Here are Religious School and Youth Department activities families can do together, students can work on from home, virtual social activities, and more.
Categories
Jewish Values to Discuss at Home
Various Resources
Hebrew Letters & Basic Reading
Passover Resources
Yom HaShoah Resources
Yom HaZikaron & Yom HaAtzmaut – Israeli Memorial Day & Independence Day Resources
Prayer Practice through Karaoke Videos
Jewish Values to Discuss at Home – Whole Family
- Community – Kehillah – קְהִלָה
- Health & Healing – B’riut & R’fuah – בְּרִיאוּת and רְפוּאָה
- Humanity was created In God’s Image – B’tzelem Elohim – בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים
- Hope – Tikvah – תִקוָה
- Peace in the Home – Sh’lom Bayit – שְׁלוֹם בַּיִת
- Kindness – Chesed – חֶסֶד
- Memory – Zikaron – זְכִירָה
Various Resources
- Temple Dor Dorim Scavenger Hunts –
- RJ on the Go is your virtual home for interactive, meaningful, and joyous Jewish experiences. Explore your Judaism through science, art, text, and more from the comfort of your own home, and build your Jewish community as you go. These family and camp programs are brought to you by the Reform Movement.
- ReformJudaism.org seeks to provide content that describes and demonstrates the traditions and innovations of Reform Jewish life. Teens and adults.
- BimBam uses digital storytelling to spark connections to Judaism for learners of all ages.
- Jewish Interactive provides a platform for students to learn through Jewish games. Elementary ages.
- PJ Library offers suggestions of what to do with your young Jewish family at this time. Early Elementary.
- PJ Our Way offers the gift of exceptional books with Jewish themes to kids ages 8½-12 – books that they choose themselves!
- LEV Children’s Museum is a hands-on experience at the heart of Jewish exploration. LEV is offering engaging videos that will be posted on their Facebook page. Early childhood through early elementary ages.
- Big Questions for Families with Young Children – Each question is crafted especially for parents to start a conversation about life in every season. Big questions can be answered by anyone regardless of their age or background.
- Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur – This is the prayerbook we use at Temple Dor Dorim.
- Reform Movement Virtual Communities – Many of our URJ Camp & NFTY communities are virtually gathering.
- Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot (in Tel Aviv, Israel) – Short museum tours and activities for students and families. Upper Elementary.
- Hillel @ Home has virtual meet-ups and online gatherings that bring you together with Jewish and Jew-ish students from around the world in real-time. College ages.
- Creativity Face to Face: A Playful Collage Journey – Israeli artist Hanoch Piven gives master class on self-portraits made from household items. Currently free. Probably 3rd Grade through adult.
- Cooking – Recipes for Jewish holidays and URJ summer camp favorites.
- Music
- Jewish Rock Radio has current and past hits from favorites like Dan Nichols, Elana Arian, Alan Goodis, and Matisyahu. Yes, this is a thing.
- JKids Radio is The Home of Jewish Kids Music! Formerly PJ Library Radio, JKids Radio brings fun, kid-centric, Jewish music to your family. JKids Radio App and JKidsRadio.com allow you to listen to amazing music 24/7 and watch cool music videos from your favorite artists. Music allows families to explore Jewish life—values, traditions, and holidays—all while rocking out together! JKids Radio is curated by a dynamic committee of educators, musicians, and fellow parents.
- PJ Library Listen has family-friendly story podcasts, sleepytime tunes, holiday playlists, dance mixes, read-alouds, sing-alongs – something for everyone with new featured content each month.
Hebrew Letters & Basic Reading
- JLearnHub is a good place to practice your Hebrew reading skills. Give it time to load. 2nd – 4th Grades (Learning and/or Review)
- Jewish Interactive provides a platform for students to learn through Jewish games and interactive activities. I like this site for Hebrew letters. Use the ones that have letters that look like they are in the clouds. 1st – 3rd Grades (Learning and/or Review)
Passover Resources
- Parts of a Seder Plate
- The Passover Seder – A Video Reminder
- Celebrating Passover with Shalom Sesame: Seder Traditions
- Passover Picture Sudoku
- Passover Word Search – English
- Passover Word Search – Hebrew
- Passover “You Don’t Say” Game – Like Taboo
- Dayeinu – Karaoke Style
- Mah Nishtanah Resources
- Learn Mah Nishtanah, The Four Questions, in Both Hebrew and English
- Mah Nishtanah – Hebrew – The Four Questions (Read)
- Mah Nishtanah 1 – Hebrew – The Four Questions (Sung)
- Mah Nishtanah 2 – Hebrew – The Four Questions (Sung)
- Mah Nishtanah – Hebrew – The Four Questions (Interactive)
Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day Resources
- If you have children in fourth grade or younger, we recommend teaching your children about empathy and kindness, rather than the Shoah itself. Here is a list of children’s books about empathy and kindness.
- What is Yom HaShoah?
- What is The Holocaust – Shoah?
- Article on Yom HaShoah from 2019 – includes a short (2:16) video about Yom HaShoah and some clips from survivors.
- Koolulam: Am Yisrael Chai – 600 Israelis – Holocaust survivors, their children, and their grandchildren – came together to celebrate life by performing the song “Chai” by Ofra Haza. The result was a moving intergenerational experience, whose message reverberates across generations, commemorations, and celebrations.
- Songs and Prayers for Observing Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Learning Site for Students – Middle & High School
- Video of the sirens in Israel to remember Yom HaShoah and those lives lost in the Shoah.
- The Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Center via Instagram – Empowering every generation to understand their moral obligation to each other; compelling change in our own lives and all of humanity.
- “Visit” the Anne Frank House (in Amsterdam, Netherlands) via Google Arts & Culture
Yom HaZikaron & Yom HaAtzmaut – Israeli Memorial Day & Independence Day
- What are Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut?
- Video of the 2-minute sirens in Israel on Yom HaZikaron which marks the opening of the official memorial ceremonies and private remembrance gatherings at each cemetery where soldiers are buried.
- Recipe for Shakshuka – Eggs in Tomato Sauce
- Play an Israeli Game – Three Sticks
- Make a Flag – Best for early childhood through 1st Grade.
- Create a poster for Israel.
- Mini Israel tours with Grover: Postcard from Grover – Most are just over 1 minute long. Best for Early Elementary students.
- Jerusalem – Yerushalayim – יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
- Tel Aviv – תֵּל־אָבִיב
- Jaffa – Yafo – יָפוֹ
- Sea of Galilee – Yam Kinneret – יָם כִּנֶּרֶת
- Safed – Tzfat – צְפַת
- Haifa – חֵיפָה
- Hula Valley – עֵמֶק הַחֻלָּה
- Daliyat El-Carmel – דַלְיַת אֶל-כַּרְמֶל
- Ramon Crater & Masada – Maktesh Ramon & Metzadah – מַכְתֵּשׁ רָמוֹן וּמְצָדָה
- Kibbutz – קִבּוּץ
- Beit Guvrin – בֵּית גֻּבְרִין
- Eilat – אֵילַת
- Journey Back in Time to the City of David, Ancient Jerusalem – This tour takes you through the archeological discoveries from King David’s palace to the underground tunnels deep beneath the city where kings were anointed, battles were fought and the 3,000 year old spring still flows today.
- Virtual Reality Visits – These videos have some light background music and give you a chance to look around various places in Israel. These videos also work great on a phone.
- Visit an Israeli Museum
- Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot (in Tel Aviv, Israel) – Short museum tours and activities for students and families. Upper Elementary.
- The Israel Museum (in Jerusalem, Israel) – Its holdings include the world’s most comprehensive collections of the archaeology of the Holy Land, and Jewish Art and Life, as well as significant and extensive holdings in the Fine Arts. There are two ways to do this:
- Google Arts & Culture Self-Tour
- Virtual Tours
- Tel Aviv Museum of Art (in Tel Aviv, ) via Google Arts & Culture
- Israeli Music
- The Israeli “We Are the World”
- Playlists on Sporify
- Classic Songs
- Od Lo Ahavti Dai – I Haven’t Loved Enough – עוֹד לֹא אָהַבְתִּי דֵּי – Naomi Shemer
- Nolad’ti L’Shalom – I Was Born to Peace – נוֹלַדְתִּי לְשָׁלוֹם – Uzi Chitman
- Chai – Life – חַי – Ofra Haza
- Halleluya La Olam – הַלְלוּיָה – Hallelujah – Milk and Honey
- Quiz – How Well Do You Know Israel? – Middle School and above.
Prayer Practice through Karaoke Videos
- Hinei Mah Tov
- Mah Tovu (Sung)
- Modeh/Modah Ani (Sung)
- Bar’chu (Read)
- Bar’chu – Noah Aronson Melody (Am I Awake?)
- Yotzer Or (Read)
- Sh’ma (Read)
- Sh’ma (Chanted)
- V’Ahavta (Read)
- V’Ahavta (Chanted)
- Mi Chamochah – Paragraph 1 (Read)
- Mi Chamochah – Paragraph 1 (Sung)
- Amidah: Avot V’Imahot (Chanted Slowly) – Rachel and Leah are reversed in this version
- Amidah: Avot V’Imahot (Chanted) – Rachel and Leah are reversed in this version
- Amidah: G’vurot (Chanted Slowly)
- Amidah: G’vurot (Chanted)
- Mi Shebeirach – Debbie Friedman Melody
- Eitz Chaim Hi (Sung)
- Oseh Shalom (Read)
- Oseh Shalom (Sung)
- Torah Blessing: Before Reading
- Torah Blessing: After Reading
- Haftarah Blessing: Before the Reading (Read)
- Haftarah Blessing: Before the Reading (Chanted Slowly)
- Haftarah Blessing: Before the Reading (Chanted Regularly)
- Haftarah Blessings: After the Reading (Read)
- Haftarah Blessings: After the Reading (Chanted Slowly)
- Haftarah Blessings: After the Reading (Chanted Regularly)
- Aleinu (Sung)
- Chanukah Blessings (Sung)
- Mah Nishtanah 1 – Hebrew – The Four Questions (Sung)
- Mah Nishtanah 2 – Hebrew – The Four Questions (Sung)
- Dayeinu – Hebrew (Sung)
