Jewish American Heritage Month provides an opportunity to teach children about the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture.
At Connecticut Children’s, we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month and other culture months as part of our journey to make our organization more welcoming and inclusive. We honor the month with our team members, patients and their families by displaying signage in our hospital, providing educational resources, sharing team member profiles, and much more. We also encourage families to try new activities to better understand and appreciate the history and contributions of Jewish people in our country.
Here are some ideas to consider during Jewish American Heritage Month and all year long:
- Make Jewish-inspired arts and crafts. A quick online search will turn up many ideas that will get kids excited to learn about Jewish traditions including dreidels, paper chains and much more.
- Read children’s books featuring Jewish characters or written by Jewish authors. To get you started, Social Justice Books offers suggestions for elementary, middle school and young adult readers.
- Cook popular Jewish recipes. This is a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen. For ideas, check out PJ Library, which offers classic recipes including blintzes, challah and falafel.
- For additional ideas, Connecticut Children’s Growing Healthy Blog offers suggestions to honor Jewish American Heritage Month with kids.
Here’s some background information on this heritage month.
Jewish American Heritage Month is celebrated every May in the United States. The recognition started with a proclamation from President George W. Bush in 2006 establishing the month to honor the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The month of May was chosen to recognize this month because of the successful celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History, which took place in May 2004 and was organized by the Commission for Commemorating 350 Year of American Jewish History.