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Gentle play, rooted
in Jewish life

Low-stimulation activities for curious kids ages 2 to 6, made for ordinary days.

Start playing on the web Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

On phone, tablet and the web.

  • English
  • Español
  • Français soon
The seder plate on a tablet
Light the lights on a tablet: the hanukkiah in the window
Before Shabbat on a tablet: riding past the bakery at sunset with the basket full and the list ticked off
The Pupik home screen on a phone, with its shelf of activities
The costume box on a phone: dressed as Moshe, with his staff, at the sea

Play that feels
like home

Little worlds to explore with their own hands, each one drawn from the life around them.

Letter blocks: Hebrew letters on a shelf and the pull-along duck
01

Rooted in Jewish life

Shabbat, the holidays, the alef-bet and stories from the Torah, woven into play rather than taught as lessons. Built on the symbols, values and celebrations we share, for every kind of Jewish family.

The makolet: aisles of picture cards and the cart
02

Made of everyday life

The makolet on the corner, the post round, watering the garden, an old workshop: the small, real things children see around them.

Light the lights: pots of wax and the hanukkiah in the window
03

Made with their own hands

Pour, build, dress up, mend. Every activity is something to do, and each ends with something made or found.

Gentle on purpose

Made for the moments you choose a screen together, and for putting it down again.

01

No scores, no losing

No stars, no points and no wrong answers. Pieces simply fit where they belong, and the activity waits while a child tries again.

02

No timers, no streaks

Nothing counts down and nothing pulls a child back tomorrow. They can walk away at any moment.

03

Slow and soft

A muted palette and unhurried movement. Animations play a few times, then rest.

04

Endings that let go

Each activity closes on something calm and finished, a small story moment rather than a prize, so putting the screen down isn't a fight.

05

No ads, no in-app purchases

Nothing to tap that leads somewhere else, and nothing to buy inside the app.

Take it offline

The screen is where the play starts, not where it ends.

What it is

Every activity comes with a small idea to carry it into real life, and the few things you'll need from around the house. Some have a sheet to print.

Why it's there

After dressing up, setting the seder plate or fixing an old telephone on the screen, the next step is doing it for real, together, with your own hands.

How to use it

In the grown-ups area, open an activity's note: the idea, the list of things and, where there is one, a print button. Try it after playing, or on a day with no screens at all.

See it in action

Big, clear pictures for small fingers, on any screen in the house.

The Shabbat table puzzle on a tablet: the pieces waiting beside the picture
Color it in on a phone: a hamsa being colored from a palette
The costume box: a figure dressed as a firefighter in front of the fire station

The costume box

Purim, any day

Open a wardrobe and dress up: a hat, an outfit, shoes and something to hold. A pirate one day, a farmer the next, someone from the Torah stories after that.

  • Mix and match: a lion in a chef's hat is a fine answer
The treasure workshop: an old red telephone on the bench, tools on the wall and parts in the tray

The treasure workshop

Mend it, build it, invent it

Old treasures from a grandparent's house, waiting on the bench: a rotary telephone, a gramophone and more. Fix what's broken, build one from scratch, or invent something no one has seen before.

  • Hammer, screwdriver, wrench, needle, glue and oil can
  • Mending instead of throwing away: a small piece of tikkun, repair
Before Shabbat: a bike ride past the bakery and the candle shop

Before Shabbat

A ride to the shops

Shabbat is almost here. Pedal round the block, stop at the shops and fill the basket from a picture list before the sun goes down.

A growing shelf of play

On shelves your child can browse, each with its own suggested ages.

  • The costume box

    23–45+

  • Before Shabbat

    3–45+

  • Seder plate

    3–45+

  • Light the lights

    23–4

  • Letter blocks

    23–45+

  • The treasure workshop

    3–45+

  • The makolet

    23–45+

  • Color it in

    23–45+

  • Shabbat table

    23–45+

  • Two of each

    3–45+

  • Sticker album

    23–45+
  • …and more
    on the shelf

Ages as suggested in the app: 2, 3–4 and 5 and up.

What they're practicing

Alongside Jewish life, each activity asks something different of a growing child.

  • Spatial thinking
  • Language and early literacy
  • Early math
  • Art and creativity
  • Music
  • Pretend play
  • Fine motor skills
  • Memory
  • Planning and problem solving
  • Cause and effect
  • Nature and the world around them
  • Caring and values

For the grown-ups

Behind a simple gate, a calm page that is all yours.

A note on every activity

What it asks of your child, and something you might say while they play.

Take it offline

A simple idea to carry each activity into the real world, with the few things you'll need.

Printables

Sheets to print for some activities: a maze, a window to color, letter cards, a shopping list.

A few things at a time

Show every activity, or just a few, rotating on their own. A smaller shelf tends to mean longer, deeper play.

A profile for each child

Set each child's age and Pupik suggests the activities that suit them.

The grown-ups page: who plays, with each child's age, and what's on the shelf

Why we made Pupik

A first draft from your notes, to rewrite in your own words.

We are the parents of two little ones, and Pupik grew out of the way we play with them.

Our son met screens slowly. He was two before he saw a television, and the computer came after that, a little at a time: for a few very specific things, always with one of us beside him, and only things that gave him something without pulling him in. He didn't even call it playing. He called it "working," because that's what he saw us doing at the computer.

So we started making small spaces for him to explore: around music, planes and trains, and the supermarket, the things he loved. Those spaces are where every idea in Pupik comes from.

We also wanted Jewish life to be part of it, not a separate lesson running alongside. When a child plays, what they play can belong to them: their heritage, their culture, the Shabbat table at home. It doesn't have to sit off to one side.

So Pupik is a calm, low-stimulation place to play, rooted in Jewish life. Some people would call it Montessori. We just call it gentle.

Your names, and a photo if you like.

Why “Pupik”?

Pupik is Yiddish for belly button.

It's the word you say while poking a toddler's tummy, the one that makes them giggle every time. It carries more affection than meaning: warm, a little silly, and full of family. That's the feeling we wanted Pupik to have, and a small reminder of where we come from.

Phone, tablet or web

On a phone

Turned sideways, every activity fits the screen.

On a tablet

Big, comfortable pictures for small fingers.

On the web

Play in a browser on a laptop or desktop.

Simple plans

For families at home, and for the places that care for little ones.

For families

Monthly

$–per month

  • Every activity, for every child at home
  • A profile for each child, with their age
  • Notes, offline ideas and printables for you
  • On phone, tablet and the web
Start monthly

Best value

For families

Annual

$–per year

  • Everything in monthly
  • One payment for the whole year
  • Save compared with paying monthly
Start annual

For institutions

Preschools, schools and communities

Bring Pupik to your classrooms, kindergarten, synagogue or community program. Tell us a little about your children and your devices, and we will put together a plan that fits.

Get in touch

Prices coming soon.

From families

A real quote from a parent or teacher, with their permission.

Name, role, place

A real quote from a parent or teacher, with their permission.

Name, role, place

A real quote from a parent or teacher, with their permission.

Name, role, place

Good to know

What ages is Pupik for?

Children from about two to six. Each activity has suggested ages, and when you set your child's age, Pupik suggests the activities that suit them. Many have levels, so the same activity can grow with them.

Does my family need to know Hebrew?

The Hebrew activities begin with letters and pictures: every letter block has a picture on its back of a word that starts with that letter, and the word shows for a moment when it turns. The notes for grown-ups name the letters and words so you can say them together.

Add anything you want to say about Hebrew level or audio.

Which devices does it work on?

Phones, tablets and the web. On a phone, activities are played with the phone turned sideways.

Minimum iOS and Android versions, supported browsers.

Who is Pupik for?

Children from about two to six, and the grown-ups who play with them. Whether Jewish life already fills your week or you're looking for more of it, Pupik brings it into the thing little ones do all the time: play.

Is Pupik for every kind of Jewish family?

Yes. Pupik moves through many sides of Jewish life without belonging to any one stream or way of practice. It is built on the symbols, values and celebrations we share, and on the everyday human ways we live and celebrate. Some activities connect to Jewish life directly, like the holidays; others more quietly, like mending old things, caring for animals and the garden, or dressing up.

What languages is it in?
  • English
  • Español
  • Français soon

English and Spanish, with French coming soon. Whatever language you choose, the Hebrew activities keep their Hebrew letters and words.

Is there anything to buy inside the app?

No. There are no ads and no in-app purchases. Families choose a monthly or annual plan, and preschools, schools and communities can get in touch about theirs.

What happens to my family's information?

A short, plain summary of what is stored and where, with a link to the full privacy policy.

Come and play

Whether Jewish life already fills your week or you're looking for more of it, Pupik brings it into the thing little ones do all the time: play.

Start on the web today, or bring Pupik to your phone or tablet.

Start playing on the web Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play