{"id":52796,"date":"2016-01-13T13:37:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T18:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=52796"},"modified":"2016-01-13T13:48:01","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T18:48:01","slug":"planting-seeds-to-allow-your-children-to-grow-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/planting-seeds-to-allow-your-children-to-grow-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"Planting Seeds to Allow Your Children to Grow Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"

We just celebrated Rosh Chodesh Shevat. That means that Tu B\u2019Shevat<\/a> is coming up in two weeks.<\/p>\n

I have fond memories of this holiday. During lunch when I was an elementary school student, all of us were given little brown paper bags filled with dried fruit and almonds.<\/p>\n

I also loved the songs related to the holiday. My absolutely favorite was “Tu B’Shevat Higiya.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The almond tree is blooming<\/em><\/p>\n

And the golden sun is shining,<\/em><\/p>\n

Birds atop each roof<\/em><\/p>\n

Announcing the arrival of the festival.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tu B\u2019Shevat has arrived, the festival of trees.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tu B\u2019Shevat has arrived, the festival of trees.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Retrieved from Hebrewsongs.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now as an adult, I always make a special effort to plan something for the day. I usually try to have one of the seven minim at dinner.<\/p>\n

Hopefully it will be a little easier this year because Devorah Katz and I have been planning our lunchbreak webinar on Wednesday, January 20, entitled: “Planting Seeds: \u00a0Tu B’Shvat Lessons in Parenting<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

I know that it was a bit challenging to figure out what to talk about for this class. I really felt that modern parents spend so much time juggling the overwhelming responsibilities of family, career and community. It is hard to sometimes just remember what parenting is really all about. In this class, we want parents to take a few minutes to relax in the midst of all this chaos. We want to reiterate our values.<\/p>\n

We all want our children to be kind, responsible and respectful of the world around them. Sometimes it seems like an impossible goal. In this class, we want to teach parents how to make realistic goals for themselves. We know how busy parents are, and in this class we strive to teach simple and practical tips to help children grow up to be responsible, and emotionally healthy. We want to create an environment of middot<\/em> and mentschlickeit<\/em>, where our children can grow and learn. We want to remind parents that all we can do is plant the seeds and put down roots; the rest is up to our children and Hashem.<\/p>\n

So, what does that exactly mean? How can we plant seeds and what seeds shall we plant?<\/p>\n

During your lunch hour, Devorah Katz and I will guide you and help you find out what are the essential principles that you need to know in order for your child to turn out just right.<\/p>\n

This webinar<\/a> will offer practical tips and teach parents:<\/p>\n