Parshas Shmos: Montessori, bedtime, and choosing the right path (1/12)

Thursday, January 12th 2012 @ 3:16 PM    post viewed 318 times

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Contents:
• The week in review; How I became the poster boy for kabbalah.
• New cd from homeschooling dad/musician/composer/producer Daniel Gil - The Four Worlds - a must hear!
• New Q&A feature with Mayim Bialik, PhD
• 4th Torah Home Education Conference
• Essay - Dr. Maria Montessori, bedtime, and choosing the right path, or "I go to bed crying, and I wake up laughing."
• The weekly parsha -Shmos
• Other announcements; weekly davening circle, blogs. "The Doctor is In," a new blog from Dr. Nicole Brackman.

I hope you had a good week. At Room613, we sure did. Discussion, laughter, homeschoolers collaborating and working together, and in-depth Torah study. So, what are you waiting for?

I had an interesting experience in my local copy shop. I was picking up some very special posters that I had dropped off to be dry-mounted. An older couple standing next to me began asking me questions about the posters, which were sitting on the counter, and about kabbalah (the theme of the posters). It was clear that this couple was Jewish, and that they wanted me to know that they were. We ended up having a nice chat about kabbalah, Torah, and more, and we exchanged numbers.

I considered the fact that I have been schlepping these posters around for the past 15 years, and have only just now finally gotten around to having them dry-mounted. What an interesting confluence of events. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that a neshama may come into the world for 70 or 80 years, only for the purpose of doing one favor for another Jew. 

So, would you like to see the posters? You already have, as one is the graphic in this newsletter. I used to be a neighbor of the artist, David Friedman, in Tsfat, and his work is out-of-this-world. I encourage you to look into his artwork. (Please send my regards if you are in touch with him.)

http://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/posters

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*The Four Worlds* - new cd from Daniel Gil

Daniel Gil has been a good friend of mine for the past twenty years. Two of his daughters take classes at Room613. A musician and composer, he has just released a new cd, entitled “The Four Worlds.” Rich, varied, and sonically diverse and captivating, this cd is a treasure. I highly recommend it. It is available from cdbaby as a download. (The short song samples there do not do it justice. Longer samples are on iTunes, but the cd costs more there.) 

I am totally taken with this new cd. Daniel wrote it, arranged it, engineered and produced it. I play guitar on one song. It even has a real symphony orchestra on it. It is a must-hear.

http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/DanielGil1

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New Q&A feature with Mayim Bialik, PhD

We are excited to announce that Mayim Bialik PhD. will be answering your homeschooling and parenting questions every month, in a new forum entitled “Ask Mayim.” You can begin submitting your questions here.

https://secure.jotform.com/njp/askmayim 

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From the sponsors of the 4th Torah Home Education Conference:

“Please mark your calendar to visit Baltimore on Sunday May 6th and plan to attend this marvelous event. Make the Torah Home Education Conference a "must" on your homeschooling agenda.

The conference is a fabulous source of support, inspiration and camaraderie for all. Look for more information regarding this special event as the program develops.

Also, we want to know what you want to see in YOUR homeschooling conference. Please take time to complete the following survey” -

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/29MSH87

For more information, please contact Yael@aldrich613@hotmail.com.

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Davening Circle

Every morning, from 9:30 - 9:45 AM, homeschooled children from around the country gather to daven together. This is a free, open group, to any type of member, and any age children. We would love for you to join us! See our homepage for more info.

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I opened up “The “Secret of Childhood” (Ballantine Publishers, 1966, pg. 71) by Maria Montessori, and happened to...http://tinyurl.com/78kdnvu

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*The Weekly Parsha* - Shmos

"This is My name forever and this is My memorial to all generations"

G‑d instructs Moses to inform the Jews that they are about to be redeemed from Egypt in His name. The Kabbalists point out that the Hebrew word for "My name" - "sh'mi,” together with the Hebrew letters yud and hei - the initial letters of the name Havayah, has the numerical value of 365, the number of negative injunctions in the Torah. On the other hand, the Hebrew word for "My memorial" - "zichri" together with vav and hei - the latter two letters of G‑d's name, equals 248 - the number of positive injunctions.

From the teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi adapted by Yitzchak Wagshul

www.kabbalaonline.org/

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Our Facebook pages turn out to be where we are posting a lot of info. and pictures, too. Please visit us there (and why not “friend us” while you’re at it?) -

Room613

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Room613/181973811814410

Mercaz Machshava Tova

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mercaz-Machshava-Tova/246783082038915

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Blogs Not to Miss!

Yael's Blogs

For my wife Yael's unique take on homeschooling and parenting, please visit her blogs:

• Room613 homeschool blog, "A Learning Experience," featured on our homepage (www.room613.net).

• Parenting blog at http://www.natural-jewish-parenting.net

Leia's Laboratory

http://tinyurl.com/7ucetz2

Morah Miriam

http://tinyurl.com/79fzklm

NEW BLOG! Dr. Nicole Brackman - "The Doctor is In"

http://tinyurl.com/6oh8oqr