Parenting Through a Jewish Lens
2025-11-02 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-11-16 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-12-07 16:30 - 18:00 (US/Eastern) | Conference Room (front)
Parenting Through a Jewish Lens (for parents of infants through age 9) Join Rabbi Elyse Pincus Abrahams and a group of fellow parents of newborns through nine-year-olds to discuss topics that matter to you as a parent; explore Jewish values that can enrich your family; reflect on the joys and challenges of raising kids today; and find support, encouragement, and connection. Discover the many ways in which Jewish sources of wisdom can inform their choices. How can I help foster my child’s uniqueness? How can I nurture my child’s resilience? How can I help my family through dark times? How do I talk to my child about God? Meets at TBS on Sundays from 4:30-6pm for a series of four sessions:
October 26
November 2
November 16
December 7
Babysitting and pizza dinner provided for the kids! Questions? Contact Ellen Dietrick.

Tot Shabbat Tater Tot Nosh
2025-11-21 17:15 - 17:30, 2025-12-19 17:15 - 17:30, 2026-03-20 17:15 - 17:30 | Simon Hall

Tot Shabbat Service
2025-11-21 17:30 - 18:00, 2025-12-19 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-01-09 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-02-27 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-03-20 17:30 - 18:00 | Sanctuary
Contact: Ellen Dietrick

Menorah Making
2025-12-06 09:00 - 10:00 | Carmen Hall
Join us for a joyful, hands on Chanukah experience designed especially for families with young children! Together, we’ll build and decorate child friendly menorahs using wood, tiles, paint, and plenty of sparkle. Come celebrate, create, and share the light with your TBS community! We have two types of menorahs. Please choose one per child when you register. 1- Wooden menorah with wooden candles for dramatic play or as a mantle/shelf decoration to track the holiday progression. 2- Useable menorahs made from wood or ceramics. Geared towards children ages 2-10 but all are welcome.

Sing & Dance with Cantor DJ: Chanukah Fun!
2025-12-07 16:00 - 16:30 | Family Reading Room
Bring the whole family for a joyful morning of singing, dancing, and instrument play with Cantor DJ Fortine. Each session blends holiday traditions with music learning and is designed for children ages 0–5 and their grown-ups. $15 per family. TBS members use coupon code LL for free registration.

The Big Chanukah Playdate
2025-12-16 17:00 - 18:00 | Carmen Hall
Join us for a joyful evening designed just for children ages 0–6 and their families!
Celebrate Chanukah through hands-on, sensory-rich activities and playful games that bring the holiday to life. Children will scoop, sprinkle, spin, squeeze, and explore at themed stations inspired by sufganiyot, dreidels, candles, and more. From festive sensory bins to creative crafts, there’s something for every age and stage. Plus chicken finger and latke dinner!
Come play, create, sing, and celebrate together as we welcome the light of Chanukah with our TBS community!
$18 per family. TBS members use coupon code LL for free registration.

Sing & Dance with Cantor DJ: More Chanukah Songs & Dance
2025-12-21 16:00 - 16:30 | Family Reading Room

Tot Shabbat Dinner
2026-01-09 17:00 - 17:30 | Simon Hall
Click here to register for our February 20 Tot Shabbat dinner.
It’s Friday evening. The kids are hungry. You’re hungry. We’ve got food — and a great community to enjoy it with! Come for dinner before Tot Shabbat! TBS Members are free. Non-members are $10/person with a $36 family cap. Menu: Chicken fingers and sides. Registration is required for dinner.

Grandparenting in Today's World
2026-01-23 09:45 - 11:00, 2026-02-27 09:45 - 11:00, 2026-03-27 09:45 - 11:00 | Beit Midrash
Join us for a discussion with other TBS grandparents of young children facilitated by Margie Bogdanow, LISCW, about grandparenting in today’s world. Margie Bogdanow is an LICSW social worker, coach, and consultant based in New England. Her professional work focuses on impacting adults to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. She currently serves as the Senior Advisor to the BeWell Initiative at Jewish Federations of North America. In that role she consults with communities across the country to assist them in their mental health efforts. She is on the Parenting Through a Jewish Lens faculty at Hebrew College and was a co-creator of the Grandparenting Through a Jewish Lens and Parenting Teens Through a Jewish Lens curriculum. She currently serves as the Chair of the 18 doors Grandparent Advisory Council, as well as being involved in numerous other Grandparent projects. She is the gramma to 7.

Canceled: Sing & Dance with Cantor DJ-Tu Bishvat sing-along
2026-01-25 16:00 - 16:30 | Family Reading Room
Due to the snow, this program has been canceled. Please contact Ellen Dietrick at edietrick@tbsneedham.org with any questions.
Bring the whole family for a joyful morning of singing, dancing, and instrument play with Cantor DJ Fortine. Each session blends holiday traditions with music learning and is designed for children ages 0–5 and their grown-ups. $15 per family. TBS members use coupon code LL for free registration.

Storytime with Children's Author Elizabeth Suneby
2026-02-08 10:00 - 11:00 | Carmen Hall
Join us for a joyful storytime with children’s author Elizabeth Suneby as she reads her beloved books Challahbaloo and Say Shalom All Day. After the reading, stay for a hands on activity inspired by the stories. A perfect winter morning to connect!

Shalom Tiny Tutti!
2026-02-22 10:00 - 11:00 | Carmen Hall
Shalom Tiny Tutti is a joyful, music-forward live performance that introduces young children to Hebrew through song, movement, and interactive storytelling. The performance follows a familiar morning routine—waking up and getting ready to go—inviting preschoolers (and their families) to actively participate while learning simple, meaningful Hebrew words along the way. With catchy melodies, playful repetition, and opportunities to move and sing together, children build early Hebrew language skills in a way that feels natural, engaging, and fun, while also fostering a warm sense of connection and belonging to their Jewish identity.

Sing & Dance with Cantor DJ: Purim preview
2026-02-22 16:00 - 16:30 | Family Reading Room

Tot Shabbat Dinner
2026-02-27 17:00 - 17:30 | Simon Hall
It’s Friday evening. The kids are hungry. You’re hungry. We’ve got food — and a great community to enjoy it with! Come for dinner before Tot Shabbat! TBS Members are free. Non-members are $10/person with a $36 family cap. Menu: Chicken fingers and sides. Registration is required for dinner.

Purim Palooza
2026-03-01 09:00 - 14:30 | Simon Hall
Wear your costumes, bring your noisemakers, and come join the Purim fun! Purim Palooza will begin in the sanctuary with a spirited retelling of the Purim story and brief megillah reading. The fun continues with games, crafts, dancing, hamantaschen-making, and more!
Four Rounds:

9:00 am-10:15 am – For Families with Young Children (ages 6 and under)
10:30 am-11:45 am – Open to All
12:00 pm-1:15 pm – For Families with School-Age Children (grades K-6)
1:30 pm-2:45 pm – Sensory-Friendly Celebration*

*The sensory-friendly celebration is designed for families with children who are sensitive to noise, lights, and other stimuli, and/or who are easily overstimulated by large crowds. Registration is limited in order to keep the crowd small.

Sing & Dance with Cantor DJ: Passover Celebration
2026-03-15 16:00 - 16:30 | Family Reading Room

Passover Seder for Families with Young Children
2026-04-05 17:00 - 18:00 | Carmen Hall
Join us for a celebration of Passover geared towards families with young children. We’ll tell the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt, dip parsley into salt water, sing, and enjoy a simple chicken dinner with all the fixings. Geared towards families with children ages six and under.
Register: t-b-s.me/fwycseder
Cost:

$15.50/person (adults and children aged 13+)
$5/child aged 3-12
Free for children 2 and under
$41 family cap

Contact: Ellen Dietrick at edietrick@tbsneedham.org
