Celebrate Thanksgiving?

Right before Thanksgiving my daughter asked me why were we going to celebrate a holiday that's not Jewish. I asked her if she had anything to be thankful for and she answered yes and so began our lengthy discussion.
Thanksgiving is now a topic included in the curriculum in most Jewish day schools. It is a secular, American holiday with mostly secular origins. This gives Jewish students the opportunity to learn about the Indians and the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.
Our family has always enjoyed the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving with family and visiting with old friends that return to the area to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with their own families.

We have recently come across some neat traditions that other family members and friends practice to make Thanksgiving more Jewish and significant to them:

• Some cook the turkey on Friday and celebrate Friday night with a nice Shabbat turkey dinner rather than having all the leftovers on Shabbat which can make Shabbat feel not as special or important.
• You could also use Thanksgiving to teach your children more about doing good deeds like volunteering at a community Thanksgiving dinner for the needy or giving charity to an organization to fight hunger.
• Treat Thanksgiving as a true Seudah, festive meal, and be certain to make blessings and say grace after meals. You can even add some words of Torah to the festivities.
• Invite people outside your usual social circle to the meal. If they are new to this country, they may have a lot to share about the innumerable blessings of this country that we often take for granted.

Hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving with a side of pumpkin pie (my personal favorite)!

I came across an article called The discipline tool kit: Successful strategies for every age by Melanie Haiken.
What does this have to do with youth education? Every child should be given the guidelines of how to behave in different scenarios. As parents, we need to set these ground rules up front so our kids know what to expect. With this guidance they can then grow up to be respectful, caring, individuals.

First, the ground rules

To set the stage for discipline success, here are the bottom-line rules many experts agree on:

1. We're all in this together. Right from the start, teach your kids that your family is a mutual support system, meaning that everyone pitches in. Even a baby can learn to "help" you lift her by reaching out her arms, says Madelyn Swift, founder and director of Childright and author of Discipline for Life, Getting It Right With Children.

2. Respect is mutual. One of the most common complaints parents and kids have about each other is "You're not listening." Set a good example early on: When your child tries to tell you something, stop what you're doing, focus your attention, and listen. Later you can require the same courtesy from her.

3. Consistency is king. One good way to raise a child with emotional strength? Be consistent and unwavering about rules and chores, says Harvard professor Dan Kindlon, author of Too Much of a Good Thing. Even if you pick just one chore to insist on, your child will be better off, Kindlon says. "Being firm and consistent teaches your child that you care enough about him to expect responsible behavior."

4. Life's not always fair. We're so afraid of disappointing or upsetting our kids — too afraid, say some discipline pros. "If a child never experiences the pain of frustration — of having to share a toy or wait their turn in line — or if they're never sad or disappointed, they won't develop psychological skills that are crucial for their future happiness," says Kindlon. So if your child's upset because a younger sibling got a different punishment, for example, it's okay to say "I understand that this seems unfair to you, and I'm sorry you're upset, but life isn't always fair."

For the rest of this interesting article:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-discipline-tool-kit-successful-strategies-for-every-age_1475318.bc

Open Gym tomorrow Friday Oct 16 and every 3rd Fri of the month

Give your little ones a chance to run and play in a full-sized gym at Gesher Jewish Day School. Our gym is open for young children every 3rd Friday of the month from 10-11am.
Preschool appropriate toys and ride-ons, plus songs and blessings for Kabbalat Shabbat circle time. RSVP appreciated, but not necessary. This is a free program where you can meet other Jewish parents of young children and your kids can have fun at the same time!
Gesher Jewish Day School is located at 4800 Mattie Moore Court Fairfax, VA 22030.
For more info or to RSVP, contact Debra at dmendelson@gesher-jds.org or 703-962-9216.

Barnes & Noble Yom Kippur Storytime today at 3:30!

At the Fair Lakes Barnes & Noble (near Fair Oaks Mall)
Special snacks, fantastic crafts, and stories to share with the whole family.

All ages are welcome!

12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive
Fairfax 22033

Sun Sept 27 @ 3:30pm

Next Year in Jerusalem!

Some would say that Yom Kippur is not for children, but I would disagree. There are many lessons children can learn from all that we do in preparation for Yom Kippur as well as on the day itself.
You could explain that another name for Yom Kippur is the Shabbat of Shabbats. It is even held holier than a typical Shabbat for on this day we have a heightened Shabbat experience.
We light candles, change our shoes, fast, pray, and hear the shofar.
There are some great stories too!

For some fun activities like making slippers or interesting stories go to
www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/354745/jewish/Yom-Kippur.htm

G'mar Chatima Tova! Have an Easy Fast!

Shana Tova Umetukah!

So whether you're playing Apples to Apples, Jewish edition, reading Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah, or singing silly songs to the tune of Macarena (Apples, apples, honey, honey. They're so yummy in my tummy. Apples, apples, honey, honey. He-ey, it's Rosh Hashanah!).

As parents, we're always looking for ways to further educate our children, especially around High Holiday time.
Some sites to check out to get your young ones excited for the upcoming New Year:
www.akhlah.com/holidays/roshhashana/roshhashannah.php


www.torahtots.com/holidays/rosh/rosh.htm



www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/354744/jewish/Rosh-Hashanah.htm



www.artistshelpingchildren.org/roshhashanah-craftsideasjewishkids.html



Enjoy and have an especially sweet 5770!

Where to send them?

After 7 yrs of child-rearing, I had my first day today of having all of my four children in school.
I tried to be very productive, but wow, do those hours fly by.

It got me thinking how we got to this place. I had planned on homeschooling years ago, but I ended up with a child who wasn't interested in learning from her mother, and then I proceeded to have twins. My eldest first went to preschool when she was 4, my son when he was 3, and now the twins are going at 2 1/2. It's funny to me how in my family there seems to be a trend of going to school earlier at a younger age.

As parents we go through a whole process:
When they're babies we're not even thinking about schools and we keep putting it off in our minds. Then they're coming onto toddlerhood and you're sorting out whether to keep them home/ daycare or send them to preschool. This is not such a hard decision since there are so many Jewish preschool options in the area. Before you know it, it's time to think about elementary school and this is where all of those harder decisions come into play about where to send them? It's enough to make any parent turn prematurely gray.

I came across this interesting article called "Tuition or mortgage: Choosing public school over homelessness" by Mayer Fertig. Check it out!

The Learning Curve

It is so important to realize that your child is never too young to begin their path towards learning about their Jewishness: the rituals, the customs, the songs, the games; it's never ending! At 2 years old, maybe even 18 months for some, your child is absorbing everything they see and hear. For instance, in our household, we have little "kosher cops." I remember when we began using the term "kosher" for our children to understand that they could not have the candy because it wasn't kosher. That was all we had to say. They may not have understood it tangibly, but they did get it. Even at the age of 2 1/2, my boys will say to me, "Is it kosher mommy? Can we have it?"
There's nothing more rewarding to see those successfully trained children, especially when they are so fulfilled and joyous about their own religion. So parents, be aware, model your behavior and watch your child(ren) follow suit.