Quality time makes the family stronger
IF YOUR child goes to a Jewish primary school, there is a good chance you will have come across Seed. About to celebrate its 40th anniversary, Seed provides informal Jewish education at a host of schools in and around the capital — Wolfson Hillel, Sinai, Mathilda Marks and Etz Chaim, to name but a few. In Manchester, Seed works with King David and North Cheshire primary schools.
Its aim? To strengthen the Jewish family through positive Jewish encounters. And if feedback is anything to go by, it is succeeding. Emma, a Wolfson Hillel mum, explains: “With three children in the same school, the activities still never lose their impact — wonderful opportunities for us to learn together and always presented with
Rabbi Bazak’s unswerving enthusiasm. We leave every session having learnt something, having spent quality time with our child and with a huge smile.”
Outside school, Seed runs large, oneoff family-focused events, such as fun days centred on festivals, attracting hundreds of families — and the organisation has something for everyone during quiet times too. Among parents of babies and toddlers, Seed is known for its weekly welcoming Babies and Bagels and Party Time
Succahbuilding at Etz Chaim Shabbat sessions. These are social events for mums and very young children in a supportive Jewish setting, allowing mums to share experiences and learn more about parenting. Seed has even recently started hosting birthday parties at these events.
There are Dad Time events in London and Manchester, too, where fathers can spend quality time with their primaryage children in a Jewish environment and chat to other dads over breakfast, or a fun activity such as drumming.
Seed’s work does not end with the move to secondary school. The organisation runs an oversubscribed batmitzvah programme, Links, which provides an opportunity for mothers and daughters to share learning and fun activities in the batmitzvah year. The aim is to build pride among the girls and an understanding of their Jewish heritage, as they take their place in the adult Jewish world.
Says Charlotte, mum of Gabriella: “It was like a breath of fresh air away from normal hectic life and doing something enjoyable together.”
The Seed batmitzvah trip for mothers and daughters, every February half term, complements this programme with a week of learning, touring and special experiences in Israel. (You can join one or both batmitzvah activities.)
For the first time this year, Seed is also running a barmitzvah trip for fathers and sons. Highlights will include 4x4 drives in the Judean dessert, visits to off-the-beaten-track secrets of Israel and a talk from a counter-terrorism expert. Interwoven will be inspirational moments and activities and Seed hopes this trip will become an annual fixture.
seed.uk.net, registered charity 1155460