Children's education
Shabbat Mishpacha
Shabbat Shalom School
Confirmation
Express B'nai Mitzvah Preparation Program
Shabbat Mishpacha
This program is held on the last Friday of each month and is geared for children from pre-school through early elementary school. It is an interactive introduction to Erev Shabbat. Participants meet alternately in the synagogue and in members' homes.
See and read what's going on with our kids in the article Making Noise at Shabbat Shalom School
The Shabbat Shalom School is modeled on a family, with a focus on developmentally appropriate, inter-age activities to meet the needs and excite the imagination of each child.
Students who complete the program will have the knowledge and skills required to be full participants in Jewish life in the home and the synagogue. They will be familiar with Jewish texts, history, and traditions, and be fluent readers of prayerbook Hebrew.
In addition, children will be comfortable with the liturgy and melodies of worship. They will be fully prepared to participate in a year of study with Cantor Linda Semi, culminating in an opportunity to celebrate as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah on our bimah.
Classes for children from pre-kindergarten through 7th grade are held on Saturday, during regular Shabbat morning services. Families are encouraged to come to the synagogue together to worship and learn. (We hope that families will enjoy coming to synagogue together, but we understand that different families have different needs, so parents are not required to stay for services.)
Children have opportunities to participate in services in meaningful ways. They participate in the Torah procession and are invited onto the bimah to help lead prayers, to dance during "L'dor V'dor," and to receive a blessing and a treat.
Each class session is centered around a theme, which is explored in a developmentally appropriate and child-centered way. Instruction is thematic and experiential. This flexibility affords us the opportunity to take advantage of "teachable moments," in which children's natural curiosity and interests can be explored and honored.
The sessions are designed to allow children to bring the synagogue experience home with them. For example, in a session centered on Havdalah, children explored the traditions, meaning, and prayers in depth, and took home a "Havdalah kit" with all the objects needed to continue the discussion and perform the ritual at home.
On the last weekend of each month, classes are held on Sunday. These sessions are open to the whole family and focus on hands-on activities, such as cooking, painting, gardening, and writing. The focus of the Sunday sessions is tikkun olam. We also use our Sunday classes to take field trips, including activities such as volunteering at a food bank, participating in a beach clean-up, or being part of a tree-planting crew.
Intensive Hebrew instruction is offered to children in grades 3 through 7 once a week on Wednesday afternoons.
Post-b'nai-mitzvah students are offered a Confirmation class, culminating after two years in a Confirmation service. The curriculum for each year is developed by the students in consultation with their teacher to address their particular needs, interests, and questions.
Express B'nai Mitzvah Preparation Program
This program designed for nonmember families who would like their children to celebrate b'nai mitzvah in a synagogue setting. Students accepted into the program must have a solid foundation in written Hebrew, and will undertake an intensive, one-year preparation program directed by Cantor Linda Semi.
