Young Families Shabbat & Festivals
Our Young Families Shabbat & Festivals celebrations are specially designed for young children up to eight years old and their families.
At every event, we reunite with old friends and welcome new faces. We encourage you to join us, and bring along a friend or two.
Upcoming Events
Shavuot Ice Cream Party!
On Sunday 9 June, we have a great morning planned for our children age 8 and under (and their families).
They'll have the chance to:
• Carry in the bikkurim (first fruits) and join in our Torah parade in the sanctuary!
• Learn about the holiday of Shavuot and mitzvot with Rabbi Nicole!
• Enjoy a beautiful "seven species" activity with our Apples & Honey Preschool!
• Celebrate the festival at our ice cream kiddush!
It all begins as we gather in the foyer (of the main sanctuary building) at 10:45 AM.
Let me know if you plan to join us, so that we can ensure we have plenty of materials and ice cream!
A 'taste' of our Bagels & Brachas Family Shabbat Program
What a great thrill it was to have 19 families (30 kids and 29 parents) join us for our second Bagels & Brachas Shabbat on 18 November! Special thanks to Grace Lazzeri of Kids Circle, who ran our children's activity, enabling parents to chat with each other and enjoy a little Shabbat breakfast! Thanks as well to everyone on our Office Team who helped bring the vision to life, with such care and excitement.
Kids and parents enjoyed the first part of the service for about 45 minutes, including adapted opening prayers, children standing alongside Rabbi Nicole and participating in the service, kids joining in the hakafah, and a special blessing over the parents and children before they headed upstairs for a beautiful Chanukah themed craft led by Kids Circle (run by our member Grace Lazzeri), which totally engaged the kids so that the parents could enjoy some breakfast and chatting with each other.
Kids and parents stayed through the 1st aliyah (about 11am), then headed upstairs for activity and breakfast. The remainder of the service included Torah reading, Haftarah, Drash, Aleinu, and Kaddish, and ended at Noon.
We look forward to welcoming you back for Bagels & Brachas throughout 2018! Same time, same place (10:00am sanctuary, then courtyard or classroom).
Here is some feedback we received from our past events -
"We had a great time and the kids loved it too! We will definitely be back. I love the fact that the service is short and sweet and there is singing and chocolates! (A big crowd pleaser :)) The fruit and bagels were delicious! Kids loved the craft too."
"It was an absolutely lovely event, and I LOVED that you modified a Shabbat morning service to accommodate younger participants… [it] was really amazing and inclusive… I enjoyed the chat over bagels. I met some new people, which was great."
"It was a lovely event and we all really enjoyed it. Please count us in for the next one... I loved the music and singing and the way you involved the children. Thanks also for the word cloud and lovely morning tea.”
