Ganeinu: Baby & Toddler Group
Temple Isaiah is proud to offer a joint Friday morning facilitated parenting group for parents and caregivers (we love grandparents at Ganeinu), and their infants and toddlers (0-30 months). Play, sing, and celebrate Shabbat and holidays with your child and others.
Ganeinu meets from 9:15 to 10:45 a.m. in Temple Isaiah’s Adult Lounge inside the Temple House building. Great care is taken to make sure everyone at every age can participate in a safe and comfortable manner.
“Adam (20 months) & I have been attending Ganeinu since he was 3 months old. It’s amazing to see him develop alongside his peers. Now, there’s a new group of babies and Adam LOVES watching them and helping them. As a first time mom, I was grateful for the advice I got from other mothers, and now as new moms join, I feel honored when they ask me my advice. From session to session, we have quickly formed close bonds with moms & kids thanks to our exceptional facilitator. She encourages us to ask questions, be there for each other, and she offers wonderful information on Jewish parenting.”
More About Ganeinu
Ganeinu is a facilitated parenting group as well as an activity group for babies and toddlers. You can play, learn, and create with or for your child, enjoy a Jewish environment, and share with other parents.
The goal is to stimulate the children’s cognitive, social, motor, and language development, using developmentally appropriate toys, songs, activities and Jewish celebrations, as well as strengthening the parent-child relationships, and creating a community.
A typical day includes discussion of parenting issues, Jewish themes and Jewish holidays and traditions. We encourage you to raise issues of your own, as you like. Each week there is a visit from Temple Isaiah’s Rabbis and/or Cantor, as well as professionals from Gan Ilan Preschool, to enhance our discussions and knowledge.
You will often get a chance to create something special for your child. Examples of previous projects are a hand-painted Challah cover with your child’s handprints/footprints, a special Mezuzah for your child’s doorpost, a special individually decorated Chanukiah (menorah), Havdallah spice boxes, Shabbat candles, Tzedakah boxes, and many more.
Every week a different theme or different holiday will be introduced and the children will experience it through appropriate activities/songs. We sing a wide repertoire of songs every week, and you will receive a CD of the songs to listen to at home or in the car with your child.
We always end our group with a very child-friendly Shabbat service where we sing Shabbat songs, light candles, bless the wine, and eat Challah (at least the adults, if the little ones are still not ready). The children enjoy this ritual and always look forward to this special moment.
Ganeinu Schedule
9:15-10:00 Individual activity time and Structured Activity
During this time, your child may explore the environment and experience different activities in the room. Different projects will be set up on the tables such as play dough, paints, and manipulative play. Take this time to observe what your child likes to do and to supervise. This is a time when the children as well as the parents can socialize with each other. This is also a time when we will informally discuss the Jewish holidays and Jewish rituals. We encourage the caregivers to raise parenting issues and questions for the facilitator and the group. This is also the time when we will experience the topic of the day in a developmentally appropriate way. We will either create something individually to take home (like a Challah cover for Shabbat) or we will create a group project that will stay (like Sukkah decorations for the Temple’s Sukkah).
10:00-10:15 Wash Hands/Snack Time
Snack time provides a social environment for your child to sit, eat, and watch their peers doing the same. This is also a social time for the parents to snack and chat. There’ll be a sign up sheet for snack for the children and snack for the adults.
10:15-10:30 Clergy Visit
This is a special time that truly sets our program apart! One of our wonderful Rabbis or our amazing Cantor comes for a weekly visit to answer your questions, explore various topics, and share their rich knowledge of Judaism. Recent topics have included how to raise a child in an interfaith home, baby naming rituals, Jewish bedtime rituals, an informal question and answer session about all-things Jewish, guitar time with the cantor singing holiday songs, and more!
10:30-10:45 Circle Time and Shabbat
At this time we will gather together as a group and welcome each child. We will sing classic early childhood songs, Shabbat songs, and some finger-plays. Please have your child sit on your lap at the beginning of circle time so that they get used to the routine. If they do not want to stay seated, it is absolutely okay for them to move around with the music or play. We may also play with bubbles or a parachute during this time. At the end of circle time we will say the Shabbat blessings together and enjoy our Challah.
For more information contact Ganeinu Facilitator Joanne Peterson at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (925) 284-8453. Pre-registration is required.
2012 Dates
Winter Session: Jan 13, 20, 27; Feb 3, 10, 17, 24; Mar 2, 9, 16
Spring Session: Mar 23, 30; April 6 (not 13), 20, 27; May 4, 11, 18, 25; June 1