When the first snow flurries began to fall on Wednesday, December 16, Nefesh Yehudi Academy, the Jewish after school program for Hebrew language charter school students in East Brunswick, pivoted to remote learning. Since it was still Chanukah, the programming included a little spin!

On Wednesday, grades three through five participated in an escape room type program called “Chanu-Candle Hunt” created by That Jewish Moment’s Sari Kopitnikoff (www.thatjewishmoment.com). One could certainly hear the enthusiasm of the students while solving each puzzle.

On Thursday, the entire school joined together to learn from kttah alef teacher, Morah Ricki, how to make a sufganiyah in a mug. The singing of the dreidel song while the bakers mixed their concoctions was a delight! After tasting their individual sufganiyot, students were able to choose their own adventure through a number of electives. The choices included attending a Chanukah comedy show, learning how to photograph Chanukah images, learning two holiday Israeli dances or participating in a food challenge to create a chanukiah with edible ingredients in under 10 minutes. After the electives ended, the entire community joined together to participate in a Chanukah Kahoot.

Even with the temptation of fun-filled snow play outside, many students joined inside virtually to warm their “nefesh Yehudi.”