SuperDad Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Can we do a master thread of Jewish homeschooling resources? Any websites, programs, curriculum, books, etc. that are useful for homeschooling and come from a Jewish perspective? Or that can help in actually teaching about the Jewish religion? I may x-post this to the social group if you all think it would be a good idea to do so. Please identify any resources you post by, roughly, which branch of Judaism they come from. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I am a little curious. Are you a Christian looking for Jewish resources or someone Jewish looking for resources? Not that I would be of any real help since I send my kids to Hebrew School for their Jewish education and keep the homeschooling secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDad Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I am a Jewish homeschooler looking for resources. We consider ourselves secular homeschoolers in that we try to keep all of our homeschooling materials secular (except, of course, for religion education). My dc all attend Religious School at our synagogue, but I find it to be woefully lacking in educational content; I mostly send my dc so that they can make friends with other Jewish kids (we live in a very Christian neighborhood). I do my best to incorporate religious education at home but I feel like there should be more and better resources for Jewish homeschoolers. As it is, I'd like to compile a resource list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Okay, I'm not Jewish... but, have you seen A Child's Garden of Torah? We really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Have you checked out this blog? http://www.room613.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I do Hebrew-in-Hebrew, which may or may not be your cup of tea. I use Israeli stuff for Tanach (a mix of secular & MD materials), lashon, and general education supplements (we did some history, geography, citizenship, but we also have some sciencey texts as they were a good fit for one of our daughters). This website is God-sent, similar to Chinuch, with a bunch of dapey avoda and similar resources organized by subjects, including religious stuff, though we use it more broadly. Mechon Mamre for some bilingual editions, audio, Rambam, and Tanach self-study, when the printed materials are not nearby. More dapey avoda at Daat. Mikranet Youtube lectures from Israeli universities (mostly not on the topic of religion, but you find exceptions) Chidon haTanach on TV :lol: Educational TV online archives (mostly useless, but there are some gems there, I can give you more specific recommendations if you are interested in it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labellavita Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) I think that is a great idea! I am not fluent in Hebrew so as much as I wish I could use sites like the one Ester Maria shared, I'm just not ready yet. I can read some words w/o vowels but basically am still in the vowel stage and am working on my vocabulary. I've gone online and researched various Hebrew/Religious schools, to see what materials they used. Unfortunately most did not share the names of those materials, but it was still helpful for me to see what was taught, and when (I was raised secular so I'm learning as I'm teaching my children). I use resources already mentioned. There are also catalogs you can pick up like Torah Aura and Behrman House. There are also a few Jewish homeschool loops. If you'd like the names of those, JLMK. Edited March 16, 2012 by labellavita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Is anyone gearing up to start "Daf Yomi" (the seven-and-a-half year Talmud study cycle) that begins afresh in this August? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 If it's available in your area, you might want to subscribe your little ones to PJ Library. It's free Jewish children's books and music sent to your home each month! So far I've been very impressed by the quality of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Are there any Jewish resources that compare Hebrew and Greek education? There is this Christian site's comparison chart, but I'd like to read a Jewish perspective, if possible. http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/greek-vs-hebrew-education/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labellavita Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Are there any Jewish resources that compare Hebrew and Greek education? There is this Christian site's comparison chart, but I'd like to read a Jewish perspective, if possible. http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/greek-vs-hebrew-education/ the only ones I've seen are Christian. I too would love to see a Jewish perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Is anyone gearing up to start "Daf Yomi" (the seven-and-a-half year Talmud study cycle) that begins afresh in this August? Bill DH. :lol: By the way, speaking of Behrman house, I found this to be useful for more advanced / older kids, as a good bridge to Israeli literature, with good selections and study questions, and everything is menukad in case it matters to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDad Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Thanks to all posters. BTW, dw is gearing up for Daf Yomi. She did it once before, but "dropped out" after three years. She is planning to stay for the long haul this time around! Many resources that I've found are Orthodox/Chabad-Ludavitch/etc. Does anyone know any more "liberal" resources (coming from more of a Conservative/Reform perspective)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Does anyone know any more "liberal" resources (coming from more of a Conservative/Reform perspective)? Israeli texts for government schools for Tanach, if you speak Hebrew. They do not assume a Jewish lifestyle and approach things from a more historical / connections with literature and general culture / philological angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 ... Or that can help in actually teaching about the Jewish religion? ... For someone who feels like much of what has been posted here may as well be Greek (or ? Hebrew ? ), I would love to find some resources for teaching about the Jewish religion. We are pretty much secular, from a mixed ethnic, religious, etc. blend that includes Judaism, but it seems to have gotten lost a few generations ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifra Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) There is a book called Torah As Our Guide that was meant for Orthodox Hebrew schools (supplementary schools). It has information about the holidays and their laws (and the reasons behind their laws) as well as other Jewish laws and practices. I highly recommend it as a "primer", if you don't mind the Orthodox perspective. If you don't read Hebrew and want to teach it to your child, you may be able to do so with LESHONEE by Sol Scharfstein. It's not the best, but it does have on each page a pronuciation guide for each letter and vowel (in Israeli "Sefardit" Hebrew). After you get the reading down pat (expect it to take at least four months; it took my son an entire school year at age six, but I wanted him to get it right the first time!), you could work on conversational Hebrew with a series called Hakol Chadash (start with Alef), which is meant for elementary school age immigrants to Israel for them to learn Hebrew. If you have a teacher or are somewhat conversant in Hebrew (I am not fluent in Hebrew but do speak it), it is great. Edited April 18, 2012 by Shifra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micheller1 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I don't speak hebrew and cannot read it - although I know a few things :) but I'm thinking of purchasing this http://www.alephchamp.com/ we also use this - the little midrash says http://www.judaism.com/seriesdisplay.asp?USN=115 and supplement with crafts and lapbooks for holidays and seasons/special lessons we also are part of the pjlibrary - my children LOVE the story books. http://www.pjlibrary.org/ we live in a very NON Jewish area but i'm really lucky to have an abba who is willing to learn with us :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifra Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I am still recovering from Pesach and am just going over the threads that I responded to (or wanted to respond to :lol:). I forgot to mention that every week I find it nice with young children to do the Parsha from the series My First Parsha Reader (one book for each book of the Torah). I like this series particularly because there is little to no Midrash for each Parsha. When the children learn the stories of the Parsha as youngesters, they are confused when the actually get to the Chumash itself (for example, it never says in the Torah that our forefather Abraham was put into a furnace and miraculously survived--that is a Midrash). So My First Parsha Reader is a basic outline of the Torah reading for the week, illustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Don't forget this blog: http://blog.beliefnet.com/homeshuling/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinahYeteirah Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I don't speak hebrew and cannot read it - although I know a few things :)but I'm thinking of purchasing this http://www.alephchamp.com/ I know a family that uses this. They really like it. We use a very basic reader that costs around $3, but I sometimes think a program like this would be more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinahYeteirah Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 We have ordered quite a few materials from the Torah Umesorah catalog. It is a mainstream American Orthodox organization, but some of their materials would be fine for religious education with a more liberal bent. They're a bit behind the times, so you have to actually call them (718-259-1223) to request a catalog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I forgot to mention that every week I find it nice with young children to do the Parsha from the series My First Parsha Reader (one book for each book of the Torah). Do you mind taking pity on a poor Gentile and telling me a little about this series? When you have a congregation of one, as I do, you can't buy a religion curriculum off the shelf ;) So I am in search of resources to help me put together my own. Much obliged, Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Not sure if your kids are learning Hebrew at Temple, but Sarah and David has been fun so far. You can see a bit of it on Youtube or the site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 You all might be interested in the 4th Annual Torah Home Education Conference, happening this Sunday May 6 in Baltimore. Too far you say and it costs too much money to come? We've got the solution! Live Streaming of the Torah Home Education Conference Just $25 by Paypal to yehudise@gmail.com! To register, you must contact Mr. Cox at IWCox@alumni.princeton.edu by this Thursday, May 3rd and he will respond with a confirmation and directions to connect with the conference. If even that is too difficult, we will (please G-d) be posting all the sessions on iTunes for purchase after the conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 A Jewish homeschool blog carnival: http://ronypony.blogspot.com/2010/08/jewish-homeschool-blog-carnival.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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