In this Issue:

• Time to Register at JUF Right Start Preschools

• A Special Family Volunteer Opportunity with JUF's Young Women's City Council

• What's Happening at the JCC of Chicago

• Bring the whole family to enjoy Spertus' brand-new Gray Children's Center

• Chicago Jewish Day School invites you to the first Rabbi's Round Table

• Tot Shabbats at Area Synagogues

• Playing Jewish Music with Your Kids

JUF’s Shalom Baby welcomes the newest members of our community by providing a complimentary gift package to Jewish newborns up to one year old in Chicagoland.

Click here to learn more »

JUF believes that Jewish early childhood education is so important that we created JUF Right Start to make Jewish preschool and daycare more accessible and affordable for Jewish parents.

Click here to learn more »

The Tikkun Olam Volunteer (TOV) Network is JUF's connection point for people who want to donate their time to help others in need. In accordance with tikkun olam, the Jewish concept of repairing the world one good deed at a time, TOV places members of the Jewish community with Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation affiliated agencies and with community service projects that need volunteers.

View volunteer opportunities »

Is your child going to preschool or daycare for the first time next year? Do you have friends trying to pick a school for their toddler?

JUF believes there’s a world of learning, values, community and joy awaiting your child at Chicago-area Jewish preschool and daycare programs. And we want to help your family discover that wonderful world. The JUF RIGHT START program will pay up to $1,000 toward the tuition of the first child in a family attending a participating Jewish early childhood program for the first time.

• Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago
  Visit www.att.org for more information about Torah education for children.
• Community Foundation for Jewish Education
  Visit www.cfje.org to see a list of the Community Foundation for Jewish Education's affiliated early childhood programs.
• Jewish Community Center
  Visit www.gojcc.org to learn about the childhood education programs offered by the JCC.
• Board of Jewish Education
  For more information, contact Janet Sear at (847) 634-0363 or view the list of programs at www.bjechicago.org/preschools.asp.

Visit JUF Right Start to learn more »

Join the JUF Young Women’s City Council for a Jewish Child and Family Service (JCFS) Beautification Day on Sunday, June 7 from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. at the JCFS Therapeutic Day School, 3145 W. Pratt, Chicago. Paint a new set of dishes for the residents of Migdal Oaz, a residential home for young men with developmental disabilities, and decorate and plant beautiful flower pots for the JCFS group homes. The pottery painting project will cost $18 per piece. This program is best for children four years and older.

Please contact Elissa Kagan at (312) 357-4803 or e-mail YWCcouncil@juf.org with questions or to RSVP for the project.

View more Mitzvah Opportunities »

Early Childhood Summer Programs
Registration is ongoing for our Early Childhood summer programs in the Northwest suburbs. For more information and specific locations, please visit http://www.gojcc.org/content/view/683/410/

Save on fall Early Childhood Programs (Registration Open)
Take advantage of the JUF Right Start voucher program and save up to $1000. Visit www.gojcc.org for details.

T-ball League, 4-5 yrs
Lake County Jewish Community Center, Lake Zurich
Contact Debbie Lipkin, 224-543-7006

T-ball League, 4-5 yrs
Bernard Weinger JCC, Northbrook
Contact Brad Herzog, 224.406.9225

Pinto Baseball League, 6-7 yrs
Lake County Jewish Community Center, Lake Zurich
Contact Debbie Lipkin, 224-543-7006

Pinto Baseball League, 5-6 yrs
Bernard Weinger JCC, Northbrook
Contact Brad Herzog, 224.406.9225

Gym Kids, 3-6 yrs
Jacob Duman JCC, Buffalo Grove
Contact Debbie Lipkin, 224-543-7006

Munchkin Tennis, 4-6 yrs
Jacob Duman JCC, Buffalo Grove
Contact Debbie Lipkin, 224-543-7006

Vacation with the JCC!
Share quality time with your family and get the benefits that only an all-inclusive Perlstein family vacation can provide. Vacation at JCC’s Perlstein Resort & Conference Center in Lake Delton, WI, adjacent to Camp Chi and minutes from the Wisconsin Dells

• Day camp/day care for all age groups – infants to teens
• Family activities and events
• Nightly activities for adults and evening babysitting
• Relax and leave all of the Shabbat preparation to us!
• 3 Kosher meals a day with snacks

For details visit JCC, call 847.763.3603 or email prcc@gojcc.org.

Preschool Story Time every Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Visit the Spertus website for more information.

Patterns and Printmaking: A Special 2 hour workshop for families on June 21 from 2 to 4 pm. Kids and their favorite adults will take a guided tour through Spertus Museum’s Open Depot and the special exhibition A Force for Change then use their experience in the galleries as inspiration in an art-making workshop. Best for children 5+. Adults will participate in the workshop. Admission is free but space is limited. Preregistration required. Call 312.322.1773.

Grand Sundays on May 17 and June 21 at 2:00 p.m. Join Spertus staff on the third Sunday of every month for special activities for grandparents and their wonderful grandkids. Tour the Open Depot, explore the Gray Children’s Center and create masterpieces in the Arts Workshop. Grandparents are encouraged to bring a small personal or historical keepsake with them and be ready to share the story behind the object during the program. Best for ages 5+ with a grandparent but all ages welcome.

New Family Guides! Your kids can explore Spertus Museum as a Spertus Spy. Investigate the Gray Children’s Center, A Force for Change and learn the stories behind the objects in the Open Depot.

Join the founding Rabbis of the Chicago Jewish Day School (CJDS) as they reflect upon the founding of the School on Wednesday, May 20at 7:30 p.m. at CJDS, 5959 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago. Please join Rabbi Aaron Petuchowski, Rabbi Michael Siegel and Rabbi Asher Lopatin as they present, take questions and participate in lively discussion. RSVP to Michael Robins in the school office at 773-271-2700 or email Michael@chicagojewishdayschool.org.

Different synagogues have variety of ways to bring young families together especially on Shabbat. Because the service is geared towards young children, they are usually short and end with something sweet. If your synagogue is not listed here, call and find out if they have Tot Shabbat Programs for the family. Most programs are open to families even if you are not a member.

Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, 1224 Dempster, Evanston, 847-869-4230

Summer is here and Beth Emet’s Mishpacha Family Programs are at the park at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston. The park is just north of the parking lot and south of the playground. The gathering will not be at the beach. If you have questions or want to be added to the email list, please send an email to school@Bethemet.org. Both members and non-members are always welcome at Beth Emet events.

Join other families with children age birth through grade 3 for a Potluck Shabbat Dinnerat 5:15 p.m. on the following summer Friday nights: June 5, July 10 and August 7. Play, eat, sing, and welcome Shabbat together.

Saturday, June 13thfrom 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., join in a bonfire at the Lighthouse Beach Fire Circle. A special Mishpacha event specifically designed for parents and kids in grades kindergarten through 3 will be making s’mores, singing songs, and hanging out with Beth Emet friends, old and new.

Congregation Beth Shalom, 772 W. 5th Ave., Naperville, 630-961-1818

Family Services scheduled:
June 5 - Service at 6:30 p.m. followed by a traditional Oneg Shabbat at 7:00.
August 7 - Service at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Family Ice Cream Social at 7:00.

Sunday, June 7 - families are invited to bring their pets to a “Bless Your Pet” party held just outside the synagogue. The blessing ceremony will be held at 3:00 p.m. In the case of large or aquatic animals, children are encouraged to bring a photo of their animal friend. There is no cost to attend this program, which is open to all. Snacks for creatures of all shapes and sizes will be provided. For more information, email kibbutzkatan@napershalom.org. View other programs at Beth Shalom.

Friday, July 9 - Join Kibbutz Katan for a family dinner from 6 - 7 p.m. There is no cost to attend this program, but RSVP’s are recommended as dinner will be provided. Following dinner, there will be “a free, for all ages show” by the Tzofim Israeli Scouts. To RSVP, call Elizabeth Sigale at 312-925-5590 or send an email to esigale@comcast.net.

Kids of all ages are naturally drawn to music. Infants coo at lullabies, toddlers bang on pots and pans with a wooden spoon, and preschoolers sing and dance to music.

Children learn a variety of skills from musical experiences. Shaking, tapping, and beating instruments enhance fine motor development. Children listening for a beat, the sounds of different instruments, tones, and lyrics are developing auditory discrimination.

Kids can experience the emotional effects of music by listening to and creating music that is soothing, exciting, or funny. Music promotes creative development as children experiment with new rhythms, sounds, and movements.

Jewish music can be an integral piece of the preschooler’s repertoire. There are discs with songs celebrating the holidays and also songs with Jewish themes that are sung in the preschools which teachers are willing to share with families. Familiarizing young children with music from Israel and with Yiddish songs as well as with music from other countries will enrich their lives and enhance their experiences.

In order to encourage your child’s exploration of music, you don’t have to invest in expensive instruments, but your young child can actually play them. You can make several simple instruments at home with your child. Here are some of them:

Kazoo: Let your child decorate a toilet paper tube with construction paper and crayons. Help them put a square of wax paper over one end and secure with a rubber band. Blow through the open end and hum a tune.

Tambourine: Give the child two sturdy, luncheon-sized paper plates. Place a small quantity of dried beans or rice in one plate, then glue the plates together and allow to dry. The child can decorate with crayons, paints, and scraps of ribbon or other material. Shake the tambourine with one hand or tap it on the heel of the other hand.

Drum: Assist the child with covering the outside of a two-pound coffee can with heavy construction paper and have the child decorate as they wish. Replace the lid of the can and beat with hands or spoons.

Using music as a way of easing transitions from one activity to another, to motivate or to soothe, are all lovely ways to increase the joy of a youngster’s day.

Rounding out your child’s musical knowledge and activity with Jewish pieces will increase that joy.

Below are some suggestions for discs containing Jewish music for children:

I Live in the City - Robyn Helzner
Clap Your Hands - Robyn Helzner
Shirim al Galgalm - Debbie Friedman
Shanah Tova - Debbie Friedman
Chag Samaech - Judy Caplan Ginsburgh
Shabbat - Judy Caplan Ginsburgh
Latkes and Hamentashen - Fran Avni

Article by Nina Chaitin, M.Ed.
Director, Early Childhood Education
Community Foundation for Jewish Education (CFJE) of Metropolitan Chicago