Shavuot anyone?

I personally am looking forward to Shavuot this year. This year is special for a few reasons which I want to share:

(1) This year, the holiday comes in May and not in June so it is on the "school year" calendar. Whew! It just made it. :-) As someone who grew up Jewishly in Louisiana, I can tell you that school ended in May and Shavuot most often came afterwards, yet before the Jewish summer camp I attended for many summers in Utica, Mississippi opened, so this important holiday was often overlooked. But this year, that is not the case. So, quick before school ends, let's enjoy Shavuot.

(2) I have spent the past year alongside the Cole family "home schooling" our families in Jewish education. Since we get to pick the topics we study, we have spent our time since Passover discussing Counting the Omer and have built the anticipation for Shavuot. Each week, we have marked our calendars together and talked about what was coming and chosen a commandment to follow until the next time we met so that the time would pass quickly but also purposefully. We all frankly can't wait for the 10 Commandments to get here! (or for school to end, the kids to get to celebrate their summer birthdays, celebrating graduation for 3 members of the Cole family, summer camps, vacations, etc. but all a valuable lesson about waiting and preparing for big things to come)

(3) Our synagogue, Shearith Israel, is offering a very topical, relevant evening of programming at a good time and dinner is free! (Thank you to Amy, Scott, and Joshua Jacobson for sponsoring dinner.) It is customary for Shavuot to have an all-night Torah study session but this year, the program is not all night. After all, it is a school night. The program starts at 5:30, includes dinner, and ends around 8:00ish so everyone can be tucked in at a reasonable time to get to school or work the next day.

Teresa Cole and I are pleased to be joining Rabbi Norry to present on the topic of Learning about Learning. Specifically, Teresa and I are sharing how our "Home School 4 Hebrew School" model has influenced Jewish learning with our families.

So mark your calendar to celebrate Shavuot on the 6th of Sivan (that would be May 18th). Take a Lactaid pill. Can't wait! Chag Sameach!!

Location Location Location

Purim is coming this weekend and we have had several lesson plans preparing for this joyous holiday. Yesterday's event involved making hamantaschen that were then packed in little boxes to be given away as shalach manos. Lucky for me, my mommy partner in teaching offered to make the dough and host us at her house to cook.

Each week at least one of the kids seem to act out and spend some time out of the room. Typically, my own kids are the ones who are removed. Well, this week while outside of their own home, my kids were generally pretty good. We had a moment when my younger one did some things that didn't make Momma proud but my 9-year old seemed to be on his best Hebrew time behavior. Much to my surprise, the one child who had to be removed from the activity was the other older child (8-year old) whose home we were visiting.

This situation made me realize that the issue may not be that the material is boring or too challenging. It is not always a function of having Mom or Dad be the teacher. It is location, location, location. My kids act out in their home and perhaps this other child felt more comfortable in his own home to do what he wanted.

We are requiring a shift in behavior among the boys in their home from "let it all out" to "this is an educational institution." So, how do we create an educational institution in our own homes? Should we find another meeting place that is neutral? This weekend, we plan to meet at synagogue for Hebrew prior to attending our synagogue's Purim carnival. I look forward to the next part of the unintended location experiment.

Long Time No Blog

I am bad at blogging. We have come a long way with our Home Hebrew School model. Too bad I have not shared more information regularly. I am just not that person who posts on Facebook or twitters. I love to read what is going on with everyone else but just don't seem to be able to post stuff myself. Admittedly, I don't like to create a scenario that places me in a vulnerable position to be critiqued. I want to know what critiques might be coming my way and regular bloggers have to let that go. I am going to try to be a bit more open about myself, what we are doing, how the kids are responding, etc. So here it goes!

I love that we have taken this leap and continue to work toward educating our children Jewishly in a creative way. The kids have their moments. They certainly are not seeking to go back to the traditional Hebrew School model but they don't generally love what we do either. They have good moments and enjoy the camaraderie of the 4 boys. Most of the challenges are typical behaviors of boys being taught by their moms.

Despite the challenges, the kids really are learning so much. This week we are preparing for Tu B'Shvat. We created a table cloth with trees, center pieces to look like trees, and crates to fill with fruit that could come from Israel. The kids love the crafts.

Last week we went to a basketball game to see Israeli player, Omri Casspi, play. He is the first Israeli to be drafted by the NBA. Prior to the game, we learned about sports in Israel and learned the Hebrew words associated with the game of basketball.

The kids are getting better and better with Hebrew conversation, colors, numbers, blessings, etc. The younger kids are doing better at identifying the Hebrew letters and their sounds. The older kids are now reading Hebrew and focusing more on learning to translate what they are reading.

We have learned some prayers and continue to add on there. I am happy to say that the kids know what the prayers are about and not just how to recite them. We are planning to have the kids start to lead the prayers in the Junior Congregation service soon. As they lead each prayer, we are going to reward them with a badge of sorts on a piece of cloth that one day could be made into a tallis.

History these days is focusing on Israel, geography, historical Israeli "super heroes," and big events. History is always a highlight of our time on Sundays.

I love spending time each week reviewing the parsha. The kids don't enjoy the parsha time as much as I do. Sedra Scenes (author: Beiner) is generally a fun way to tell the story. The kids act out the story. Some stories are better than others.

More on tips and tricks we have discovered coming soon.

Sukkot Fun and Games

I love Sukkot! What better holiday for boys than one where you build a structure outside and get to eat and even camp out in it for a whole week! My family won a raffle 4 years ago where we received a ready-made sukkah for the week. The next year we built a sukkah of our own with pvc pipes and lattice and a tradition was born. My husband and the boys cut down bamboo for the roof and hauled it home on top of the car. Great stuff!!

For an engaging outdoor holiday, the lessons, traditions, prayers, and history of Sukkot must be taught in an active manner. My partner parent crafted an amazing afternoon of activities and learning for the kids.

We started the lesson by giving each child a shoe box to make their own sukkah. The kids gathered leaves and sticks from the back yard and as they built we told them the facts about the holiday. When the sukkot were built, we lined the boys up at the top of the driveway and quizzed them on the information that we taught them. A question was asked and then the first boy to raise his hand got to answer. Correct answers were awarded by taking two steps forward. Incorrect answers meant they had to take a step backward. There was a tie so both boys got prizes. The others got stickers for great behavior.

The boys really enjoyed the afternoon and learned everything we taught them. We also read a story from their Hebrew workbook, Shalom Ivrit, about a mouse who lives in the family sukkah. It may be too cold and rainy for the family but the sukkah was just fine for a mouse, especially since he had a box to keep him warm.

It is amazing the connections the kids are making and the retention that follows in their learning. There are days I question the decision to teach them Hebrew but days such as this one confirm that I made a good decision.

Teaching is not easy

When we first began our home Hebrew School, I had lots of planned activities and creative ideas for what to teach. I considered the creation of the curriculum to be the biggest issue. Well, that has turned out to be the easy part. I find that my greatest challenge is teaching, not just my children but the other two boys as well.

Teaching is a tough job! For starters, the kids are different ages and on different levels. They also have different interests. I only have 4 to worry about but imagine the teachers in the classrooms with 20 or more students. How do they reach each and every one of them?

The other mom and I have worked hard to reward the right behaviors and to address the undesirable behaviors among the kids. Sometimes we get down about how our kids behave and worry that their behavior gets in place of the learning and perhaps it has. Then again, I am so pleased with how much the kids have learned. I try not to sweat the small stuff and let them be boys. I am learning how to teach and they are learning that there are times when Mom is the teacher and needs to be treated like a teacher. Judaism is not the only subject we are learning and learning is not just kid stuff.

Getting Started

As I planned to start my own Hebrew School in our home, I spoke to many friends along the way really hoping I could create a Chavurah (a fellowship group) of sorts. There were lots of people interested and I had numerous discussions. One person even began writing lesson plans and we met every couple of weeks to keep each other motivated. Ultimately, she decided this was not the best path for her child. For one reason or another, most people were not ready to take this journey with the exception of one.

My older son has been in class at Hebrew School/Sunday School and played sports with another child his age. This child happens to have a younger sibling in Kindergarten and an older sibling in 5th grade (and two other siblings - one college age and one who is just a year old). Based upon similar ages and levels of ability, the other mom and I decided it would be best to include the 5-year old and 8-year old.

Interestingly, the other mom does not read Hebrew (but wants to learn). She is very creative and is helping with arts and crafts and anything I ask of her. Her husband is a music teacher and is willing to advise us in that area. My husband loves Jewish history so that is his department. So that leaves me with Hebrew, Parsha, Prayers, Holidays, and the curriculum development and planning. In a very organic way, our Chavurah has been created.

Hebrew School Taught at Home

Where do I start? I am a mother of two boys ages 6 and 8. My children are Hebrew School dropouts. You might question if they are even old enough to attend Hebrew School much less have dropped out already! I have taken the path less traveled and in the words of Robert Frost,

"And that has made all the difference." Not only has it made a difference in their lives, it has made my life, my husband's life, and the lives of our children richer and fuller.

Last year when my children were in 2nd grade and Kindergarten, they cried and fought about going to Sunday School and Hebrew School. They just hated it. I hated the routine that required my eight year old to leave for school at 7:10 in the morning, come home at 3:00, have a quick snack, go to Hebrew School for 2 1/2 hours, and then return home at 7:00 PM without having had dinner and with his homework still looming. When my then 5-year old complained about Sunday mornings, it broke my heart to see this child who LOVED his Jewish preschool suddenly turn against the religion based upon a 3-hour per week commitment on Sunday mornings. Something was just not right. Shouldn't kindergarten just be a time to rejoice about being Jewish -- do art projects, sing songs, bake, play games, introduce the alef bet?

I went to observe the Hebrew School/Sunday School program and quickly understood why my children were unhappy. I don't want this blog to be a place of negativity that points out the issues of Hebrew School so I will not go there. That being said, I knew that I had to find a way to create a positive Jewish educational experience for my children so I did what I thought was best and got involved on the Education Committee (kind of like the PTA) for our synagogue. I observed, thought, and ultimately wrote a proposal for making changes that would not incur any additional costs to our synagogue but might be more developmentally and educationally purposeful for the children. The Rabbi, President of the Congregation, and Chair of the Education Committee favored the ideas. However, change happens slowly and given the ages of my children, I didn't have time to wait. I decided I needed a new option for the entire family.

I considered other synagogues with alternative Hebrew School approaches but the bottom line was the same. They all require hours of Hebrew training during the week at times that were not suitable to teaching a foreign language to young children. Their priorities were not my priority which in a nutshell is to impart a positive Jewish identity in my children.

Perhaps we needed to just take a break from all of it? That would not serve my goal. I spoke to my friends. In general, most commented that no one likes Hebrew School but it is a means to an end and somewhat a rite of passage, perhaps a bonding ritual among Jewish youth. I was told it is the kid's job to challenge and the parents to make them do it. A few friends had just taken their children out of Hebrew School and hired tutors for their kids as they approached Bar/Bat Mitzvah age. I wanted more than just to teach my children enough to have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

I should add that I did not attend Hebrew School. My father (who is an unofficial Hebrew scholar) taught me Hebrew at home at a young age. He trained me for my Bat Mitzvah and taught me both Torah and Haftorah Trope. We attended services regularly and somehow I picked up the language and the prayers most likely from repetition. I attended Sunday School the year before my Bat Mitzvah because that year we joined a Reform Congregation and that was the rule. I continued on through confirmation and made great friends. I was involved in the youth group, Jewish camps, etc. and really have fond memories of my Jewish upbringing. Could I possibly do the same for my children? I am a busy woman and certainly NOT a Hebrew scholar! Then again, what could be more important? I had to figure out a way to do this and I am now on that path.

I hope this blog will help others with similar struggles. I am so thrilled to share my alternative approach to educating children Jewishly and creating a positive Jewish identity. I am also interested in opening a discussion on this topic. Please write back with your thoughts and ideas.