Music and Movement to Nurture Jewish Joy
Pray and Play
Twenty-five playful prayer songs for kiddos and the grown ups who love and care for them.
A guide + songbook by Dr. Emily Aronoff, Ed.D.
Yes, I'll Take One — Preorder Now
The Book
Songbook + Songleader Guide
The Album
25 Tracks for Playing and Praying
The Guide
A Guide + Songbook That Equips Songleaders to Engage and Educate
The context and concepts you need to nurture the next generation in song
Twenty-five prayer songs for kiddos and the grown ups who love and care for them. The songs were written, sung, and refined across fifteen years (2010-2025) in sanctuaries, classrooms, and Tot Shabbat rooms. They are shaped by twenty-five years of practice leading Jewish music for families with young children.
Each song carries the songleader strategies that make it land in a room of mixed ages, the structural analysis that tells you why the song works, the developmental why behind the design choices, the variations and open slots for community contribution, and the cross-references to the twelve Pray and Play principles.
Built for the cantor, the music specialist, the songleader, the family-services rabbi, the early childhood director, and the grown up who wants to connect and create with their kiddos.
Why Pray and Play
Built to Hold a Room of Mixed Ages
Layered Entry Points
Every song is built to scaffold. A two-year-old can join with a gesture. A five-year-old can fill an open slot. A grown up can sit with the meaning of the prayer. The same song carries all three from the very first time.
Meaning Inside the Music
The prayer text and its meaning live in the structure of the song, so the kiddo learns the prayer by participating in it, not by listening to it explained.
Developmentally Grounded
Every design choice is anchored in Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). The songs and system respect the diverse ages, stages, and abilities of all participants and what they typically do at each stage, cognitively, physically, socially, and spiritually.
Intergenerational by Design
The grown ups in your room are learners, too. The music and movement is built for everyone, and served best in connection. The book equips you to invite parents, grandparents, and caregivers into the ritual as participants, not spectators.
Sneak Peeks
Music & Movement: See It In Action
ZIPPER MOVEMENT
How Good It Is, How Sweet It Is (Hinei Mah Tov)
A zipper movement song that names how sweet it is to be together in peace. Sets a warm, inclusive tone for any gathering and invites the room to add their own movements.
ECHO SONG
Family Blessing Song (The Priestly Benediction)
A gentle echo song inspired by the Priestly Benediction. Made for giving and receiving blessings across generations.
IMPROV GAME
Shir Chadash (A New Song)
Improv echo game inspired by Psalm 96's call to sing a new song. Each participant gets four beats to invent a melody and the room echoes them back.
Inside the Collection
What's Included in the Guide + Songbook
25 Songs
From Hine Mah Tov to OMG (Mah Tovu) to Shir Chadash. Welcome songs, Shabbat songs, shacharit (morning prayer) melodies, blessings, movement songs, and the closing rituals encourage expression, creation, and appreciation.
Comprehensive Songleader Guide
Sturdy structures and clear teaching for every song. Lead with confidence whether or not you read music or Hebrew.
Lead Sheets and Chord Charts
Guitar, ukulele, and piano chord charts and lead sheets for every song, very beginner friendly only 12 chords in the whole thing.
Streaming Links
Every song has a Listen link in the Songs at a Glance table. Hear the song before you teach it.
Visual Supports and Musical Manipulatives
Guidance on including slide decks for projecting lyrics, and on musical manipulatives like scarves, bubbles, parachutes, shakers, and rhythm sticks to deepen engagement.
Twelve Pray and Play Principles
The design framework that every song is built against. Use it as a self-check before your next session or to anchor a staff conversation.
Developmentally Appropriate Expectations Field Guide
A standalone chapter on behavior is communication, the prefrontal cortex, what you cannot see in your room, the three-tier escalation, and the hopeful adjustments list.
Glossary and Newcomer's Orientation
The vocabulary new prayer leaders need to lead Jewish family worship with confidence, plus a primer on the movements and gestures we use.
For Whom
Who Should Pray & Play?
Cantors and Songleaders
Repertoire and framework for family worship that scales from infant to elementary age.
ECE Directors and Tot Shabbat Leaders
Developmentally appropriate music for Tot Shabbat, holiday programs, and early childhood Jewish learning.
Rabbis and Family-Services Rabbis
The pedagogical case for what works in family worship, plus the songs and scripts to use it.
Parents, Grandparents, and Caregivers
Songs and rituals to bring home, plus the language to ask your synagogue or center for what your family needs.
About
About Dr. Emily Aronoff
Dr. Emily Aronoff, Ed.D., is the founder of Songleading for Kiddos. Her 2018 doctoral dissertation was the first formal study of Tot Shabbat as a phenomenon. She has spent twenty-five years building Jewish music for families with young children, consulting with synagogues across the country, and equipping the songleaders, cantors, and clergy who lead these moments.
Pray and Play is the working book she wished she had when she started.
Become a Preview Partner
Welcome, Preview Partners
A small group is reading Pray and Play ahead of launch and shaping it with their feedback. Join us.
Preview Partners are educators, songleaders, parents, and lay leaders reading Pray and Play between now and July 10. You will receive an early digital copy of the guide and the songs. You will choose two to four songs to review, or to actually try in your room. You will send back what worked, what did not, what surprised you, and what you wished was different.
Your contribution will be acknowledged in the launch edition. Your favorite line from your reviewer feedback may end up on the testimonials page (with your permission). And your work will shape what the book becomes for every leader who picks it up after you.
A small program. A tight window. If you are reading this and feel a yes, the form below is your way in.
Reviewing through July 10. Launch announcement to follow.
Voices
Emily is one of the best Jewish, children's musicians of our generation. I teach Sunday School at my synagogue and lead our Tot Shabbat and her music is an essential part of my teachings. I love hearing the kiddies singing her songs and learning about Judaism through them.
Rikki Kass
Jewish Federation of Sacramento Region
We incorporate many of the songs from Dr. Emily's programs into our daily life. I find myself relying on her now familiar tunes, to connect with my children during different times in our lives.
Nicole Epstein
Whenever we hear Dr. Emily is hosting a service or event, we do our best to be there. Our young daughter loves Dr. Emily and her music. Seeing her learning and enjoying Jewish music at such a young age makes us incredibly proud and happy as parents.
Hilary Lane Cohen
Questions
Before You Preorder
Reserve Your Copy
Twenty-five songs, fifteen years of writing, twenty-five years of practice, one determined to spark Jewish joy through music and movement.
Yes, I'll Take One — Preorder Now