Category: Learning this Week

Bnei Yisrael had trouble hearing from Moshe that they would ever get out of Egypt. Slavery was all they had known for generations, and the Torah says, “their spirits were crushed.” Thankfully, our students had relatively little in their lives to compare crushed spirits to, so we did a demonstration with two small apples.  Before the students arrived, we had taken…

Today, we studied the text where Moshe and his wife Tzipora (from Midian) name their son Gershom. We delved into the ways their son’s name reflects both Moshe and Tzipora’s life experience and family tradition. First, we asked our students to share with us some of the holidays they celebrate with their extended families: Chanukkah Passover Shabbat Christmas St. Patrick’s…

We just began our final unit of the school year—hard to believe that summer is just around the corner! We’ll spend the coming weeks studying the narrative of getting Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people) out of Egyptian slavery. We opened our new unit by reflecting on how well our students already know the story of leaving Egypt from our services…

How does the movie Aladdin shed light on a Jewish text written by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan? Well, they’re both thinking about how people handle power. First, our students reflected on the way Jafar (the villan) sought out limitless power in the movie. We reflected on him being too greedy and forgetting that he is responsible to people other than himself….

We continued our unit on tzedek (justice) by unpacking what barriers to self-love might be. In particular, we were looking at the idea of loving ourselves from “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”, (Leviticus 19:18). During snacktime learning, we watched a short film titled “Just Breathe ”https://youtu.be/RVA2N6tX2cg. In this film, children explain different strategies for feeling better when they are…

We continued our unit on tzedek (justice) by exploring the mitzvah (commandment) of tzedakah (charity) We dug deeper into the texts of the Talmud which sparked several conversations, ideas, and opinions about what a mitzvah  is and the importance of giving tzedakah. During snacktime learning, we explored Maimonides’ eight levels of tzedakah. We discussed how giving a little of what…

Last week we had three exciting half-day camps. It was a fun change in our normal schedule to be at Makom Community for more immersive time together. Our themes and activities this week included Arthur (the TV show), getting ready for Shabbat and Israeli art. During our Israeli art day we invited students from Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel (BZBI)…

How does a person hate evil? How does a person love well?  This week we continued our unit on Tzedek-Justice. We started the week by establishing justice and welcoming everyone into Makom Community by practicing good discussion, infused with intentional listening and sharing our own ideas. During snacktime learning, we studied a text from Amos and discussed the importance of…

Who is holy? What is justice? How do we go after justice? This week we began our unit on tzedek (justice)! We began with a discussion of what we thought holiness is and what it means to be holy. A lot of students had varying opinions of what they thought holiness was. Helping people in need Being nice to our…

צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ Pursue and chase after justice, that you may live. –Deuteronomy 16:20   For the next eight weeks, we embark on a journey with our students to explore Jewish concepts around justice. And it couldn’t feel more timely. Our students come in from school daily with questions about justice in their worlds—both at school and about…

Hello and Happy February! As the new month begins we started a new chapter of learning at Makom Community! We had our Hebrew Intensive week. We focused exclusively on Hebrew reading. Though our students know lots of Hebrew words and use them conversationally, this was an exciting way for them to focus on reading and writing skills. During snacktime learning…

Welcome back and Happy 2017! Our 2016 Winter Break school’s out camp came and went by so quickly! Time really does fly when you’re having fun! It was a joy to see all the children shine in all of our experiences together. Trying to new things, learning, sharing, exploring and discovering new found passions were just some of the things…

We just began a new unit on Hallel / Praise. We’re looking to a few different Jewish texts to think about how praise can help us notice, appreciate, and protect the best parts of the world around us. These are some snippets of conversation from this week when we studied some of the birkhot hashar (morning blessings). The day of these…

Winter is soon approaching and with that comes our fabulous Winter Break Camp days! We are so excited for this year’s camp days as we have some especially awesome and fun-filled days planned! Winter Break Camp will run December 27-January 3, for 4-10 year olds. Our Winter Break Camp includes 4 field trips and 2 jam-packed days right here at Makom!…

During our Shrek camp day, we created fairytale creatures and then wrote a FABULOUS story using all of their unique and special skills and talents. And each one’s sense of humor got to shine through, too.  Makom Community fairytale Aliza: Aliza monster would be really good at helping if someone gets hurt. Drew: Pizza Belly monster would eat all the…

We’re in the midst of studying the story of Bilam and Balak. As we look at their experiences of awe and wonder, we paused to notice the role advice plays in this story and in our own lives. We asked our students to give us advice on this scenario: “I want to have a sleepover with all my friends this…

November is here! As the leaves start to change and the cold bites us a bit more, we look forward to the warmth, fun and excitement of our November “School’s Out” camps here at Makom Community! We will have two action–packed camps on Tuesday November 8th and Friday November 11th Also! Stay tuned to learn about at our awesome half day camps on November 21st and 22nd! In the meantime, check out the fun stuff we have planned for Nov 8th and Nov 11th!…

As Makom Community grows, our staff is growing, too!  This year, we are thrilled to welcome Gaby Marantz as our afterschool coordinator. We’re saying a fond l’hitraot, farewell, to Sarah Fleischman as she gets ready to start a new job in non-profit development in September. We’re hiring for two positions: Camp Coordinator and Substitute Teachers The camp coordinator will get to work…

Looking for fun activities for your child(ren) during the weeks between when their camp ends and school begins? Makom Community is your answer August 22 to September 2! We have two weeks of incredible activities that will have your child exploring the city while immersed in a wonderful Jewish environment. Each day will include a field trip, healthy snacks, friends, and of course FUN!     See below…

Sign up for both weeks, one week or even just one day! For more information visit the website (www.makomcommunity.org/camps) or contact our Camp Coordinator, Sarah Fleischman, at [email protected]. We can’t wait to spend time with your child(ren) this summer!    Monday, August 29 – Zoo Day ($35 admission)  We have already met our underwater friends, and now Week 2 will kick off with…

June is here, and the end of school is right around the corner! Crazy! Are you looking for enriching day camp activities on June 23rd and 24th (the Thursday afterschool is over)? Send your kids to Makom Community! We have amazing outdoor Philadelphia adventures planned!     Thursday June 23 Old City $70 + $5   We are exploring Old City with a tour of theUS Mint, Franklin Square, the Liberty Bell, and the Once Upon a Nation Storybenches. You…

What a journey our first two years have been! ­We have journeyed with our Avot v’Imahot (ancestors), explored the journey out of Egypt and explored what it means to live in a holy way. We have welcomed new friends from a variety of schools and neighborhoods; new staff members; and learned, played, and celebrated together. Fall 2016 Enrollment Now Open!Ready…

What do a pear, a princess, and a fashion designer all have in common? They’re all on their way to the U.S. Mint and Constitution Center on a camp day field trip, and they’re getting ready for Purim, too! Being a Jewish educator in an urban setting is a special journey. The city of Philadelphia is our classroom. Our students…

Despite this morning’s freezing rain, spring is almost here! Amazing, right?! At Makom Community we’re gearing up for lots of AMAZING camp days coming your way soon, and registration is open for all of them, including summer camp! We need six children signed up to make each camp days happen. Signing up sooner rather than later will help us know…

As we all prepare to spend the next few months bundled up, I want to remind everyone that it is never too early to begin thinking about camp. And as you begin to think about what your summer will look like, we hope that you will consider spending part of your summer at one of the incredible Jewish summer camps…

We’re having an AMAZING first semester this year. Our enrollment more than tripled from last year, and our families have great things to say about us— how much their kids love being at Makom Community, our flexibility, and our support in their lives. We are now enrolling students from 4 years old through 4th grade for our second semester, beginning…

Our students just finished exploring the next from Bamidbar, Numbers, where Bnai Yisrael, the Jewish People, have wandered in the desert, received Torah, and have to decide together whether to go in to the Land of Israel. These are the same people who were slaves and saw all ten terrible, horrible, no good, very bad plagues. These are the same people who crossed…

We are kicking off the school year working toward a classroom brit—a set of guidelines that will set us up for a fun, communal experience full of great learning. Yesterday, we learned the text from Exodus 39:43 where Bnai Yisrael, the Jewish people, finished building the Mishkan and Moses blessed the people for all their generous donations and hard work…

We can’t wait to kick off our first week with our students! Sarah and I have been busily preparing for what seems like forever, and we’re so ready to see your kids’ smiling faces and learn with them! Here’s a sneak preview of how we’ll start off the year: Getting to Know You Each day during our first two weeks…

August 17-28 We know you need them, and we have them! Check your child’s calendar and see what the gap is between their summer camps and school resuming. We’re here for you! Full-day Camp 9am-6pm is $70/day. Camp days with additional field trip fees are listed below. Sign up today! August 17 Trip to Franklin Institute & Science Experiments +$25August…