Days of the Week
I often hear from parents that they do not feel they don’t know enough Yiddish to help their children practise at home. The truth is, you don’t need to be fluent to incorporate Yiddish at home. I recently presented at a special Yiddish day - “Mit a Yidishn Tam 2” - where I ran a simple activity aimed at just such parents. An easy way to bring Yiddish into the home is to refer to the days of the week in Yiddish. As such, I worked with children and parents to create a ‘days of the week’ pinwheel. Some parents felt confident to write in Yiddish, whilst others used transliteration. The point is that these families were then able to go home and implement this straight away.
Every time we bring Yiddish into the home, we teach children that Yiddish is a natural part of their life, and not an ‘other’. Even if you don’t YET speak Yiddish, you can still contribute to your child’s language development... one pinwheel at a time!
Every time we bring Yiddish into the home, we teach children that Yiddish is a natural part of their life, and not an ‘other’. Even if you don’t YET speak Yiddish, you can still contribute to your child’s language development... one pinwheel at a time!
Tuning into Feelings... in Yiddish
It can be very hard, even as adults, to reflect carefully on what we are feeling. This is an important skill to encourage in children so that they are able to regulate their emotions independently. This can be done in any language, including Yiddish.
The poster below can be easily laminated and written on. Start each day by writing in the day of the week (in Yiddish, of course) and ask them to write in what they are feeling. This not only reviews the Yiddish vocabulary but opens up important conversation with children about how they process what is happening both to them and around them.
The poster below can be easily laminated and written on. Start each day by writing in the day of the week (in Yiddish, of course) and ask them to write in what they are feeling. This not only reviews the Yiddish vocabulary but opens up important conversation with children about how they process what is happening both to them and around them.
Using Yiddish Words at Home
The best way to assist your child with their Yiddish language development at home is to try and use some of the vocabulary regularly.
The League for Yiddish, which is a brilliant source for Yiddish speakers and lovers alike, puts out a weekly list of vocabulary. Each week follows a different theme and they usually try to relate the list to current events or upcoming yom-toyvim so that they are relevant.
You can find a link to many of the vocabulary lists below or alternatively, you can follow the League for Yiddish on Facebook and follow their posts.
Starting with small lists of vocabulary that you can use with your kids is both achievable and practical. I encourage you to explore the lists and see what words are currently available that you can implement now.
The League for Yiddish, which is a brilliant source for Yiddish speakers and lovers alike, puts out a weekly list of vocabulary. Each week follows a different theme and they usually try to relate the list to current events or upcoming yom-toyvim so that they are relevant.
You can find a link to many of the vocabulary lists below or alternatively, you can follow the League for Yiddish on Facebook and follow their posts.
Starting with small lists of vocabulary that you can use with your kids is both achievable and practical. I encourage you to explore the lists and see what words are currently available that you can implement now.
Learn the Alef Beys
I can completely understand some parents’ hesitation when it comes to practising Yiddish skills at home with their kids. With many parents not knowing the language themselves, it can be a daunting task. The National Yiddish Book Center has released a series of online interactive activities to help adults learn the alef beys (Yiddish alphabet) and get to the very beginners level of reading. The program is a great opportunity for parents to get the basics of reading down so that they can feel more confident in helping their kids at home.
DIY ‘Days of the Week’ Timetable
The days of the week are really easy to incorporate into your regular vocabulary. They are:
Sunday - זונטיק - zuntik
Monday - מאָנטיק - montik
Tuesday - דינסטיק - dinstik
Wednesday - מיטװאָך - mitvokh
Thursday - דאָנערשטיק - donershtik
Friday - פֿרײַטיק - fraytik
Saturday - שבת - shabes
A very simple way to help your child remember these words is to have them create a timetable.
You will need:
- Paper
- Scissors
- Coloured pencils or textas
1. Fold your paper in half vertically
2. Unfold the paper
3. Cut one half of the paper into seven sections (see photo below)
4. Have your child write the names of the days of the week onto each slit.
5. Then have your child draw a picture of what they do on each day underneath the appropriate slit of paper (eg: Tuesday is swimming day so the child will draw a picture to match that under the ‘Tuesday’ flap.
This can be a great reference point throughout the week. You can ask your child ‘haynt iz...?’ (הײַנט איז) and then have them answer the days for you or just refer to the calendar and say ‘today is... so what activity do you have today?’
Sunday - זונטיק - zuntik
Monday - מאָנטיק - montik
Tuesday - דינסטיק - dinstik
Wednesday - מיטװאָך - mitvokh
Thursday - דאָנערשטיק - donershtik
Friday - פֿרײַטיק - fraytik
Saturday - שבת - shabes
A very simple way to help your child remember these words is to have them create a timetable.
You will need:
- Paper
- Scissors
- Coloured pencils or textas
1. Fold your paper in half vertically
2. Unfold the paper
3. Cut one half of the paper into seven sections (see photo below)
4. Have your child write the names of the days of the week onto each slit.
5. Then have your child draw a picture of what they do on each day underneath the appropriate slit of paper (eg: Tuesday is swimming day so the child will draw a picture to match that under the ‘Tuesday’ flap.
This can be a great reference point throughout the week. You can ask your child ‘haynt iz...?’ (הײַנט איז) and then have them answer the days for you or just refer to the calendar and say ‘today is... so what activity do you have today?’
Family Game Night... In Yiddish!
Yiddish doesn’t and shouldn’t have to be limited to the classroom. In fact, the more you use it in context, the easier it is for your child to learn and retain vocabulary. One easy way to do this at home is during Family Game Night. Many families come together once a week to play a game of choice as a way to communicate and bond with one another, but what if we did this in Yiddish?
Here’s an example I trialled this week: Twister. A really easy game to play in both English AND Yiddish. What is the main vocabulary used in the instructions? Left foot, right foot, left hand, right hand, red, blue, green and yellow. Eight simple phrases that you can translate into Yiddish to play with your child.
Here’s an example I trialled this week: Twister. A really easy game to play in both English AND Yiddish. What is the main vocabulary used in the instructions? Left foot, right foot, left hand, right hand, red, blue, green and yellow. Eight simple phrases that you can translate into Yiddish to play with your child.
Or what about Guess Who? What a great way to practise asking questions, answering questions and applying adjectives and adjectival endings!
Who knew Game Night could be so educational? Make Yiddish a part of your family time and see how it becomes a regular feature in your home.
Who knew Game Night could be so educational? Make Yiddish a part of your family time and see how it becomes a regular feature in your home.
Tips: Teaching your Child to Count in Yiddish
As a Yiddish teacher, I very often hear the following statement from parents: "I don't speak Yiddish so I can't help my kid learn". I have news for those parents: that is untrue. Of course, it is more difficult to assist your child compared with a parent who is a fluent Yiddish speaker. However, this does not mean that you do not have a valuable role to play in your child's Yiddish learning.
It is common knowledge that something needs to be repeated and practised frequently in order for it to stick. So, even if you can't speak Yiddish, you can assist your child by repeating simple words and phrases at home.
A simple example of how to do this is by counting in Yiddish at home. Let's say you are cooking and you need to use 6 eggs - why not count them aloud in Yiddish? Or perhaps you need to count how many plates you need to set the table. You can do this in Yiddish and ask your child to help you count too.
It's all about baby steps. Though it doesn't seem like much to you, your role modelling creates a sense of normalcy and practicality for your child, thus encouraging them to speak in Yiddish at home.
This clip is a great way for you to practise your Yiddish counting up to ten:
It is common knowledge that something needs to be repeated and practised frequently in order for it to stick. So, even if you can't speak Yiddish, you can assist your child by repeating simple words and phrases at home.
A simple example of how to do this is by counting in Yiddish at home. Let's say you are cooking and you need to use 6 eggs - why not count them aloud in Yiddish? Or perhaps you need to count how many plates you need to set the table. You can do this in Yiddish and ask your child to help you count too.
It's all about baby steps. Though it doesn't seem like much to you, your role modelling creates a sense of normalcy and practicality for your child, thus encouraging them to speak in Yiddish at home.
This clip is a great way for you to practise your Yiddish counting up to ten:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7aAALKuhsrQ