Looking for an alternative to overcrowded classrooms, dwindling per-student funding, metal detectors and mediocre curricula--not to mention social pressures, conflicting values and prohibitive private school costs--a growing number of parents are opting out of the American education system. They're taking the biblical imperative more literally than ever and educating their children at home. Once the bastion of fundamentalist Christians, home schooling is attracting a growing number of Jews.
JHEN connects you to Jewish homeschoolers throughout the country and world-wide. It is a quarterly newsletter filled with thought-provoking articles, letters from readers that provide open dialogue on a wide range of interesting topics, mouth-watering recipes, creative holiday and craft ideas, stimulating book reviews, a Jewish calendar chock-full of information and original ideas, help columns with practical how-to advice on homeschooling. It is the only place you'll find the columns "Homeschool Hannah" and "Aunt Rachel's Bookshelf".
The focus of this list will be to provide homeschooling support and resources to Jewish homeschoolers of all levels of observance. Topics include curriculum choices, teaching tips, and holiday observances.
Torah Tots products combine the zaniness of their Mitzvah characters with educational fun. You'll find cassettes, audio CDs, videos, and interactive CDs.
Chabad Shluchim living in remote places or cities where there is no Jewish school, have long contended with schooling their children at home or parting with them at young ages, so they can get a traditional education. A newly developed online school now gives these children the benefit of a classroom situation where they daily interact with classmates--children of other shluchim, and a teacher, at home.
This is a collection of printable worksheets designed for teaching young Jewish children.
This website is offered by a Jewish vegetarian homeschooling family. You'll enjoy reading about their experiences and how they combine their faith and homeschooling.
The L'shon Hatorah series is designed to aid in the teaching of the fundamentals of Hebrew Grammar and basic vocabulary. The goal of these workbooks is for the student to develop the requisite skills necessary to be able to translate with accuracy and fluency.
Tara Publications offers JewishMusic.com, with a wide selction of recorded Jewish music, along with videos and sheet music. It was founded in Cedarhurst, LI in 1971 by Velvel Pasternak, a noted musicologist, The goal of the company was the publication, preservation and dissemination of the heritage of Jewish music.
This article is written to address some of the questions that have arisen regarding homeschooling the younger Jewish children around pre-K and K. There are so many good quality reading materials that are colorful and inviting read-alouds for parents to their young children.
The Shluchim Online School offers distance learning for Jewish families.
Davka Corporation offers a large selection of Judaic software, including Jewish clipart, fonts, and educational games.
Akhlah, the Jewish children's learning network, is an important resource created to provide Jewish children and their families access to the prayers, stories and rituals that have bound Jews together around the world and through the ages. Akhlah is specifically designed for the youngest and least knowledgeable among us, while maintaining scrupulous attention to the details of the subject matter.
It must be clear at the outset that there are no sure-fire rules of education that apply to all children at all times. Reishis Chachmah quotes a Midrash that it is easier to raise a legion of olive trees in the Galilee, where the soil and climate are not conducive to growing olive trees, than to raise one child in the Land of Israel, even though Israel is conducive to proper education, since the atmosphere itself helps to imbue one with wisdom and holiness. Children are not objects to be fashioned at will, but rather human beings who have their own free will and can reject, if they so choose, even the best education. The most a parent can hope to achieve, as Chiddushei HaRim points out regarding all learning, is to put the words of Torah on the heart of the child so that when the heart opens up, the Torah found on it will sink into the receptive heart.
Babaga Newz features online games for Jewish children, along with ideas for family activies, Jewish holiday craft projects, recipes, and more.
This list is for Jewish homeschoolers in the New England area, including CT, NH, VT, ME, RI, MA. Members include Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews, Reform Jews, Reconstructionist Jews, and secular Jews.
Milon is a free online English Hebrew English dictionary. Get translation and definition from the most popular dictionaries and encyclopedias.
This articles details many of the reasons Jewish families choose to educated their children at home, including being able to teach the Torah in the context of daily life, for religious reasons, and concerns over the academic and social quality of schools.
This article written by a Torah psychologist reflects how much Jewish parents need to know in order to differentiate between a Jewish education and an education that is Jewish.
Torah Aura Productions offers educational materials for Jewish schools and families. Started in 1981, Torah Aura Productions is one of the world's most innovative creators of educational Judaica.
TES is the world's largest developer and distributor of Judaic, Hebrew and Bible educational software. To date TES has developed over 120 educational titles.