Yad B' Yad: Shabbat Together!

I really enjoyed our Shabbat stations activity with all of you on Sunday. I had spent Sat. night in our youth lounge with our 9th graders and was a little tired but seeing all of you and the smell of fresh Challah woke me right up!

I have a few links connected to Sunday's program to share with all of you along with some fun pictures.

First, for those of you who might want to check out a God Cast torah portion video at home the web site is:
http://www.g-dcast.com/
You might try watching one right before a family Shabbat dinner. You can continue the conversation about the portion over dinner.

Some of you asked where I got the dough for the Challah we made. I bought it in the freezer section in Safeway. It is white sandwich bread dough. You let it defrost overnight, then let it rise for a few hours, braid and bake it according to the package. Its not quite as good as homemade but still fills your home with that yummy bread smell and it is fun to braid.
Here is what the package looks like:

For those of you want to take your Challah to the next level, here is a video about how to braid a beautiful 6 strand challah:

And, lastly, here is sweet list of easy, kid friendly ways to bring a little Shabbat into your home from a fellow blogger:
Kid Friendly Shabbat Ideas

My favorites:
"When my kids were little, we had a special “shabbat box” of toys that were ONLY for shabbat. when the day got a bit long, especially in the summer, we would bring this out and it worked like a charm to keep them occupied for a couple of hours while the adults either chatted or, you know, NAPPED!!! We made sure to stock it with special “shabbat toys” that they then did not get during the week, like sparkle markers, stickers, shiny paper, one or two unique board games, their favorite TV character stuffed animals, etc. At the bottom of the box was a “treasure map” that they had to figure out to find a special shabbat snack we had hidden. Not shockingly, they always went for that first"
and
"I have a friend who only permits sugar cereal and other treats on Shabbat. I am continuing with a tradition from my childhood by declaring Shabbos a homework-free day!!!! I go off-grid. I do it for me AND for my kids. So that I can be fully present for and with them. Later bedtime on Shabbos."
(from Minnesota Mamaleh: 11 Kid Friendly Shabbat Ideas By 11 Fab Jewish Bloggers)

What are your favorite Shabbat traditions in your home? Feel free to share in a comment below.

And now some fun photos from Sunday: