Celebrations!
![Image relating to [title]](http://mishkan.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/500wide/pagegraphics/n-22-celebrations.jpg "Celebrations! children learning about Israel through sand play")
The Celebrations! program is hosting a sensory-friendly Purim program on Friday, March 2 for all Jewish children who have special needs in the Greater Philadelphia area. Click here for a flyer with details. Please join us!
Celebrations! is a family education program for children with special needs, thier parents & siblings at Mishkan Shalom. The Celebrations! class is a family education workshop meeting on 10 Shabbat mornings during the year, designed for children who have special needs, their parents and siblings. The focus of Celebrations! is creating the opportunity for families to experience Shabbat together and for children who have disabilities to have a Jewish educational experience designed for their learning needs.
We are especially excited to introduce our dynamic, highly qualified Celebrations! teachers. Mishkan member Rabbi Margot Stein will be our music specialist. In addition to her work as an award-winning musician, Margot specializes in creating Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies for students who have special needs. Our Judaic instructor is Michelle Greenfield, a rabbinic student at RRC who has worked with children who have special needs in a variety of settings including Tivkah Family camp at Ramah Poconos and Jewish Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Michelle loves working with children and their families.
Celebrations! offers two groups, one designed for children 10 and under and one designed for pre-teens and teenagers. Each session features a theme connected to the Jewish holidays and includes sensory-motor art activities, music, blessings and food. An option for Hebrew learning is included. Parents and children learn together for most of the morning and parents also have a 30-minute period together as adults to participate in a text study or guided discussion.
Click here to watch a short video about the Celebrations! program.
The Celebrations! program is designed for students who have cognitive, learning or developmental disorders, including but not limited to autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome. If you know someone who might be interested in the Celebrations! class for their family, please share this article with them or give them a new Celebrations! brochure (placed around Mishkan). To register for the class or for more info, contact Gabby Kaplan-mayer at Gabrielle@mishkan.org or 215-508-0226 X6.
Parents who have children with special needs may also be interested in our spiritual direction groups for parents. Celebrations! teen assistant Lena Greenberg has written a great article about working with children with special needs. Click here to view a gallery of Celebrations! photos.
