Mommy and Me Workshops

Mommy & Me Day is a special opportunity to welcome mommies into the classroom and celebrate the powerful connection between home and school. It gives mommies a meaningful peek into what happens during the school day, while helping children feel supported, confident, and excited about their learning experience.

Why is a Mommy and Me Day important?

Strengthens home–school connection
When mommies step into the classroom, they better understand the school’s values, routines, and learning goals—creating a true partnership.

Builds children’s emotional security
Children feel proud, confident, and safe when their mommy is part of their school world, which supports emotional development.

Encourages meaningful parent involvement

Mommies experience hands-on activities and gain ideas they can continue at home.

Enhances social and language skills
Shared activities promote communication, cooperation, and expressive language in a natural way.

Creates joyful, lasting memories
Positive school experiences tied to family build warm associations with learning and lasting positive memories.

Workshop Themes

Having one theme throughout Mommy & Me Day brings all the activities together in a meaningful way. It helps children make connections, creates a calm and organized flow, and gives mommies a clear picture of how learning is intentionally planned—making the experience feel special, purposeful, and memorable.

All About Me

Sharing and Caring

Thank You Hashem (click to download)

Shabbos

Mitzvos

Brachos

Our Five Senses

Hashem’s World

Workshop Ideas

Here are simple, meaningful, and classroom-friendly activity ideas that work especially well for a Mommy & Me workshop. They’re hands-on, low-pressure, and easy for teachers to prepare:

Creative & Keepsake Activities

Mommy & Me art project – Paint, collage, or decorate a frame with a photo taken that day.

Handprint or fingerprint art – with a short poem attached:

Hand in hand we grow.

Hand in hand, you and me,

Growing, learning, happily.

Your hand holds mine as I grow tall,

Thank you, Mommy, for it all.

Learning Together

Mini learning centers – Short rotation of educational toys (puzzle table, matching games, fine-motor trays).

Letter or name activity – Decorate the child’s name, trace letters, or match letters to pictures.

Skill-Building Play

Fine-motor station – Playdough, lacing cards, pegboards, or tweezers with pom-poms.

Sorting or building challenge – Blocks, Magna-Tiles, or shape sorters to work on together.

Sensory bin – Scooping, pouring, or themed sensory play (rice, beans, or sand).

Food Decorating

Cookie decorating: plain sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles.

Mini cupcake decorating – Pre-baked cupcakes with colored frosting and toppings.

Rice Krispie treats – Add drizzle, sprinkles, or chocolate chips.

Donut decorating – Mini donuts with glaze and fun toppings.

Closing Touch

Photo booth or class photo – Simple backdrop, sign, or prop.

Take-home activity bag – One small game or idea to recreate at home.

Download “Thank You Hashem” themed Activity Ideas

MORE TO EXPLORE

Preventing the Summer Slide

Small efforts, big impacts We know how quickly children grow when learning is consistent—and how quickly skills can fade when routines disappear for months. The “Summer Slide” is real. Children can lose foundational academic skills, and even social and emotional progress, over the break. For some, September feels less like a continuation and more like starting all over again. A few intentional moments each week throughout the summer can help reinforce and protect the skills students worked hard to master during the year. That said, summer was never meant to be a third semester. Young children still need rest, play, family time, and freedom—and the goal isn’t to push them toward new skills. It’s simply to preserve what they already know. The Balance According to one of Torah Umesorah’s leading Intervention Specialists, assigning summer homework three times a week is sufficient for maintaining students’ progress. The assignments don’t need to

What do you wish more people understood about your job?

Let Summer Refill You

If you had a quiet moment this summer, what would you want to get better at? This one isn’t for everyone. Some of you are busier in July than in January — summer jobs, kids home, camps, family. If that’s you, bookmark this for when things settle. But if you do find yourself with a quiet mid-morning once the kids are out, or a calm early evening before the night gets going — that might be exactly enough. Torah Umesorah is offering sessions built for exactly those pockets of time. As little as 20 minutes, and you walk away with something real and usable for your classroom. Live Zoom or phone sessions Scheduled during mid-morning and early evening hours, when things tend to quiet down. On your own time Recorded sessions Listen whenever works for you — folding laundry, on a walk, or with a cup of coffee.

For the Teacher Who Can’t Find the Words

For the Teacher Who Can’t Find the Words The last day of school has a feeling all its own. Backpacks bulge with the year’s worth of seforim and workbooks. The classroom looks a little bare already. Coat hooks hold one last sweater. And somewhere between the goodbyes, you find yourself wondering where the time went. And then they’re gone. Just like that, the room that held so much — the noise, the questions, the breakthroughs, the giggles — goes quiet. There’s a particular hollow feeling that settles in when the last talmidah walks out the door, a mix of pride and nostalgia that’s hard to put into words. You want to stop them on their way out. You want to tell them how much they’ve grown, how much you’ve grown, how this year meant something. But you also know — because you know them — that a heartfelt speech from