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[yoel klein]

A new student straight out of public school has just joined my 1st grade class. He does not yet have a solid knowledge of the Aleph Beis.

I noticed that he does not wear Tzitzis either (not due to any resentment), which I would like to introduce him to.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about it? Specifically in a way that would not detract too much from the other students. All ideas, as simple as they may seem, will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[This is a new school that currently only goes through first grade. Most of the students come from families who’ve made a strong Torah lifestyle commitment within the past ten years or so.]

[michalgoldstein]

I teach 4th grade in a Kiruv school, and I have boys who did not see the beauty in wearing tzitzis or yarmulkas... They also didn't think of davening the way I did.

I started off with davening. I told them how the entire night Hashem has been up, Hashem was waiting for your tefillos because He loves hearing from his precious kinderlach! After telling this to them a few times, I really saw a difference. One day a student told me that she asked Hashem to make me feel better (I wasn't feeling well) because she doesn't want her morah to be sick, and guess what I made sure to tell her that I was feeling better! When it came time for Yarmulkas, I told my class how if you walk into Wal-Mart and see a policeman without his uniform, you would never know that he's a cop. And I went through a lot of community people to show how without a uniform you don't realize how special they are.

I told them that the uniform of a Jewish boy is his Yarmulka, tzitzis and peyos... I have pictures of gedolim hanging in my classroom, and one of my harder boys actually got up, walked over to one of the pictures and told me , "Morah, look, I have peyos just like this Rabbi!"
He felt good!

Also, when the boys make the bracha on tzitzis, I always say how proud I am of whoever is wearing tzitzis. Just on friday, a boy who had not worn his tzitzis the whole week, came in again, not wearing them. When they were almost ready to say the brachah on tzitzis, he got up, took out his tzitzis, put them on with such a smile on his face and said the brachah so loud and beautifully - with such a big smile on his face!

Of course I made sure to tell him how proud he made me, and how I have to call my mother to tell her!

Hatzlochah!

[idytauber]

When doing kiruv whatever you do needs to be done with devotion and love. Getting kids to make them to start doing a mitzvah is one thing. Getting kids to look forward and feel honored joyfully to do mitzvohs is a total different approach. Associate the mitzvah only with positive incentives and introduce it in very special way. Every second he wears the tzitzis or whatever mitzvas he gets schar.Its a good idea to elaborate on that on the childs level of understanding. A nice example of enforcing it positively is if you can get a tzitzis w pictures on it and a kapl with his name and a picture and keep it in cheder and the first thing in the morning very excitedly you can put it on for him and give a little nosh or prize. To instill ahavas hatorah and mitzvos is the utmost importance. If he finds it too pressuring you can start only with 1 hour a day.

Thank you for give me a zechus for trying to assist you with such a beautiful mitzvah. I hope it will be of help.