Kids looking forward to staying in? Believe it or not, yes! As part of the highly successful virtual Hebrew school curriculum produced by CKids, a new Shabbat unit will bring Friday night to life for families all over the world.
“We’re convinced that once families experience the magic of Shabbat, they will never go back,” says Rabbi Zalmy Loewenthal, CKids director. He’s been working closely with a team of veteran shluchos and educators to develop a learning experience that will transform kids’ whole concept of Shabbat.
“No longer will Shabbat remain an interesting Hebrew school lesson,” says Miss Chaya Zirkind, CKids Hebrew School Director. An immersive class about the foundations of keeping Shabbos—shamor and zachor, testifying to Hashem’s creation, bonding with Hashem—will be balanced out by a completely hands on program to bring Shabbat home. “Each child will become their very own Shabbat party planner, taking all these deep concepts and immediately implementing them.”
With the help of an innovative Shabbat to-go kit, families will set the Shabbat table, light candles, sing Shalom Aleichem, make kiddush, wash for Hamotzi, and more, all while uniting as a family and connecting to the global Hebrew school community.
The “Friday Night INN” program will launch January 31st and run for two weeks before culminating in an at-home Shabbat experience.
“CKids is always coming up with new surprises for their curriculums,” says Mrs. Tzippy Mann, director of the Chabad Hebrew School in The Venetian, FL and an enthusiastic user of CKids curriculum for three years. “I get so involved with the day to day operations of running a school that I would never even think of all these creative twists that both kids and families go crazy over.”
Shluchim benefit from easy-to-customize materials like a program guide, menus, shopping lists, and user-friendly links for candle lighting kits, havdalah kits, and more. An entire pre-Shabbat virtual program guide is included as well, which shluchim can use to gather their community in anticipation of Friday night INN.
The Friday Night INN program is just one small aspect of the incredible resources produced by CKids, an initiative that inspires children through a hands-on experience of the fun side of Judaism. “Now, when most families have rethought what it means to ‘stay in,’ Shabbos has become more important than ever,” says Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos 302. “Children are truly bringing home magic.”
