You just can’t go wrong when the title of your program is “Babies, Books, and Bagels.”
Last Sunday morning, Feb. 5, 18 young Jewish families came together at the Owings Mills Jewish Community Center for the hour-long gathering that featured, well, babies, books, and bagels.
The families — with children under the age of 18 months old — were affiliated with the JCC’s Hello Baby and Happiest Baby on the Block groups, as well as the Center for Jewish Education’s Shalom Baby, jOY Baby and Ahava Baby groups.
Overseen by CJE Family Engagement Specialist Brenda Footer and Linda Lapidus, parent/infant/toddler program supervisor for the JCC, Sunday’s event featured activities and programming were tied to Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish new year for trees. (Tu B’Shevat will be observed this Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 10-11.)
Activities included storytime, songs and dancing, arts and crafts, playtime and the enjoyment of refreshments (yes, including bagels). Performing there was songleader Cory Hermann, director of the Baltimore Educational Initiative for Teens of Reform Judaism (and wife of JCC President Barak Hermann).
“It was just one of those programs where you can’t go wrong, and the kids were fantastic,” said Gabrielle Burger, the CJE’s director of PJ Library and PJ Our Way for Baltimore. “I wasn’t there but I heard it was a lot of fun. Families were having such a good time, they didn’t want to leave. It’s all about making connections for families.”
Photos by Lisa Shifren
Top Photo: Samantha Bernbaum enjoys the strums and sounds of songleader Cory Hermann.
The CJE’s Brenda Footer reads from “It’s Tu B’Shevat,” by Edie Stoltz Zolkower and Richard Johnson
Shannon Kowitz (left) and her son, Simon, enjoy playtime next to Mike Myers and his son, Jonathan.
Kasania Shviskkiy dances around with her son, Maximum Goikhberg.
Samantha Bernbaum gets a loving nuzzle from her doting mom, Arieta.