Oct 1, 2015
At the OFJCC Leslie Family Preschool, a unique program has emerged that lets students get their hands dirty while tackling lessons in charity and sustainability. Led by longtime staff member Debbie Togliatti, the Giving Garden allows students to grow their own produce and donate their yield to those in need. During garden...
Family Life / Food / Jewish Life
Sep 24, 2015
If you grew up in a Jewish household, you probably decorated or even built a sukkah at some point. Whether in your backyard, at Hebrew school or at a local JCC, this is the holiday that helped you fulfill the ultimate childhood fantasy: building the best fort of all time....
Sep 8, 2015
The High Holidays are fast approaching and we have chosen a few of our favorite children’s books about Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot. I’m Sorry, Grover: A Rosh Hashanah Tale (Shalom Sesame) by Tilda Balsley and Ellen Fischer For ages 2-5 Grover’s friend Brosh learns to be a better friend just in time...
Aug 26, 2015
The summer of 2015 will be remembered in the Snell household as the “Summer of Shai.” It was the summer we welcomed an Israeli shaliach into our home for three months while he worked as a counselor at J-Camp, and when we discovered that “host family” is less about being hosts than it is about being family....
Aug 24, 2015
It’s the fundamental quandary for working parents: How do you find after-school care for your kids that feels as good for them as having you there? Is it possible to find something even better? Parents tell us that the Club J Afterschool Program offers the whole package: caring support, homework help, free-play time, the...
Aug 20, 2015
1. Give yourself a day. If possible, leave yourself a day after you get back to go grocery shopping, do laundry, recover from jet lag… and mope. You’re allowed to feel sorry for yourself. If you enjoy cooking, use the groceries you just bought to make yourself something that allows you...
Aug 14, 2015
To ease your family from lazy summer days into the new school year, here are a few tips from my kitchen and my favorite bloggers. You can find even more great ideas on our Pinterest board dedicated to healthy, kid-friendly lunch ideas. I’m always searching for ways to sneak broccoli into my daughter’s diet. Although...
Aug 11, 2015
We asked campers and counselors to share some of their favorite moments from this year’s J-Camp: “Two weeks ago we went to a lake. I got to swim in my clothes because I forgot my bathing suit.” —Sophia, 9 “I loved when we got to dress up as superheroes!...
Aug 4, 2015
Summertime: What comes to mind when you think of it? For me it’s tall glasses of iced tea, condensation dripping down the glass. It’s sunglasses, bathing suits and sand toys for the beach. It’s family vacations, road trips and sleeping in nylon tents in the backyard. And it’s summer camp. My summer...
Jul 27, 2015
On June 14 I cooked for a homeless shelter with the Mitzvah Corps. I woke up, got ready, went to Starbucks with my mom and then went to the Oshman Family JCC to cook. Not to cook for me, but to cook for people at a homeless shelter. About ten other people were there...