Tag Archives: Yom Hashoah

2nd grade artwork

The email said that today’s Hebrew School would start with a meeting to explain to the kids why there would be no outdoor play for awhile—because on Monday someone fired a bullet into our synagogue—and would end with candle-lighting for Yom HaShoah. My kid had not heard of either: the bullet or the Holocaust. So, today, Continue reading →

Bananaphone CD by Raffi

Dear Holocaust Education curriculum creators, teachers and parents,

Do you know about Raffi’s Holocaust song?  No one else seems to, either.  If Raffi knows, he’s not telling.

“The Changing Garden of Mr. Bell.”  You’ve probably heard it.  It’s gorgeous.   I found a YouTube clip of the whole thing (which might be illegal?), and I’ve typed the lyrics below.

Raffi didn’t write “The Changing Garden of Mr. Bell.”  Janice Hubbard and Michael Silversher co-wrote it for an album by Parachute Express: Happy to Be Here (1991), and Raffi recorded a different arrangement on the humongously successful Bananaphone (1994).  Millions of kids and parents have heard the song.  But how many of us have really heard it? Continue reading →