Earlier this year, on a beautiful spring day, we drove 30 minutes from our home in Philadelphia to a Thai temple and cultural center to celebrate Songkran, Thailand's Lunar New Year.

As I watched my son play, my mind would drift to mothers in Israel whose toddlers were no longer able to do so. My heart broke for the parents and young children who were caught in the crossfire of the war for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As the high holidays approach, we are reminded that there are so many meaningful Jewish moments to celebrate. Within the joy and ruach (spirit) of holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah, lies the solemn and serious Yom Kippur. There are a myriad of ways to make Yom Kippur meaningful for young children, for whom especially, Yom Kippur is not an easy holiday to understand.

For children in interfaith families, clarifying the role of religion in the family dynamic is important.

"Good Night Oppy," a documentary streaming on Amazon Prime about the two robotic rovers that NASA sent to Mars in 2003, grabbed me by the heart. What I did not expect to experience from this movie was a potent lesson in parenting from NASA engineers.

In the many years (57 to be exact) that I have been in an interfaith marriage, I felt somehow removed from antisemitism. I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and, while there were a few comments from aunts and uncles when I got engaged, it was the 1960s, and I was in love. I believed we would figure it out as we went along.

As the sun sets on these long, hot summer days, caregivers begin planning for their children's return to school. Perhaps the most important transition is the one of the child walking into a new classroom and starting a new school year. It can be scary for them and for you!

My children have learned so much, and have taught me so much, about what it means to be a mensch, a good person, from their summers at Camp Harlam.