MOMMY, ME AND RABBI B

Come and join Rabbi B at his weekly Mommy and Me program!

New Rabbi B Videos!

Hello Rabbi B fans, I have just posted a new video for Yom Kippur to my videos page. Click the Link below or the Title above called "VIDEOS" to watch.

Keep watching and G'mar Chasima Tova!

Rabbi B

YOM KIPPUR VIDEO LINK

New Rabbi B Video for Rosh Hashanah

Hi everyone,

I have posted a brand new video in time for Rosh Hashanah! Have a happy and sweet new year!

Rabbi B

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

Rabbi B Live in September!

Hello everyone, Rabbi B has some Live In Person dates coming up this month!

September 4: 10:00am and 11:00am at the Family Resource Centre in Promenade Mall (Suite 313B)

September 14&15: My Munchkin and Me with Rabbi B at Chabad of Midtown

September 20: 1:00pm at Chabad of Markham's Family Street Festival - 83 Green Lane, Thornhill, On.

Shabbos Party

Weekly Friday Shabbos Party Series

Shabbos Party, complete with Challah and Grape Juice

Each and every Friday, Rabbi B helps all the kids get ready for Shabbos by throwing a Shabbat Party. There are a lot of fun ways Rabbi B does this:

A) Sing-a-long

These are the things that go on the Shabbos Table

Rabbi B takes his favourite Shabbos songs and sings them together with all the boys and girls. These songs include the following:

- Shabbat Shalom

- I've Got that Shabbos Feeling

- I Work Six Days a Week 

- Are You Ready for Shabbat?

- These are the Things that go on the Shabbos Table

- Funny Silly Shul

- Something in my Kiddush Cup

- Shabbos is Going Away

B) Activity

To enhance the Shabbos experience, Rabbi B plays some fun games set to music with the kids.

Setting the table for Shabbos

For example: When Rabbi B plays "Are You Ready for Shabbat?", he asks if everyone takes a Bath. When they answer "NO", he makes everyone take an imaginary bath! Next he has everyone get imaginary dressed for Shabbos and lastly they set the table. Rabbi B brings in a whole bag of Shabbos table items and he has the kids set the table up for shabbos. They go around and name the different items.

Another example is the Walking to Shul song. As Rabbi B and the kids walk to shul, he asks them what kind of animals they will see. Then each animal says "Shabbat Shalom" in their own animals voice. "Woof Woof Woof, he said Shabbat Shalom, Meow Meow Meow, she said Shabbat Shalom".

Stirring our Chicken Soup pot

Another example is the Chicken Soup song. Rabbi B passes a pot and spoon around and each child gets to decide what to put insider our class chicken soup. "Put some Marshmallows in the pot..." Yum Yum.

Summer Curriculum Week 6

Week 6: Symphony Orchestra (Strings) and Achdus (Unity)

This week Rabbi B taught the kids all about the Symphony Orchestra and how many instruments playing together can create beautiful music. Rabbi B taught them about it in the following ways:

A) Show and Share:

The kids got to play an actual violin!

Rabbi B started the week off by showing the kids pictures of string instruments found in a symphony orchestra. In addition, he also showed a picture of the setup of a symphony orchestra and how instrument-families sit together.



Rabbi B brought in some very special orchestral instruments that use strings for the kids to play with and learn about. These included a violin, a Cello and even a Piano.

Rabbi B brought in a real orchestra Cello!

Rabbi B taught the kids how the main string instruments in a symphony orchestra use bows that slide along the strings to produce sound. The rubbing of the bow against the strings creates friction and that creates sound. Then, as you tighten or loosen the string with your finger, the sound changes.

Rabbi B also gave the kids a surprise! He took them into the lunch room where there is an upright piano. Rabbi B asked, "Is a Piano a string instrument?" Most of the kids answered in the negative. They thought that it worked with the black and white keys only. Then, Rabbi B opened up the piano from the top and let the kids look inside it. They were shocked to find that a piano has strings inside it and that when you press a key, a wooden hammer hits against the string and the truing rings out its note.

B) Listen and Learn

Showing a picture of a symphony orchestra setup

Rabbi B brought in the recording of Peter and the Wolf, as told by Itzhak Perlman. It is a a story about a boy who traps a wolf, but its main function is its use of symphony instruments as the animals and characters in the story. Peter is the violins, the Cat is the Clarinet, the Wolf is the French Horns etc. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the story and took great pleasure in hearing the instruments portray the characters. It was a great way to learn about how instruments and orchestra's can tell a story without any words.

C) Mitzvah Mashal (Jewish Lesson)

Playing together makes the best kind of music!

Rabbi B discussed with the kids that an orchestra is a group of musicians plying together in a meaningful and melodic way. When each interment does its own job properly, and each instrument has a different function, the music sounds beautiful. If one instrument should not play its part or play something that doesn't match the others, then the music will not sound good. So too by us as Jewish people, we each have our own way to serve Hashem and make this world a good place, when we do it by ourself, that is one thing, but when we do our job together with other people, then our music is even more beautiful.

PS: If you are lucky enough to be reading this, Rabbi B wrote a book that he hopes to publish called Rabbi B Had a Band, where each instrument teaches a different lesson, and at the end, when all the instruments play together, they make Hashem's music.

Summer Curriculum Week 5

Week 5: Drums and Storytelling

Rabbi B brought in African Djambes for everyone to play with

This week, Rabbi B brought in all types of hand drums for the kids too play with. They used them in the following ways:

A) Show and Share:

Rabbi B brought in Djambes, Bongos, Tambourines, Cymbals and Shakers to teach the kids all about the percussion section of a band/symphony. He showed how they can be played in a variety of ways, fast and slow, loud and quiet, high and low and how if you hit the Djambe in different places it makes different sounds. 

 Following the beat of the leader

Rabbi B taught the kids that the percussion section set the speed of the music. The speed of music is called the Tempo. Rabbi B and the kids sand various songs and practices increasing and decreasing the Tempo. Rabbi B taught the kids that when music stays on Tempo (in time) it sounds good, but when the music does not go according to the tempo it can sound confusing and off.

It was fun when everyone sang Hashem is Here to a very fast tempo. Rabbi B also taught the kids the African Djambe song Shoshaloza which had a very nice tempo and beat.

Drums are fun!

Everyone also had a chance to play Follow the Leader. Each child had the chance to be the leader and play a drum beat. Then, everyone else tried to repeat the beat the leader played. This game got very creative and fun as the children came up with some amazingly innovative beats, some fast and some slow. 

B) Storytelling

Rabbi B also showed the kids how drums can be, and are, used to tell stories, especially in Africa. He told the kids the following story and had them add the sound effects with their drums:

Drums can make storytelling fun!

Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who wanted to go to a friends house to play. They asked their mommy to take them and she said, "yes". So, they began walking to their friends house. 

Walking Sound 

Then the wind began to blow,

Rubbing hands on the drum to make Wind Sound

Then it began to rain,

One finger tapping on the drum

Then the rain got harder,

Harder tapping on the drum

Then the rain fell very hand and fast!

Fast and loud drumming

The boy and the girl started to run,

Fast drumming

Then they got to their friend house. They got up to the door and knocked three times

Bang Bang Bang

Nobody answered, so they knocked four times

Bang Bang Bang Bang

Their friend opened the door and they went inside and had a fun time.

The End

C) Craft:

Each kid got to design and create their own paper-plate drum. Once completed, they played a beat as Rabbi B played along on his Guitar. 

Taped Closed Paper-Plate Drums

Instructions:

1. Take 2 paper plates and decorate the outside of each plate

2. Put a handful of raw rice in one of the plates

3. Place the rims of the plates together and tape them shut

4. Drum

or for more advanced crafters:

Pipe Cleaner Sewed Paper-Plate Drums

1. Take 2 paper plates and decorate the outside of each plate

2. Place the rims of the plates together

3. Drill in 8 holes through the circumference of both plates 

4. Sew the plates together using yarn or pipe cleaners

5. Drum

Drumming with Popsicle sticks