Alternatives to Hebrew School?
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Anonymous
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We are an active family (hiking, festivals, museums on the weekend) and don't necessarily want to give up our weekends with shul AND hebrew school for the next decade (in addition to any activities the kids would like to participate in). We have 3 young boys, keep kosher, celebrate the holidays, but don't speak enough Hebrew to be able to teach them. We want them to have a strong Jewish identity, and have enough knowledge to participate in religious activities when they get older if that's what they choose.
Is there any alternative to Hebrew school? Our local elementary school doesn't start until 9....is there a way to organize a hebrew program BEFORE school starts a few times a week? Hebrew tutoring? Any ideas would be much appreciated! |
Anonymous
| A Jewish day school would be an obvious choice, but not a cheap one! |
Anonymous
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Our synagogue is smaller and the programming focus is on Friday nights, so we don't have this problem. My brother, however, is modern Orthodox, and his synagogue doesn't even have a Sunday school. When your community is very focused on Saturday services, it can become too much. Most of the kids at his congregation do go to day school, but a good portion do weekly afternoon tutoring. Tutoring is generally a ton more efficient learning wise.
If you feel like what you provide at home and on Shabbat/holidays plus tutoring provides enough community and learning, the biggest remaining issue is looking forward to bnAi mitzvah. Many synagogues will have specific educational requirements you have to meet. |
Anonymous
| Bethesda Jewish has Sunday school on Sat during shul. |
Anonymous
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OP-- I feel the way you do. I did not want my weekend to be dictated by Sunday school. I also didn't want my kids to miss out in participating in after school sports because of Hebrew school.
For us, the answer was day school. It's been amazing. My kids have a deeper understanding and love of Judaism than I could ever imagine. In answer to your morning question, I don't think there is morning Hebrew school anywhere. At our shul, the Sunday/Hebrew school teachers have full time jobs and families. I would assume that in the hour before school they are getting their kids ready for school or making their way to their real job. |
Anonymous
. Yup. You need to educate them within a community, one way or the other. I hear ya about giving up weekends. |
Anonymous
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OP here. We did apply to JDS but didn't receive as much financial aid as I'd like to feel comfortable that we will be able to afford anything else (including normal things like movies, going out to eat, etc.). We could make it work for our oldest for the next 2 years with a crazy strict budget but I cannot get a good sense of how much aid we would get when our younger kids reach kindergarten.
I love the idea of a Saturday school--where in Bethesda? |
Anonymous
Contact them and tell them your situation. |
Anonymous
| At our reform synagogue Sunday school is Sunday mornings until 4th grade when they add in another night during the week. Our Shabbat services are exclusively Friday nights. They ask you to attend at least 6 during the year, so we do 6. |
Anonymous
JDS parent on FA here--my FA went up when my 2nd started. Obviously the overall cost for two is more than just for one, but it's really doable. I agree with the PP, call the school and tell them what you want/need. They are really trying to drive enrollment and are committed to making it work financially for families that are committed to a day school education. Heres the website for Bethesda Jewish-- http://bethesdajewish.org |
Anonymous
I feel like I could have written OP's post. We also applied to JDS and recieved some aid. However, choosing JDS would essentially mean zero college or retirement savings. We attend services 2-3 times a month and Sundays are our day for activities. We also have a 1yo who take a long afternoon nap so family activities are out of the question in the afternoons. PP JDS parent can you explain further about FA going up when #2 started? It's nice to hear that we won't have to pay 2x as much, but what % does the 2nd child recieve compared to the 1st? |
Anonymous
Bethesda Jewish Congregation - www.bethesdajewish.org. They share space with Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church. |
Anonymous
| Depending on where you live you may want to try JPDS too and see if the cost is lower for you. Although I have to say that I love Sunday school (and I thought I'd find it really inconvenient). It gives the parents some time to run errands/workout so that for the rest of the weekend we are 100% with the kids. That said, we don't have a little one who is still napping - if we did then Sunday school + nap would pretty much kill the weekend. |
Anonymous
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OP here...I checked out the Bethesda Jewish website and would definitely be open to looking into it, but would also love to hear about the financial aid from 1 to 2 to even 3 kids from a JDS parent.
Any ideas on good Hebrew tutors? |
Anonymous
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I get FA from JDS. With 1 kid, I think I got about 15%. When my second started, my aid went to 30%.
Call them and talk to them about your concern. The last thing they want is for you to enroll one child only to pull that child because you can't afford 2. I had the same concern. They couldn't commit to anything, but they gave me a ballpark of what I could expect with 2. 2 years later when my youngest started, the ballpark was inline with the actual award. |