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Showing posts from May, 2014

Tough concepts our kids can handle.

  I was thinking about The Talk again the other day.  Most of us will probably have not just one but several “talks” with our kids about serious subjects over the years, starting when they’re very little.  And sometimes, we freak out a little. Usually, The Talk (whichever one it is) is triggered by a question.  How do babies get inside mommies?  Why is that man lying on the sidewalk?  How come Shoshi has a different skin colour from her parents? Some of us freak out.  We don’t answer… or, worse, we over-answer, giving them not only more information than they can handle at their current stage of development, but letting them know they’ve hit a nerve, shaken you up, freaked you out. So I thought of a great analogy.  When you get a question on a tough topic that freaks you out, think about foreign languages. Imagine your child overheard a parent and child speaking in a foreign language.  She asks, “How come I can’t understand what they’re saying?” You say, “Because they’re speak

6th Annual Torah Home Education Conference – May 25, 2014

If I weren’t here, I’d be there… This year, the world’s only homeschool conference geared exclusively to Torah-observant Jewish families (it’s a small world) is happening in a new location in Englewood, NJ on Sunday, May 25, 2014, all day, from 9 am to 6 pm.  There is tons of excitement planned all day long, including sessions by great home educators (Avivah Werner, Yehudis Eagle, Yael Aldrich and so many more), great topics (workboxes! limudei kodesh!  special needs!  husbands!), a teen panel, rabbinic perspective, and… well, check it out for yourself . I admit, I really liked the previous Baltimore location, set in a friendly JCC in the midst of a warm community, and I’d definitely miss being able to eat out at David Chu’s China Bistro, where I stopped in after the conference the last 3 years running – the first year with a friend , the second year with the big kids, and last year, with Naomi Rivka. But it would still be worth the shlep.  So if you’re anywhere nearby… book a bus