a pancake or a sandwich in the shape of a heart, We made our friends a very special puffy heart necklace for a special playdate! They’re so simple and happy, come make one too!
Today is my favorite Shabbat of the year - Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Song). On this special Shabbat, we honor birds and celebrate their songs. We’re decorating birdhouses for this wonderful day! It’s the perfect little activity for Tu B’Shevat and Shabbat Shira!
Tu B’Shevat is the perfect holiday for children to plant seeds of all shapes and sizes. In Hebrew, the word seed is pronounced Ze-ra, and vegetable seeds planted during the Hebrew month of Shevat (this year in February) should be ready to eat and enjoy by Passover! Come plant some pea seedlings with us!
In Central Florida, we’re right in the middle of strawberry season. With a chill in the air, and the promise of warmer days to come, picking strawberries (and eating fruits and nuts) for Tu B’ Shevat is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday!
It’s the Hebrew month of Shevat, and that means that spring and the Jewish holiday Tu B’Shevat (the 15th of the month of Shevat) is right around the corner! We can celebrate this time by eating delicious fruits, helping to take care of our earth and by planting seeds and trees!
It’s the Birthday of the Trees, the Jewish Holiday Tu B’Shevat (named for the date of the holiday - the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat), and that means we’re celebrating with a birthday party!
It’s almost Tu B’Shevat (the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat)! On this day, we say happy birthday to the trees, and we thank the trees for so many things: fruit and nuts, shelter for little animals,
During the Hebrew month of Shevat and for the Jewish holiday Tu B’Shevat (on the 15th of the month of Shevat), families can celebrate this time of year by planting seeds. One special way to make a seed grow is for children to use the warmth of their bodies to help a little seed start its growing journey in a DIY beanie baby necklace. Click here to learn more!
It’s fun to dress up as a superhero, but even more fun - and more special - to be a mitzvah superhero! Our cape is covered in all kinds of felt “mitzvah” stickers. Each sticker reminds us of a special way to be kind. This is an adorable activity to do with littles, so let’s go be super mitzvah heros!
One of the four blessings of Havdalah (the ceremony at the end of Shabbat on Saturday night to begin a new week) is for besanim (fragrant spices).
Havdalah is a little space in time when we separate the end of Shabbat from the beginning of a new week. It takes place on Saturday evening when three stars are twinkling in the sky.
Have you ever noticed just how many Jewish holiday traditions revolve around food - challah and chicken soup on Shabbat, hamantaschen cookies for Purim, and potato latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) for Hanukkah (just to name a few).
When I was 14 years old, I visited Israel with my parents and younger brother. It extra special because it was at the beginning of Hanukkah and we were visiting my older brother who was living at the time on Kibbutz Tzora in central Israel,
Hanukkah celebrations wouldn’t be complete without lighting the Hanukkah menorah (also called Hanukiyah). We light the menorah in the evening at sunset when the stars first appear in the sky.
It’s wonderful when children have the opportunity to participate in an act of kindness for someone else. Yesterday, we made mini challahs, and today, we are going to package up them up into little loaves of love for a special challah delivery.
It’s almost the official start of winter! If you find your family spending more time indoors as the weather gets chiller (or looking for meaningful activities to do while your children are on winter break from school), it might be fun on your next Shabbat to take a break from your normal routine and do something special, like bake mini challahs for Shabbat with your children!
Over the summer, my dauther Elizabeth and I were taking an early evening walk when it started to drizzle. We saw in front of us, not one, but two rainbows!
