Beltway Bambinos

(re) discover Washington DC through the eyes of your children

Hanukkah guide from PJ Library

With Hanukkah coming up quickly – and the possibility that 2020 celebrations may be very different than years past PJ Library has created a robust, activity-and-recipe-filled Hanukkah Hub! I hope you have signed up to receive free books, music and more through PJ Library but if not, click here to do so!

This year Hanukkah will be December 10-18. If you’re trying out leading a night of celebrating on your own for the first time, this holiday “cheat sheet” supplies parents and kids with a story book to read each night of Hanukkah, a gift idea to make or exchange, a recipe to cook together, and more. You’ll also find a virtual “Get Togethers” section to help you share the holiday from afar.

Below we have some wonderful activities and recipes perfect for all.

Books — There are so many wonderful Hanukkah books to choose from leading into the holiday season!  You can view all PJ Library Hanukkah selections in the Books section. Among the fanciful and entertaining stories that work well for mixed age groups and that your family will enjoy reading again and again you’ll find “Hanukkah Hamster” by Michelle Markel, “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins” by Eric Kimmel and “Meet the Latkes” by Alan Silberberg.  For another suggestion, PJ offers up some outstanding Hanukkah Books for Interfaith Families

Recipes – As you well know, Jewish holidays often have food at the center — and Hanukkah is no exception.  Everyone knows about latkes, but have you ever made traditional sufganiyot, jelly-filled doughnuts? (How could you possibly go wrong – so good!)  If you want to share a new spin on latkes or try your hand at sufganiyot, below find 10 easy to make, delicious, and well-loved, PJ Library Hanukkah recipes, including, Bimuelos, Hanukkah Gelt (via Nosh & Nibble), Personal Dessert Pizzas (via Nosh & Nibble), Nutella Pockets, Stained Glass Cookies, Sufganiyot Donut Holes and more!

Family Activities – Looking for some creative ideas for fun-filled family time (and getting the kids away from various screens?)  Try upcycling crayons into candles, making an oil menorah,  turning aluminum foil into menorah-art, or making salt dough candle holders. Or, maybe just unplug for the night!

Have you signed up to receive free books through PJ Library? Multiple children in the same household can each receive their very own subscription – whether they’re the same age or not.  Families can sign children up from birth onwards – PJ Library is an incredible program!

Share your love of reading with them!

PJ Library LISTEN hub offers family-friendly story podcasts and other entertainment options

We are reminding you of a wildly popular post we shared back in January because we know you will want to check it out if you didn’t then. PJ Library provides curated, free entertainment through their Listen hub– available both online and off for kids with age-appropriate audio and video entertainment. You’ll find family-friendly story podcasts, sleepytime tunes, holiday playlists, dance mixes, read-alouds, sing-alongs – something for everyone with new featured content each month. Be sure to check it out so you don’t miss something.

Remember to subscribe (for free) to PJ Library to receive all of their exciting posts delivered directly to your inbox. PJ Library is an award-winning non-profit which sends more than 200,000 books per month to families raising Jewish children across North America (since their founding in 2005, they’ve shipped more than 12 million books overall!).

Ring in the new school year with ‘Back to The Yards’ giveaway event

Lancer Photography, 2020. All rights reserved.

The Yards, DC’s most exciting waterfront neighborhood for living, dining, shopping, and relaxing, is ringing in back-to-school with Back to The Yards! While this school year looks different for many students and parents, The Yards will be giving away FREE boxes of fun school supplies curated for younger Yards guests when they dine-in or pick up take-out from any Yards Restaurant on Friday, September 25th from 5:00-8:00pm.

Back to The Yards boxes will contain fun, colorful essentials for back to school (or homeschool), wherever that may be! Boxes are limited to one per family, while supplies last, for pick-up at The Yards Park.

Back to The Yards boxes will include festive supplies like: pencils, notebooks, colorful post-its, stickers, highlighters and more fun. Special boxes with fun school supplies are free to each family with a receipt from any Yards restaurant. All participating restaurants can be found here – meaning a receipt from one of these restaurants will allow you to pick up a free back-to-school box from Yards Park. We hope the start of the school year has been okay for everyone.

Celebrate the High Holidays at home with PJ Library

Each fall, Jews around the world celebrate the High Holidays: Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).  It’s a time when one can take a deep breath and think about the ways to make ourselves and the world a better place. Traditionally, many families celebrate the holidays at synagogue and with relatives and friends. This year, to stay safe, many are staying home, so PJ Library has created a FREE, everything-you-need family guide to help celebrate what may be many family’s first High Holidays spent entirely at home. It’s easy to subscribe to PJ Library just click HERE! Be sure to check out and download this beautifully-illustrated “High Holidays at Home: A PJ Library Family Guide” featuring new and familiar rituals, hands-on activities such as shofar making and challah baking, conversation starters, “unpacking” of selected prayers (with tips on talking with children about God), and family-friendly explanations — all aimed at making the ten days the High Holidays are celebrated meaningful, memorable and fun for families, this year and in the future. The guide is also accompanied by an interactive online companion that offers helpful how-to videos, music, and audio versions of blessing and prayers.

Our family used the guide to make homemade challah, using the recipe in the guide. It was so simple and a great way to bond and discuss the holidays.

It’s easy to subscribe to PJ Library just click HERE!

Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center: Bringing the wonders of the Smithsonian to your living room

This post comes to you from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. We’ve had the opportunity to visit their space and participate in various workshops they offered prior to the pandemic and can’t recommend their family programing enough. We look forward to being able to go back one day and hope you will too!

When Covid closed our museums and our city, the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC) had to develop a new plan for its weekend family workshops. It was imperative to keep the essence of programs the same: forming relationships, connecting with Smithsonian objects, and learning through play.  

Fostering relationships is at the core of our work at SEEC. Young children learn better in a social context with trusted adults and peers. Moving to a digital platform makes this challenging, but not impossible. SEEC’s family workshops are limited to six families so that everyone has a chance to get to know each other and participate fully. Families will sign up for a four-week session on a topic, which allows for the deepening of relationships over time. In addition to the virtual classes, families will receive a video with activities in between each session to help continue discoveries. 
  
While families are unable to physically visit the objects and artwork of the Smithsonian, SEEC’s virtual classes allow children to experience these objects in closer detail and at their own pace while at home. SEEC believes objects are powerful learning tools as they often bridge the gap between the familiar and the unfamiliar, opening up windows to new worlds. The virtual weekend classes will use objects to share stories and help children practice critical thinking skills.
 
Learning happens through action and SEEC’s virtual classes will be action packed and fun! The classes will encourage all types of active learning including dramatic play, movement games, singing, storytelling, sensory experiences, and more. Children will be laughing, playing, and exploring as they learn about all the Smithsonian has to offer.
  
SEEC has missed its family workshop participants over the last six months and are so excited to reconnect in this fashion! To learn more, please visit our website.  

logo design courtesy of New Leaf Design