PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

In the spirit of reimagining Sunday school, Keeping it Sacred seeks to provide a Family Educational program that integrates/infuses Jewish tradition and wisdom with relevance and practical application for today. In short, we want to explore this question: In an increasingly and paradoxically interconnected yet divided society, what does it mean to live Jewishly? The program aligns with our mission and guiding principles while it meets and affirms families - both children and parents/caregivers - where they are at, what they are interested in, and how they are navigating opportunities and challenges in the world. We want to nurture an engaged, thriving, and social-justice oriented learning community with a dynamic educational program that is accessible, relevant, and empowering.

 

Accessible

In line with how educational content and delivery has evolved over the last several years, we will provide materials, lessons, and activities in a variety of modalities. This includes asynchronous and synchronous online material, as well as occasional in-person learning opportunities. We understand that you are juggling a lot of responsibilities, so we aim to create accessible media that fit your lifestyle. This will include, but not be limited to, podcasts, educational videos, interactive live sessions, thought-provoking blogs or columns, book discussions, and collaborative activities. 

 

Relevant

Our methods and materials aim to integrate the wisdom of Jewish tradition and teachings with topics, interests, and challenges of our modern lives. We aim to educate from interdisciplinary and multi-perspective lenses, understanding that life’s challenges and questions are not answered in a tidy binary; rather, we will wrestle with what is before us, valuing questions and collaboration. While our youngsters will be allowed to explore topics of interest (arts, science, sports, etc.), we will ground the exploration in character and identity development. Parent participants will be seen as learning partners, as we examine how our traditions, lived experiences, cultures, and background can help us learn new ways of seeing the world and develop skills to help us guide our children as they navigate growing up in this society. 

 

Empowering

We aim to empower participants, young and old, with material and life lessons that can be explored once or many times over and that are grounded in a number of perennial topics relevant to growing up and engaging with the world around us, Our adaptable and dynamic program develops evergreen materials, provides opportunities to learn in community, and sparks relevant conversations about engaging with important societal issues informed by a Jewish lens. 

 

Topics We Explore

• Identity Development  and Issues of Belonging

• Definition of Family 

• What does it mean to be Jewish (not Jew-ish)

• Friendships and Peer Pressure

• History and Current Events Connections

• Science

• Art, Expression, and Culture

• Jewish Rituals, Symbols, Prayers, and Traditions

• Social Justice

• Social-Emotional Learning

• Sacred Values and Character Qualities: Generosity, Truth, Justice, Mercy, Humility etc.

• Holidays: then, now, high, low, and across cultures

• Untold Stories of the Bible/Marginalized Voices Today

• Ethical Living Today: From Conversation to Action

• Media Consumption with a Jewish Lens