Educators

Meet Billy Jonas: A Featured Hebrew in Harmony Musician

Hebrew in Harmony—the new prayer curriculum for 4th-6th graders—features music from today's top Jewish musicians. This is part of a series profiling some of these talented artists. Billy Jonas, founder of the Billy Jonas Band Who are your musical influences? World music, Joni Mitchell, Mr. Rogers, Pete Seeger, Igor Stravinsky

Meet Authors and Hebrew in Harmony Musicians Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg

Hebrew in Harmony—the new prayer curriculum for 4th-6th graders—features music from today's top Jewish musicians. This is part of a series profiling some of these talented artists.

New CHAI and Mitkadem Tutorials

For many schools, the CHAI  and Mitkadem Hebrew curricula have long been mainstays. For those new to the programs, we are developing a series of tutorials that cover the basics of what they are and how they work. The first videos are now available.  Mitkadem is a self-paced Hebrew program focused on prayer and synagogue skills, where students move at their own speed. The curriculum is organized into 23 levels that introduce grammar, vocabulary, and reading. 

Help Us Help You

Yes, the school year is just ending--and the planning cycle for next year will soon be in full swing. At Behrman House we are looking forward to helping you get ready for fall and a new year. Here are a few tips to help things go smoothly when you place your school order.

Help Students Connect the Outdoors to Jewish Values

What do Jewish traditions have to do with the environment? Judaism is not only based on the stories we tell, but on the behaviors we are expected to do. As the weather warms and we spend more time outdoors, it’s a good time to visit some Jewish values and traditions that teach us how to behave toward nature.

Hebrew in Harmony Taps Music as the Source of Kavanah

  You’re not musically inclined? Neither are we (unless you count singing in the shower). That’s why we rounded up your favorite Jewish musicians to do the heavy lifting for you in Hebrew in Harmony.

Educator Resources to Get You Started on Fall Planning

  As the school year ends, now’s a great time to begin prepping for fall and also take your well-deserved summer vacation. You can sit on the beach AND avoid a last-minute planning scramble with educator resources delivered to your Kindle or other device. Whether you’re considering new curriculum or looking for inspired new ways to teach the standards, learning from other educators can help you lay a solid groundwork for next year.

Meet Eliana Light: A Featured Hebrew in Harmony Musician

Hebrew in Harmony—the new prayer curriculum for 4th-6th graders—features music from today's top Jewish musicians. This is part of a series profiling some of these talented artists.

Israel Education: Heroic Story or Honest Narrative?

Last week Ari Shavit gave the keynote speech at the HUC-JIR gala dinner, talking about Israel, the relationship of North American Jewry to Israel, and the education we give our kids about Israel. Frankly, it wasn’t a pretty picture: Not entirely bleak, but challenging, and with a big challenge for us as educators.

Share Your Expertise with Other Jewish Educators

You work hard creating top-notch lessons, so why not sell and share them with other Jewish educators? As you plan for fall, consider sharing your expertise with colleagues with Babaganewz, a new marketplace for Jewish educators. Just as Etsy is the place to buy and sell handmade items, Babaganewz is your source to buy, sell, and trade original teaching resources. Find ideas from experienced teachers you trust, share best practices, and help create a community of educators with the same values and educational challenges.

Get Ready for Summer

As summer fast approaches, children may be gearing up for camp, swimming, and a change of scenery. 

Art of Cantillation Audio Now Available Online

Students of all ages learning to chant Torah or Haftarah have turned to The Art of Cantillation as their go-to guide for more than a decade. Designed for use with a tutor or as a self-teaching resource, these former URJ  books come packaged with a CD of recordings corresponding to step-by-step exercises in the books.

Connect Children to Israel this Lag Ba'Omer with A Holiday for Ari Ant

Israelis mark Lag Ba'Omer with a day off school and giant bonfires, usually made from scrap wood gathered by children weeks in advance. It's a big holiday there, and Israelis living in the United States are often surprised at how little we know about Lag Ba'omer, which this year begins the evening of May 25.

Resources to Celebrate Lag Ba'Omer

Looking for some educational and fun ideas to celebrate Lag Ba'Omer with your students?   Lag Ba'Omer, which this year falls on May 25-26, is usually celebrated with campfires and field games, such as archery. In Israel, giant public celebrations are held throughout the country, celebrating the light of learning that was brought into the world during the times of Roman oppression. 

Keep Hebrew Skills Sharp Over Summer

You and your students have worked hard learning Hebrew all year. Don't let those gains evaporate in the summer heat. These fun Hebrew apps encourage summer practice:

Meet Noah Aronson: A Featured Hebrew in Harmony Musician

Hebrew in Harmony—the new prayer curriculum for 4th-6th graders—features music from today's top Jewish musicians. This is part of a series profiling some of these talented artists.

Resources to Celebrate Yom Ha'atzma'ut

Israelis and Jews around the world are preparing to celebrate Yom Ha'atzma'ut, Israel Independence Day, on May 11-12.  The festivities in Israel usually include ceremonies, barbecues, fireworks, and singing and dancing in the street. These events often focus on Israeli history and culture, everything from classic Israeli foods to Israeli music. As Israel prepares for its 68th birthday, we've rounded up some resources to help you mark the occasion.

Tips to Get the Most from Teacher Guides

Teacher guides often accompany student materials and are rich resources designed to help educators create memorable, effective lessons. When used in conjunction with student materials, they enhance teaching and learning experiences by offering guidance, strategies, ideas for projects, additional source materials, and help in opening up opportunities to include a wide range of learners. Ronni Ticker, director of Jewish education at Beth Shalom in Cary, North Carolina, shares tips for how to use teacher guides. 

Student Group OLC Registration Now Available

You've been asking. We've answered. Education directors can now upload student lists in groups to the Online Learning Center using an Excel spreadsheet. Your days of registering students one by one are over. In advance of the 2016-2017 school year, we've made it simpler for large schools to administer their online learning space.  Now when you register students in the OLC, you'll see a new option to perform a Bulk Upload.

Experience Hebrew in Harmony in May

The excitement about Hebrew in Harmony has been spreading, and it may be coming soon to a community near you. In April, we hosted two information sessions in New Jersey about this groundbreaking new prayer curriculum, and we're taking it on the road in May with several events for you to learn more about it.

Teach Israel

 Experience Modern Israel

New from Behrman House. Fly to Israel without a plane ticket.

Discover Israel

 Let's Discover Israel

Offer younger children an exciting and age-appropriate introduction to the Jewish homeland