Many Jewish families struggle to find a Jewish community when they are relocated to a new base. ShalomLearning’s unique educational model can support isolated Jewish families on military bases across the world through homeschooling and community classes.
ShalomLearning Creates Community on Military Bases
Thousands of Jewish families are living on military bases around the world, but on many of these bases, there are only a handful of Jewish families at any given time. Sarai Addy first heard about ShalomLearning from Jewish Chaplains Council® (JWB) at her family’s post in Washington state. There were less than 5 Jewish families on that base and ShalomLearning enabled her to create a community without having to drive an hour off base to find the nearest synagogue. Knowing that resources are often limited in these very small Jewish communities, she volunteered to become a ShalomLearning educator.
When Sarai’s family was relocated to a base in Virginia, she relied on ShalomLearning to help her family find a new community in their new home. The educational resources enabled her to quickly connect with other Jewish families and foster the friendships she wanted for her family.
How ShalomLearning Education Helps Military Families
Sarai leverages the full ShalomLearning curriculum, including Jewish values and all three Hebrew programs (Tora Aura, JLearnHub, and Let’s Learn Hebrew Side-by-Side). She uses the values curriculum at home with her 4 children and teaches the Hebrew curriculum in weekly, group classes on the base. She works with the lay leaders to teach both the younger and older children Hebrew in person, leveraging Hebrew through Movement for the younger children and the Jewish Interactive app for older students. All families have access to the online, self-paced curriculum to practice on their own at home.
Prior to ShalomLearning, Sarai educated her children based on her personal knowledge and upbringing. She says ShalomLearning is “wonderful because it’s so organized. It’s really convenient to have everything laid out in lesson plans and calendars with suggested activities vs. pulling it all together myself, trying to remember what and how I learned years ago.” While the curriculum was inherently easy-to-use, Sarai loves the ShalomLearning teacher education for learning how to navigate the online content and discovering all the features.
Jewish Values for Every Family
Sarai describes the ShalomLearning curriculum as “very respectful of all the denominations” which is important when using the same curriculum to teach families with wide-ranging backgrounds. By focusing on the values of the Jewish religion, it can help Jewish children be confident in their identity as Jews and help them socialize better with other Jewish children.
She believes ShalomLearning has positively impacted her children’s friendships as they are learning the same values. “Kids get together and say ‘I’m so glad I get to know another Jewish kid’ and appreciate having a place where their culture is rewarded and respected.”
Jewish Education Available Anywhere
Living on an isolated base shouldn’t be a barrier to accessing Jewish education. ShalomLearning has really helped Sarai’s children improve their Hebrew. In fact, when her son went to summer Hebrew camp, she reports that the staff were very impressed with his knowledge.
Sarai’s family will move again and she will continue to be a ShalomLearning educator for her family and others. “Having ShalomLearning is just so convenient because we are moving all the time and we can always find other families.”
Try ShalomLearning Resources for Free
If you think your family, organization, or community could benefit from the ShalomLearning curriculum, we encourage you to download a free lesson plan and check out our other free resources. Our mission is to make relevant, meaningful Jewish education affordable and accessible to everyone. Contact us to see how ShalomLearning can enhance your Jewish education program.
