Building Jewish learning one brick at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Lindsey Lienert<\/p>\n
As the director of Youth and Family Learning at Shaarey Zedek, I am always asking myself the same question: How do we create hands-on learning experiences that make Judaism come alive in joyful and engaging ways for our children?<\/p>\n
This is especially important for children in kindergarten through seventh grade \u2014 something to motivate them to wake up early on a Saturday and come to synagogue with their parents. And on Saturdays, there is an added challenge: It has to be something exciting, engaging and hands-on, all while following the Shabbat rules of our Conservative congregation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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I was puzzled by this question for a while, brainstorming many ideas, but never quite finding the right fit. Then, one Saturday morning, I watched a 7-year-old building with great focus and intent in our youth activities room \u2014 with LEGOs. I had watched my own 6-year-old do the same thing earlier that morning before it was time to get ready to go to synagogue, and an idea hit me \u2014 LEGOs just might be the perfect material to bring Jewish learning to life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LEGO Clubs have become popular over the past few years in secular environments and with good reason. They offer an opportunity for kids to get together and build, giving them a task to focus on, a way to express creativity and a chance to test their engineering skills. Because they are engaged in the task at hand, the pressure to socialize is low and, therefore, it occurs naturally. It turns out this model adapts itself perfectly to a Jewish learning environment, and our first meeting of the Shabbat LEGO Club was held last October.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The format of the club is simple. We gather one Saturday a month and begin with some learning with a rabbi. This could be about the parshah of the week or an upcoming holiday. We then explain the building challenge of the week to club members, and they spend the next hour or so building, having a Shabbat snack, and often collaborating and sharing ideas with their fellow club members. We conclude by placing their builds in a display case outside our sanctuary in the main lobby, so congregants can see their wonderful creations as they leave services. Their creations remain on display all month long and then are replaced with the next challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Our first meeting focused on Parshat Noach, and we challenged club members to build an ark (filled with small animal figures) and test to see if it floated. Subsequent challenges included building a menorah that holds candles, dreidels that actually spin, building symbols for their own tribe after studying Parshat Vayechi, a forest for Tu b\u2019Shevat, and the parting of the Red Sea for Passover.<\/p>\n
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Educator Danielle Blueford noted, \u201cLEGO Club is a chance for all sorts of creative skills to be shared and explored. Even with the same assignment, the outcomes reflect personality, values and points of view from each learner!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the club evolved, we began to have a core group of members who made sure they would not miss each month\u2019s meeting. Parents saw their child\u2019s excitement, too. \u201cLEGO Club has been a great addition to our Shabbat program. It makes the kids excited to come to Shabbat,\u201d parent Sara Rothenberg said.<\/p>\n
Each week, many children would come to LEGO Club a little early, coming in and asking to get started on this week\u2019s challenge. We also had new faces drop in each week, drawn in by the exciting prospect of building with LEGOs to connect with our synagogue.<\/p>\n
As Rabbi Aaron Starr notes, \u201cLEGO Club helps us build community and build relationships: among the kids, among the children\u2019s families and, through the accompanying learning, between the children and our Creator.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
LEGO Club became so popular that we began to offer opportunities for children and teens to use LEGOs and complete Jewish-themed building challenges at all of our family programs. We found the LEGO table was always packed with eager builders, many of whom would stay for most of the time. I encouraged our Religious School teachers to use them in classrooms as well, making Torah and Hebrew come alive through hands-on building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While LEGO Club is taking a pause over the summer, it will be back with even more exciting challenges in the fall, as will the LEGOs at future CSZ programming. Rabbi Yoni Dahlen adds, \u201cIt\u2019s been wonderful watching our kids bring the Torah to life through this program of imagination and creativity. It has also offered us a chance to see our tradition through their eyes and has promoted some thoughtful and meaningful conversation. We can\u2019t wait to continue to build off the success of LEGO Club and take it into some exciting new directions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re interested in your child joining us at LEGO Club, please email me at llienert@shaareyzedek.org<\/a> \u2014 we\u2019d love to have them!\u00a0Lindsey Lienert is the Director of Youth and Family Learning at Congregation Shaarey Zedek.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Detroit Jewish News has been supported by readers like you since 1942. Support independent, local, Jewish journalism with a donation today.<\/p>\n