Value-Based Programs

PJ Library books and accompanying programs are categorized by age with a short description of highlighted values and/or program content. Program elements from different books can be mixed and matched. Many programs are adaptable for multi-age programming.

Values Webinars

We have webinar recordings (and accompanying PowerPoint PDFs) for many values produced by Vivian Newman, PJ Library's Early Childhood Education Consultant. These are a great resource for educators looking for creative ways to engage families with PJ books around Jewish values.

• Explore value-focused webinars

Bedtime Rituals

• Bedtime Sh'Ma/Good Night Sh'ma (Ages 0-4) - Enhancing bedtime rituals
• Lullaby Books & Music: Before You Were Born/Sunrise, Sunset/When I First Held You (Ages 0-1) - Lullaby Books and Music
• Naamah and the Ark at Night (Ages 1.5 - 4) - Incorporating Gratitude into Bedtime Rituals

Caring for the Environment (Shmirat Ha'adamah)

• Family Engagement Ideas for Learning about our World and Nature – Bal Tashchit, Kindness to Animals and Appreciating the Wonders of Nature
• Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Ages 2-4) - Recycling
• 26 Big Things Small Hands Can Do StoryWalk Pearlstone Farm, Baltimore, MD
• Good Night, Laila Tov Nature Walk State Park, West Palm Beach, FL

Courage (Ometz Lev)

• Nachshon, Who was Afraid to Swim (Ages 5-7) - Courageous leadership, drumming activity
• Noah's Bed (Ages 2-6) - Courage plaques, animal matching activity
• The Sabbath Lion (Ages 5-8) - Courage drums, Hamsa decorating activity

Feeding the Hungry (Ma'akhil Re'evim)

• Bagels from Benny (Ages 3-6) - Birthday care package, God
• Bone Button Borscht (Ages 4-8) - Drama script/tote bags
• Snow in Jerusalem (Ages 4-8) - Friendship necklaces, caring for animals
• Bone Button Borscht at Local Food Bank (PDF), New Haven, CT
• Bagel Lunches for Homeless Children (PDF), Calgary, AB

Gratitude (Hoda'ah)

• All of Me (Ages 2-5) - Body-part thank you sign
• Boker Tov! Good Morning (Ages 1.5 - 4) - Beginning and ending each day with gratitude
• It Could Always Be Worse/Terrible Terrible (Age 3+) - Contentment with what one has
• All of Me! StoryWalk St. Louis, MO

Honoring Parents/Grandparents (Kibud Horim/Z'kanim)

• Family Love Stories (Ages 1+) - Focus on love of parents
• Family Love Stories (Ages 1+) - Focus on love of grandparents
• Five Little Gefiltes (Ages 2-5) - Making a special gift for parents
• A Grandma/Grandpa Like Yours (Ages 2-4) - Special grandparent program
• Red, Blue, and Yellow Yarn (Ages 2-8) - Appreciation and forgiveness
• Rise and Shine: A Challah Day Tale (Ages 2-8) - Shabbat and passing on tradition
• Say Hello, Lily (Ages 3-8) - Intergenerational party, gratitude
• Sharing Memories & Special Events at Chai House (PDF), Silicon Valley, CA
• Weekly Family Music Class at Cedar Sinai Park (PDF), Portland, OR

Jewish Rituals and Traditions

• The First Gift (Ages 3-6) - The importance of names
• The Memory Coat (Ages 5-8) - Family loves and support
• A Mezuzah on the Door (Ages 4-7) - Creating a Jewish home
• A Song for My Sister (Ages 3+) - Jewish birth and naming Traditions

Kindness to Animals (Tzaar Ba'alei Hayim)

• The Littlest Pair (Ages 2-4) - Stick puppets and bird feeders
• Old MacNoah Had an Ark (Ages 1-3) - Rain collage, animal search, bird feeders, ark snack
• Noah's Bark StoryWalk (PDF), Audubon Society, Boston

Respecting Differences (Adam Yehidi Nivrah)

• Cakes and Miracles (Ages 3-10) - Disability Awareness: each human being has unique abilities and challenges
• The Mitten String (EE) - Disability Awareness: Inclusion, Learning from Everyone
• The Only One Club (Ages 4-6) - Uniqueness - Only One Club badges
• Stork's Landing (Ages 3-10) - Disability awareness, build a nest exercise, animal activities

Tzedakah (Just Action)

• The Brother's Promise (Ages 4-8) - Tzedakah activities and exploration
• How Dalia Put a Big Yellow Comforter Inside a Tiny Blue Box (Age 5+) - Tzedakah activities, respecting elders
• Noah's Swim-a-Thon (Age 3+) - Tzedakah "a-thon" activities
• What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street (Ages 4-8) - Tzedakah boxes
• Pajama-Rama Party with a Purpose (PDF), Boston, MA
• Mitzvah Mayhem Pyjama Party (PDF), Winnipeg, MB
• MLK Tzedakah Project (PDF)

Visting the Sick (Bikur Cholim)

• PJ Library Cares for the Sick at Children's Hospital (PDF), Dallas, TX

 

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