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Showing posts from July, 2014

What we’re doing for school this summer.

  So did I mention we’re homeschooling again? At least for the summer.  Does that make me the kind of wannabe / poseur I hate?  Or an earnest parent trying hard to make something work during weird, transitional times… I’m not sure what the answer is, but I thought I’d share a quick update on how things are going this summer with our “homeschooling / summerschooling” plans.  (It was originally going to be quick – sorry!!) It remains to be seen whether we’re going to do this long-term.  But the truth is, it feels very good.  Very, very good. In some areas, we’re picking up exactly where we left off.  But mostly, things slipped a lot during the year.  The only area in which both kids are further ahead (besides Hebrew!) is math. I had a few clear criteria before we started:

The thing I didn’t expect (the thing you’re hiding).

NOTE: One year after my brother Eli's death in 2014, I published a book about the intertwining of our lives and his struggle with schizophrenia. This post and many other writings are included, in slightly different form, in that book. Please wait until the ride has come to a full and complete stop is now available in print and Kindle editions. Through laughter and tears, I invite you to come share my final journey with my brother. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Know what I didn’t expect? When I stood up a month and a bit ago to give my eulogy for my brother, and shared it with you online, I didn’t know so many other people, so many other families, were suffering, too. Look, I’m a writer:  a shy, prickly, private person, who relates better to a keyboard than to other human beings and their eyeballs. But after that eulogy, it was non-stop eyeballs. Do you know how many people came up to me afterwards to tell me that they, too,

Why you need to join my mailing list and take over the world (a manifesto).

Don’t cringe.  I know the phrase “mailing list” sounds so 1998, but this post is my appeal to you to sign up for my mailing list.  I’ll tell you why in a minute.  But first, I want to tell you who I think you are and why we have this connection. (I’ll get to taking over the world in a minute.) Who this blog is for If you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming a few things about you. You are Jewish, or interested in Judaism. You have kids, or are interested in education. (or both!) You don’t take much for granted. You believe both in lifelong learning and in questioning the status quo. This blog, my first and still very close to my heart, has always dwelt at the intersection of Judaism and family life.  True, it has changed over the years.  But I don’t like to think of it as changing, but rather, evolving with me and my kids.  Whether through cloth-diapering and attachment parenting, or homeschooling, or cooking weekday suppers, week in and week out, or dealing with family loss

New kids’ siddurs from Koren give Artscroll a run for its money.

If there’s one thing that causes hand-wringing and hair-pulling in the Torah homeschooling world, it’s choosing a siddur. It makes sense, doesn’t it? We’re passionate about educating our kids, We’re passionate about Judaism, Tefillah (prayer) is an important cornerstone of Judaism.  Therefore… The siddur we choose is critical. Hence the hair-pulling.  (or tichel-pulling, as the case may be) Complicating things is the fact that many homeschooling parents are baalei teshuvah (newly-observant) or geirim (converts), who may not know the text or its meaning and might feel insecure about sharing these things with their kids. Since my own personal favourite grown-up siddur is my Koren / Sacks siddur, I was thrilled to receive review copies of two new kids’ siddurs from Koren Publishers.  One, the Koren Children’s Siddur, is for young kids, the other, Ani Tefillah, is aimed more at middle grades and high schoolers.  The distinctive Koren fonts and layout have been incorporated into

“Water, water”: Insanity and Torah Thought (for the shloshim of my brother Eli)

NOTE: One year after my brother Eli's death in 2014, I published a book about the intertwining of our lives and his struggle with schizophrenia. This post and many other writings are included, in slightly different form, in that book. Please wait until the ride has come to a full and complete stop is now available in print and Kindle editions. Through laughter and tears, I invite you to come share my final journey with my brother. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Think mental illness is something new? It’s not; it’s always been with us. We may believe our understanding has come a long way, but throughout Jewish history, we’ve wrestled with questions of what causes mental illnesses, and how to treat people among us who suffer from them. In Jewish law, a person who is insane is referred to as a shoteh , and there are very specific guidelines as to how we should treat them. But let’s look at the definition first. What is

Come meet the king of creepy Jewish kids’ books.

Creepy. Sorry, but that’s what comes to my mind when I think of Eric Kimmel.  Creepy, as in the very best kind of creepy Jewish books:  ghosts, ghouls, goblins and all things paranormal.  Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins kind of creepy. Gershon’s Monster kind of creepy.  Jack and the Giant Barbecue kind of creepy. Huh?  Jack and the… giant… barbecue? Check it out: Sure, Eric is the undisputed champion of creepy Jewish kidlit, but if that sounds like he’s stuck in a niche, think again.  He’s not just about creepy… or just about Jewish books, as you’ll see. Read all about Eric A. Kimmel over on my children’s-book writing blog!