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We are working to create tools and resources to help you stay healthy, connected and engaged during these unprecedented times. We will be updating content daily! The role of the JCC has always been to be the place that people can gather – where people welcome and take care of one another. That continues to be our mission and we are working hard to keep us all connected!
FITNESS
Friday, March 27
12:30 PM Mat Pilates with Libby
5:30 PM Yoga Fusion with Mandy
Saturday, March 28
9 AM Yoga Flow with Cassie
Sunday, March 29
9 AM Bodyweight Workout with Catie
Monday, March 30
8:30 AM Yoga with Katie H.
9:30 AM Silver Sneakers Classic with Mike
12:30 PM Cardio Kick with Jordan
5:30 PM Warrior Sculpt with Emily
Tuesday, March 31
8:30 AM Mat Pilates with Jessi
12:30 PM Barre with Jessi
5:30 PM Bodyweight Workout with Catie
Wednesday, April 1
8:30 AM Yoga Flow with Katie H
9:30 AM Silver Sneakers Classic with Mike
12:30 PM Yoga with Deborah
5:30 PM Cardio Kick with Jordan
Thursday, April 2
8:30 AM Pilates/Core with Shayna
12:30 PM Yoga/Pilates with AnneMarie
5:30 HIIT with Juliet
Friday, April 3
8:30 AM Yoga with Debbie
9:30 AM Silver Sneakers Classic with Mike
12:30 PM Mat Pilates with Libby
5:30 PM Yoga Fusion with Mandy
Saturday, April 4
9 AM Barre with Jessi
Sunday, April 5
9 AM Cardio Kick with Jordan
Classes by your favorite JCC Group Ex instructors
Click here, for workouts, wellness videos and exercise programs
Click here for over 90 workouts to get you started
Click here for 500+ ways enjoy Fitness from home
AQUATICS
Josh the Otter is a great story that covers water safety tips for your family.
RESPECT the Water
Water Safety is still a priority, even if you can't get to the pool today. Check out this page to learn to RESPECT the Water.
NDPA
Educate children and caregivers about water safety. Stay in the know with these Water Safety Steps.
Splashing
Gently introducing your young swimmer to water is imperative to having a good relationship with it. Turn this introduction into play time! Using a colander, watering can or a paper cup with holes punched in it, sprinkle water over their head while in the tub. Smile and laugh while doing this, so they associate this activity with positivity. Teach them to wipe their eyes with their hands after getting wet. Progress to poring cups of water over their head and having them wipe their eyes afterwards. This activity will prepare them for their next step, submersions!
Bubbles
Practice blowing bubbles underwater. Start out with teaching your child how to “blow out candles”, then when they are able to breath out through their mouth, have them try this with their nose. To do nose bubbles, encourage your child to hum and breathe out as they put their nose underwater. If they want a challenge, count how many seconds they can make bubbles! Water Hokey Pokey
For very young children, acclimate them to water by playing a game of Water Hokey Pokey. Encourage them to put their chin, ears, mouth, and back of their head in the water. Ex: “We put our right hand in, we take our right hand out...”
Submerging
Submerging is an important skill in learning to swim. Not approaching this properly can cause unnecessary fear to be associated with this fundamental skill. Start slow, by putting different parts of the face in the water. Begin with dipping the chin in the water, then move to covering the mouth with water. Next, have them move their head so they can look directly at the bottom, then dip nose in water. Continue this with eyebrows and forehead. Finally, dip entire face in the water. All of this should be done under the child's own power, so they are controlling the activity. With this method, water avoids going up the nose and scaring the child from going underwater again.
Backfloats
Back floats can be challenging! Often, young swimmers do not like the feeling of water in their ears. They will become better with practice once they become more desensitized to the feeling. The bathtub is a great place to get in this practice because of the shallow floor. You can start, just like in the pool, with a hand under the head and back. Help your swimmer practice taking slow breath, getting relaxed, and even tipping their head back with a high chin. They will slowly become more independent, and you can add a little more water to the tub to float higher.
Emergency Preparedness
There is nothing like life altering days to make us think about if our family is ready for an emergency to occur. There are great resources available on https://www.ready.gov/plan to help guide the discussion with your family. If you are going to be socially distancing and getting quality family time in, why not be prepared for now and emergencies that may occur in the future. There are great resources available for kids here, but the Daniel Tiger App for Parents has also been a great tool to help work through life lessons (Chris is using it to potty train this week as well.)
We also Partner with the American Red Cross for our Health and Safety Classes taught throughout the year. Click the link above to see the resources they recommend for preparing for emergencies. Once we're open, we will be releasing a new round of classes for CPR/AED/First Aid, Lifeguarding and more. Consider checking out a class, and you can learn more about classes at the St. Paul JCC and Sabes JCC.
March 26: Breaststroke Tips
Today we hunted down some basic breaststroke tips, from the home of breaststroke, the United Kingdom. Olympic gold medalist Duncan Goodhew shows us how it's done! Breaststroke is probably the most technically complicated stroke, and the one that having swimmers watch (whether on video or in person) can really make a big difference. Be forewarned, though, if you jump down the breaststroke rabbit hole online, that there are almost as many different variations of breaststroke as there are top swimmers, so at times you may see advice or form that is different from what we teach in practice. Our goal is to get everyone swimming a safe, efficient, technically correct stroke, which gives us something that can be built upon or tweaked as swimmers mature, if need be. It's definitely safe to say that breaststroke is also the most technically challenging to coach, too!
March 25: Nutrition
Nutrition is a large part of a well rounded athlete, and you can play a critical role in choosing the food that powers you. Check out this article to see a few combinations that are great for your dryland training and when you are able to hop back in the pool.
March 24:Work on Progressive Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique Practices - Dry Land
The key to the technique is:
On Inhalation: Quick and large volume of the air be taken in. The amount of air being inhaled is always a function of the amount of air being exhaled.
On Exhalation: A prolonged and evenly discharge of the air is maintained throughout the cycle of the motion being executed. A puffing action at the end of the exhalation phase will enable the athlete to completely empty his/her air tank (the lungs).
This technique must be learned and developed on land first, while the breathing process is a naturally occurring, automatic, and reflex action.
March 23: Breathing Exercises for Swimmers
Practice breathing in a good-sized mixing bowl. Select one at least twice the circumference of your face and fill it with warm water. If you have a mirror that can fit into the bottom of the bowl, put that in too. Then try the following: Dip your chin into the water and leave it there while you breathe in through your mouth and out through mouth and nose. Observe how your breath ruffles the surface. Continue for 30 seconds or more until this feels almost meditative. Next, lightly touch your nose and lips to the surface and practice inhaling through the small space at the corners of your mouth. In the mirror, notice the "blotting" created where your nose and lips touch the water. Play at this with a spirit of curiosity for about a minute or until you feel almost "bored" with it. With goggles on, lower your face into the water, keeping your mouth open but without exhaling. Notice how natural air pressure keeps water from entering your nostrils or mouth. As you lift your face, notice how you can inhale easily, even with water dripping around your mouth and nose. In this and subsequent exercises, try to inhale with the tip of your nose still touching the water. Repeat as above, but this time bubble gently from your nose. Watch in the mirror, trying to keep your bubbles small and quiet. The smaller and quieter they are, the longer you'll be able to sustain one exhale, before lifting to inhale again. Repeat this but bubbling only from your mouth. When you can do each of the above in a calm and contained manner, advance to "rhythmic breathing." Lower your face and bubble out for a count of four or five-one-thousand. Lift and inhale for a count of one-one-thousand. Lower and repeat. For an interesting challenge, alternate between mouth bubbles on one exhale and nose bubbles on the next. Your goal is to inhale with the tip of your nose—and perhaps even your nostrils—still in the water and your mouth barely clearing it. Repeat until you develop a relaxed and seamless rhythm.
Dryland training prepares us for life in the pool! Check out these mini sets to do from the comfort of your home!
Set 1
:40 sec on / :10 sec off - 3 x (Mountain climbers / Bird dogs / Burpees / Plank / High knees / Streamline stretch)
Set 2
Streamline stretch / Downward dog/ cobra / Inchworm push-ups—build to 5 / Burpees with 5 X jumping jacks / Burpees with lunges / Plank / Streamline crunches / Plank with shoulder taps / Streamline flutter kicking / Streamline squats + hold / Single, single, double leg lowers / Mountain climbers
Set 3
Streamline stretch / Downward Dog & Cobra / Running in place / High knees / Butt kickers / Lunge hold / Push-ups / Snowboard burpees / Squat burpees / Tuck jump + squat push up / Streamline crunches / Streamline flutter kick
Yoga is one of our favorite compliments to an in water workout. Here is a great resource for swimming specific stretches to improve your skills in the water. Click here to learn more.
KIDS & FAMILIES
Click here for family activities
Listen to Stories – Tune in every day at 3:00 pm for a new story.
Click here for a list of educational websites offering free subscriptions.
Scholastic Learn at Home – Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking and growing
Storyline Online – Books and videos for children
GoNoodle – videos encouraging movement, mindfulness, cheers, dances, and family fun
Mo Willems invites YOU into his studio every day for his LUNCH DOODLE
Click here for Music with Wendy, every Wednesday and Friday at 10:20 am.
Now more than ever it is critical that we imagine, create, share and spread joy to each other. It is in this spirit that we have launched STAGES BEYOND THE STAGE. These FREE virtual Theatre activities for AGES 18 months to 18 years will be designed to get our bodies, voices and imaginations moving and creating!
CULTURAL ARTS
Enjoy watching members from our own community, as they perform amazingly funny and poignant stories from their own lives - recorded live at the 2020 Twin Cities Jewish Humorfest.
The search for Jewish film begins and ends with JFI On Demand, an innovative curated streaming service of Jewish films.
Click here for a 30-Day free trial of Menemsha Films' new streaming service dedicated solely to JEWISH themed films and entertainment.
Caroline Rothstein Live Online
March 26 @ 5 pm
Benji Lovitt Update: Crazy Times, Laughing Online
Benji offers a range of fun cultural programs to make you laugh and to help bridge cultural differences between Israelis and people around the world.
Through the Narrows: A Creative Social Distance Event
This captivating radio drama with pictures intertwines a story of the Exodus from Egypt with a story of the Trail of Tears (from Co-Creative Director Chris Griffith, a Cherokee tribal member). We recommend Through the Narrows for individuals and families (ages 9+) who will not be able to participate in in-person Passover activities.
Unpacking the Book is Going Virtual!
You are invited and we want you to share with your community our next Unpacking the Book with Rebecca Dinnerstein Knight, Hex and Josh Gondelman, Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Result, in a conversation with Stephanie Butnick, Table Magazine on Thursday, March 26 at 7PM (EST).
We are thrilled you will be joining us as we live stream the Jewish Author’s Book Festival – where over the course of a week we will get to see and hear from 15 amazing authors! All the information you need to access these events can be found at:
https://levinjcc.org/adult-engagement/jewish-authors-book-festival/
- Click on the author’s photo on the correct day/at the correct time.
- A Zoom link will pop open.
- Use the Access Code/Password to join the meeting that is listed under the author’s photo.
- Please note that the link and the code will only work during the specified timeframe.
When you join the Zoom meeting you will be muted. With a large group we want to ensure limited background noise that could disrupt others from hearing the author. For each event there will be a Levin JCC staff hosting, whom will introduce the author as well as facilitate the Q&A at the end.
SUPPORTIVE SERVICES
If you are 60 and in need of meals delivered to your home, please contact Tim Gothmann, with JFS at 651 + 690 8921
If you are 60 and over and in need of transportation to essential medial appointments, please contact Anne Rickert at 651 + 255 4743
Want to talk on the phone with a student from HMJDS (Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School)? You will meet some interesting youth and find out how students are spending their time these days. Call Barbie Levine at the St. Paul JCC at 651 + 255 4734, to get in touch with a student.
Certified Metro Mobility customers, can now order groceries and household essentials online from a store that has online shopping and local pick up. Metro Mobility will pick your order up and deliver to for to your house with NO delivery fee.
You can book same day or in advance, for groceries and household essentials, just like you book a ride for yourself. You’ll receive your delivery within 60 minutes of the scheduled pickup time.
Please book rides with your provider. For questions about the service, contact the Metro Mobility Service Center at:
Call 651 + 602 1111
TTY 651 + 221 9886
metromobility@metc.state.mn.us
INCLUSION SERVICES
Coming Soon
Have you always wanted to visit a famous museum or park but haven't had the chance? Tour these places from the comfort of your home!
National Parks - guided park tours, click and learn
Nature Areas - click and learn
Street Art Tour - graffiti and murals
Adult Coloring - printable coloring pages
Daily Doodles - doodle activities with Mo Willems
Storyline Online - books read out loud with animated pictures
St. Paul Wellness Program
Are you a current participant in the St. Paul Wellness Program? Contact Anna Golv, at annag@stpauljcc.org, to set up an online session with your personal trainer.
Click here, for Silver Sneaker workouts, wellness videos and exercise programs
Classes by your favorite JCC Group Ex instructors
JEWISH LEARNING
PIRKE AVOT: ANCIENT RABBINIC WISDOM FOR TODAY'S WORLD
Pirke Avot, is a collection of pithy sayings on how best to live an ethical life. Come study this ancient work with much to say to our lives today.
Fridays 11 am - Noon on Zoom
No class on April 10
