Makom Community News & Blog

Makom Community News & Blog

January & February Extended Enrichment DetailsJanuary & February Extended Enrichment Details

Find community amid the chilly weather at Makom’s Extended Enrichment Days!   Extended Enrichment will be held on: Friday, January 21st Tuesday, February 2nd Wednesday, February 3rd Thursday, February 4th Friday, February 18th Cost is $60 from 12pm-5:30pm. If your child normally attends Jewish Enrichment on the day of the Extended Enrichment, you can enroll them for the discounted rate…

January & February School’s Out Camp DetailsJanuary & February School’s Out Camp Details

On Tuesday, February 1st and Monday, February 21st, we will have a 1-Day School’s Out Camp held at both South Philly and Center City locations from 8:30am-4pm, $75 for the day. February 1st Camp: Our day will be full of crafting, baking, reading, critical thinking, outdoor time, and lots of fun! We will draw connections between East Asian Lunar New…

Music Making At GreenfieldMusic Making At Greenfield

In order to keep all kiddos and staff safe, we held Jewish Enrichment outside at the Greenfield playground. At first, some kids were disappointed that we couldn’t be inside, which was totally understandable. But with a few layers and the excitement of the impending snow storm at the end of the week, kids were soon excited to sing Tefilah: prayer,…

Different Is GoodDifferent Is Good

This week we had the pleasure of being joined by Center City Makom educator Gaby Marantz. Upon meeting Gaby, one of our learners remarked, “Does everyone who works at Makom have dyed hair?” While brightly colored hair is certainly not a requirement for employment, we love that our team brings their full self to Makom with diverse backgrounds and perspectives….

Magical Book Week: Oh the faces we show!Magical Book Week: Oh the faces we show!

What a magical week it has been! When kiddos arrived at Makom on Monday some were feeling unsure about the unknown of a new environment and new people. Throughout the week I saw campers emerging from their shells. By the end of the week there was laughter, friendship, and so many beautiful memories.  On our very first morning some friends…

Omicron Safety Plan 2022

Makom Community January 2022 COVID-19 Safety Plan, Updated January 11th Update January 11, 2022 We are continually checking in with our advisory team from CHOP, and we are learning more and continuing to do better. We want to be transparent that our standards for COVID safety are high out of a strong desire not to have COVID from Makom keep…

Torah through the Generations

Makom @ Home wrapped up our first unit with a text from Pirkei Avot about the transmission of Torah through the generations. We talked about things that get passed down in our families: Speaking Russian Shabbat Jewish religion! On my dad’s side, my grandmother passed down jewelry. My dad’s grandma gave it to my mom. Some of us illustrated how…

Reflection On Nitzanim Unit 1 ShowcaseReflection On Nitzanim Unit 1 Showcase

For our first unit, “Love Your Neighbor,” Nitzanim (3rd, 4th and 5th graders) worked collaboratively for weeks to answer the question: “How might we practice loving our neighbors to cultivate a welcoming environment at Makom Community?”   Using the project based learning model, we started this process by brainstorming things that make us feel welcome like warm/bright colors, fun images and…

Our Holy NamesOur Holy Names

This week we considered a bit of text from the Amidah (a section of daily prayer.)  “You are holy, Your Name is holy, and holy ones praise Your name every day…”  When conceptualizing her connection to this text, one learner shared: “The earth is God’s museum.” Kiddos reflected on what these words mean through discussion, movement, and making. Together, we…

The Holiness of Names and Exploring PraiseThe Holiness of Names and Exploring Praise

When have you received praise? What was that like? How is that experience connected to holiness? Our text last week came from a tefilah (prayer) that said, “You [God] are holy, your name is holy, and holy ones praise your name every day” (Siddur Ashkenaz, Amidah). Here’s how the Garinim (kindergartners) unpacked it. What’s it like to experience praise, either…

(Re)Dedication: Chanukah and Our Online Classroom

Makom @ Home celebrated Chanukah together in many creative ways! We learned that Chanukah means (re)dedication. We shared our families’ traditions about ways to celebrate: Dreidel, presents, gelt, sufganiyot Cooking and spending time with each other And playing Latkes We fry different foods Yes, we light candles Eight lights eight nights I light candles, today they’re all burned down. We…

The Holiness in OthersThe Holiness in Others

This week, our learners reflected on the ways our souls are absolute and part of people as a unique creation. We discussed what responsibilities come with being holy and having a soul, and empathized with the difficulties Moshe faced while communicating with Pharaoh and all of Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people) while having a speech disability. In Garinim (kindergarteners) our…

PJDS Camp Explores Music and EmotionPJDS Camp Explores Music and Emotion

It was another fun-filled action-packed day of PJDS Camp here at Makom! We considered emotions as they relate to the month of Tevet. Students were eager to share their emotions as we brainstormed when and why certain emotions might come up. We sat around the rainbow rug and thought about a range of emotions. I watched as our youngest and…

Holy Souls In Dialogue Holy Souls In Dialogue 

This week we dug deep as we discussed what holiness means and how we can tap into it. We also began considering the concept of a soul which sparked a lot of amazing learning.  During Schulchanot Avodah kiddos were playing, talking, creating, and problem-solving. Two students worked together in a conversational exchange to learn about how they each thought about…

Setting Goals for Successful LearningSetting Goals for Successful Learning

What makes Jewish text compelling and relevant to learners of all ages? How do we as educators know what to focus on when there’s SO MUCH content and SO LITTLE time?! Our November seminar on Lesson Planning and Goal Setting provided our Jewish Placemaking Accelerator cohort with some guidance on these questions and more. Our Accomplishments We started off the…

Exploring HolinessExploring Holiness

What is holiness? Where can we notice it in the world around us? Last week the Garinim (kindergartners) jumped into an exploration of holiness with a walk to find things that made us say “wow,” a handful of activities and experiments with light, and an artistic analysis of music. Kiddos LOVED getting to play with light on Tuesday. We made…

Special Talents and Holiness! Special Talents and Holiness! 

This week we embarked upon a discussion of what holiness means.  Learners shared their ideas as we unpacked this big concept: Holiness is something special. It reminds me of when we say Holy Moly Guacamole! It’s something crazy or big. It has to do with God. I think of Jewish things, like holidays. Objects can be holy. It’s holy to…

Welcoming PJDS to Makom South Philly! Welcoming PJDS to Makom South Philly! 

What a wonderful way to kick off the month of Tevet! Seeing some familiar faces and some new faces in our brand new space at Makom South Philly was such a joy. Kiddos joined us in the morning with such ruach.  We took a moment to get to know each other, sharing our names and interests before settling into snack….

The Holiness of ChanukahThe Holiness of Chanukah

Happy Chanukah! This week has been so joyous as we have gathered to light Chanukah candles as a community everyday. This week, each kevutzah reviewed the elements of the Chaunkah story and Chanukah traditions. The Garinim (kindergarten) started off last week with a brief overview of the Chanukah story, and then took a deep dive into the brachot (blessings) that…

Chanukah on S. Juniper St.Chanukah on S. Juniper St.

This week has been full of light and joy. We feel so blessed to have this beautiful space on S. Juniper St. to joyfully learn in, while we grow.  As we gathered outside for snacktime learning this week, the excited energy was palpable. We noshed on graham crackers and apples while kiddos shared what they know about Chanukah. We use…

Ourselves and Each Other

We returned to learning from Rabbi Hillel this week with a 3-part text from Pirkei Avot that we explored both in writing and by listening to and singing two different musical settings of the text. We thought about how we are for ourselves, for each other, and the importance of timing. The first line of the text, “If I am…

Brit Brainstorm!Brit Brainstorm!

It’s review week at Makom Community! We can hardly believe that we’re already a quarter of the way through our school year together.  The Garinim (kindergartners) spent last week revisiting the text from our first unit and brainstorming ideas for our classroom brit (two-way promise) from those texts. Here’s some of our ideas. From Leviticus 19:17-18, “You will not hate…

Lehitraot 13th St.Lehitraot 13th St.

We had an unexpected but welcomed day of Jewish Enrichment at our new location on S. Juniper Street this week. As we finish upon 13th street, we are saying lehitraot (goodbye for now) and gearing up for an exciting adventure at our new location.  On Monday, learners were excited to spend the afternoon exploring the new space. After getting our…

November 11th School’s Out Camp Recap!November 11th School’s Out Camp Recap!

Our November 11th School’s Out Camp Day was full of fun and thoughtful learning. In Center City, shaving cream art with marbled watercolor was named across the board as a highlight. The day also included making impressive clay statues, singing “Boom Chicka Boom” and “Herman the Worm” with verses created by the kids, and lots of playground time. Amidst all…

BMitzvah Update!BMitzvah Update!

Everyone is doing an awesome job learning to read trope and using what they already know to practice chanting their aliyot. I am really looking forward to our Torah Service next week! Continuing our exploration of tefilah in Rosh Pinah, we followed a 4 minute guided meditation by Alison Laichter, an innovator and leader in the world of Jewish meditation….

A Reflection On Different Kinds Of LoveA Reflection On Different Kinds Of Love

This week, our learners dug deeper into different kinds of love. We started with this bit of text: “All love that depends on something, [when the] thing stops, [the] love stops; and [all love] that does not depend on anything, will never stop” (Pirkei Avot 5:16).  In Garinim (kindergarteners), kiddos answered a few questions: What are some people or things…