The Youth Zone kids got to discover the Secret Megillah Code while reviewing the secrets in the miracle of the Purim story. They made noisy graggers to blot out Haman's name, and followed clues to identify objects in their Purim Bingo boards. When they got a line, they shouted "Purim!" instead of the traditional "Bingo!". Finally, the kids finished their loooong Megillahs that they've been working on for two weeks.
February 4, 2007
Youth Zone started off with a collage of kosher symbols we've been collecting over the last few weeks. Can you believe how many different kinds of kosher foods there are? Next we had a fun game of Twister with kosher symbols, which ended up in a twisty pile of laughter. We had delicious kosher cherry jubilee pie and played "I went to the kosher supermarket and bought...", which was a fun memory game. To top it all off, we made our own awesome Kids' Kosher Cookbooks loaded with easy kosher recipes, a reminder of the kosher rules, and songs about kosher.
December 17, 2006
Members of our Youth Zone were the stars of the show with a special Presentation at the Chabad Jewish Community Center's Grand Chanukah Festival!
December 10, 2006
Today we finished off our cool Bullet Menorahs with colorful paint. We had a blast squirting a makeshift Chanukah Menorah with squirt bottles. Then we practiced for our presentation at the Chanukah Festival on Sunday. Before going home, everyone got to be part of a hunt to find Chanukah gelt and take it home. Yum!
December 3, 2006
The Chanukah Story is a fascinating tale of adventure and heroism that shows us the true power of light over might. Hearing the story with our interactive story game made it even more exciting. Today we began making our own little displays of light over might with our awesome Bullet-casing Menorahs! Bullets are so much cooler used on menorahs than for warfare, don’t you think? And what would a Chanukah lesson be without a Dreidel Game? We also played a game called Find the Oil which reminded us of the Macabees looking for oil in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
November 26, 2006
You’ll be surprised to discover how much children really appreciate what they have. At today’s meeting, we started off thinking of all the wonderful things G-d does for us and sent heartfelt thank you notes to G-d inside Thank You Balloons. We also made striking engravings of the Western Wall, considered around the world to be the closest place to the ears of God. It is believed God's presence dwells in between these ancient stones and it is a path to the Gates of Heaven. After that we had the Mystery Meaning Moon Game, thinking hard until we finally figured out what made our ridiculous movements “a moon”. Can manners have anything to do with it? We also made a big Thankfulness Web telling
November 19, 2006
Learning about Tzedakah couldn’t be more fun! We had a piñata loaded with coins and candy (just like a Tzedakah box) and we hit it until it finally burst open. Thank you Youth Zone mom PENINA for making the coolest pinata in the world! Everything came spilling out and we got to keep it, remembering of course to give some of it to others who don’t have as much as us. We also made our own Tzedakah Boxes to take home and use. Then we went on a fantasy camping trip and loaded up the supplies, including items we brought along for others who might not have what they need. What a great lesson in kindness.
November 12, 2006
Today’s Youth Zone meeting was a blast! We learned about the importance of being environmentally friendly, keeping in mind that being careful not to waste is an indispensable Jewish Value. The highlight of our day was the incredible Trash Sculpture Competition where everyone got to show off their talent at reusing things that would’ve been thrown away. We also had a hunt, an amusing game of Clean Up My Backyard, and a raffle for the kids who did last week’s mission.
November 12, 2006
The Youth Zone Late Night was so much fun! Youth Zone kids and their families enjoyed a trip to the ABC Bowling Alley, where they spent quality time together knocking down those bowling pins and racking up points on the screens. Plus, everyone got treated to delicious kosher hot dogs, fries, and soda.
October 29, 2006
The first ever Youth Zone of Riverside, California kicked off to a great start! The children had a blast getting to know each other with some “Shoe Talk” and learned about the Jewish Value of Honoring Parents. To show their appreciation for all that their parents do for them, the children baked delicious treats for you to taste and enjoy with our Bake-Off. Did you know your children were such good bakers?