SAMMY SPIDER’S FIRST WEDDING Author: Sylvia A. Rouss Illustrator: Katherine Janus Kahn The very busy spider who has celebrated many Jewish holidays now adds a festive ceremony to his catalog of experiences. The little eight-legged one watches as Mr. Shapiro and his family build a chuppah, or Jewish wedding canopy,…
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Hanukkah Celebrations with Sammy Spider
For over 25 years , children at home and in their classrooms have celebrated Hanukkah with Sammy Spider. This year, Sammy and I visited children in Ventura and Beverly Hills. Happy Hanukkah to all our friends.
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Five Little Dreidels, a new rhyme for Hanukkah
Happy Hanukkah to all my friends. Enjoy this rhyme in your class room or at home. IT’S HANUKKAH THE DREIDELS SHOUT, TIME FOR LOTS OF FUN. COME AND JOIN THE PARTY. START SPINNING EVERYONE.
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Fun with Jewish Holiday Rhymes is Available and Free
As a Jewish educator, keeping Jewish learning alive has been a priority. Early in my career, I taught two-year-old children and I wanted to find a way to engage them in learning about Jewish holidays and traditions. I was familiar with secular rhymes and finger plays and saw how they…
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What is your favorite fruit for the Sukkah? An apple? A watermelon?
Five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot begins. It is a fall harvest holiday which dates back to the time of Moses. While wandering in the desert, the Jewish people built temporary huts. Upon reaching the land of Israel, they became farmers. At harvest time, they built little huts near their…
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How the children in my classroom inspired me to write Sammy Spider’s First Simchat Torah
Our Rabbi’s, past and present, have taught us the importance of being a part of the community and have admonished us by saying, “Don’t separate yourself from the community.” Embodied within the Torah are values which teach us how to treat others. Several years ago at Simchat Torah, I showed…
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