[HANASHIR:11690] morning blessings for children

[Ellen Allard <ellen...>]

Dear All,

I led a Tot Shabbat service this morning and must say that, since arriving
home from Hava Nashira, I approached it with a renewed sense of dedication
to creativity and thinking outside of the box..... thanks to the workshop I
took with Craig and Merri!

My service is attended by parents with young children, mostly 2's through
7's. For a long while, I have been struggling with how to incorporate the
morning blessings into the service. In the past, the way I've used the
morning blessings is by asking the children for things they are thankful
for, and then we all sing "Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-olam" and
then we loosely insert what they're thankful for, singing their ideas one at
a time; for example, I ask "What are some things you are thankful for?" and
after I get the first reply, we all sing "Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu
melech ha-olam, we thank you G-d for family (or whatever the child said)."
Then, once again, I ask "What are some other things you are thankful for?"
and after I get the next reply, we all sing "Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu
melech ha-olam, we thank you G-d for candy (or whatever they said)." etc.

This has worked well up until now. I've been able to justify this version of
the prayer, as I have felt that it has given the children a general sense of
the prayer format and the idea of being thankful each morning for our
blessings etc. But the struggle for me right now is that I want to
incorporate more of the actual prayer into this particular prayer
experience. But, keeping in mind that these are very young children and I
need to keep things short and sweet, I'm wondering about the following
format. BTW, this follows the prayer order in the GOP siddur. I'm open to
other suggestions. Also, though I would like to precede each phrase with
"Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-o-lam (or chai ha-olamim), it adds
significantly to the time allotted to the prayer, and I just don't think it
is developmentally appropriate for young children. It's long enough as it
is. I'm also wondering, once again in the interest of time and developmental
appropriateness, whether I can justify eliminating some of the phrases and
if so, which ones would be the best to eliminate? Please note that, in the
interest of creativity and thinking outside of the box, I start and end this
prayer experience with the rooster crowing. I think this would appeal to
young children AND it would help them have an actual sign that the prayer is
beginning and ending. I've also taken some liberties in translating each
phrase, so that children can understand the vocabulary used AND so the words
are easier to echo.

start with everyone making the sound of a crowing rooster, then all say
³Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-o-lam (or chai ha-olamim, which
means life of all the worlds)"

and I sing ³to the One who helped the rooster" and everyone echo/sing my
english

and I sing "tell the night from the day² and everyone echo/sing my english

and I sing ³who made me a Jew² and everyone echo/sing my english
(there are numerous interfaith families who attend my service; I wonder
about language that will be more inclusive; any ideas?)

and then I sing ³who gives me my freedom² and all echo

and I sing ³who opened my eyes² and all echo

and then I sing ³who gives me clothes to wear² and all echo

and then I sing ³who helps me to stand up straight² and all echo

and then I sing ³who gives me the ground to walk on² and all echo

and then I sing ³who makes Israel strong² and all echo

and then I sing ³who gives Israel a shiny crown² and all echo
(I had a hard time with a simple translation of this one)

and then I sing ³who makes me feel strong² and all echo.

and I sing ³who wakes up my sleepy eyes² and all echo.

and all crow once more.

Specializing in Music for Young Children
Ellen (at) PeterandEllen(dot)com
***********************
For information on our award-winning recordings, children's concerts, and
teacher workshops, visit http://www.PeterandEllen.com or call tollfree
1-888-746-4481
***********************
What goes around comes around.
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like no-one's watching.
Sing like no-one's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.
--