Growing Jewish Families

Shalom Baby families become part of Growing Jewish Families, a large network of families raising Jewish children in Northern Virginia. As a part of this network, you’ll have access to educational and social opportunities designed to help connect you to the Jewish community in your own backyard.

Growing Jewish Families cultivates community by connecting Northern Virginia families with young children and providing them with educational and social opportunities to encourage and strengthen Jewish identity. As part of the Growing Jewish Families network, you’ll receive regular e-newsletters chock full of educational information and links, announcements of upcoming local children’s programs, family events and more.

Growing Jewish Families sponsors play dates and community events; neighborhood groups; and maintains a social networking group on Yahoo! and Facebook to help you connect with other families who live in your area. Contact Laurie to be a part of our network, or to get more involved with our Growing Jewish Families Committee, which helps set our programming schedule.

Growing Jewish Families Programs

Offered in collaboration with The PJ Library® and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

For more information on any of the programs mentioned below, please contact Laurie Albert, Community Engagement Director, at LaurieA@jccnv.org or (703) 537-3064. All of the programs below are recommended for children, ages 2–5 years and their parents (siblings welcome).

Discounted Program & Class Rates
Being a member has its benefits! The JCCNV offers discounts to our members on classes and programs. In order for membership rates to apply, membership must remain current throughout the duration of the class/program. Please click here for additional membership benefits.

Storytime at the J!

2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, 1pm

Moms, Dads, Grandparents, children and anyone who loves books! Please join us the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month (beginning in September) in the JCCNV lobby for a delightful reading from our PJ Library book collection.

Fee: FREE

Offered in collaboration with The PJ Library® and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.

Growing Jewish Families – Picnic in the Park

Sunday, July 7, 10am-12noon

Location: An Arlington playground, details TBA

Join up with your GJF friends — or make new ones — at our FREE summertime play dates and picnic. We’ll gather at 10am; don’t forget to bring sunscreen, hats, water, and a picnic lunch!
Fee per family: FREE

Moms’ Nights Out

Being a mom is hard work, whether you’re with the kids during the day, working outside the home, or juggling a mixture of the two! Join us every 6–8 weeks for an evening out with the ladies. This group is fluid, with individual Moms’ Nights Out varying both in day of the week and location (alternating between Fairfax, Alexandria, and Arlington/Falls Church).

New this Fall!

The Mothers Circle Mini Sessions

Are you raising Jewish children... but you’re not Jewish? Don’t do it alone! Have fun while learning about Jewish rituals, ethics and the how-to’s of creating a Jewish home. Responding to the needs of women who are not Jewish but raising Jewish children, the Mothers Circle program:

• Offers free education in Jewish rituals,practices and values.
• Creates a warm, supportive community of women who have made similar choices for their families.
• Respects the participant’s choice to retain her own religious identity while providing a Jewish family life for her children.

The Mothers Circle, a program of the Jewish Outreach Institute, is funded by The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

New this Fall!

How Should I Know?

A program for Jewish men with spouses/partners of other religious backgrounds

A three-session workshop that provides Jewish men in committed interfaith relationships with the tools they need to better explain to their partners why having a Jewish home and/or raising Jewish children is important to them.

Highlights include:

• How to tell your Jewish story in a way that matters to your whole family
• Balancing the religious concerns of both sets of grandparents
• Understanding the various Jewish positions on lifecycle events and holidays to better inform your own decisions
• …And more!

How Should I Know, is a program of the Jewish Outreach Institute.