Here's what our sub, Debbie, had to say

First, the kids worked on the Hebrew page in pairs. Then we did an opening exercise about our names, which I linked to the idea of our names being blessed when we were born (“I will give you blessing and will make your name great.” Gen 12:1). I asked them to be reporters and to interview a partner about his/her name: Do you have a Hebrew name? What does your Hebrew name mean? Were you named for someone? Do you have a nickname? Etc. They took turns interviewing each other, and had to report what they learned about the other person to the large group. After the “Our Names are Blessings” exercise, we started brainstorming for the photography work. We generated a big list on the board of all the things we say brachot for: seeing a rainbow, eating food, drinking wine/juice on Shabbat, seeing beauty in nature, putting on a tallit, etc. We reviewed the list together and talked about how we might capture these things in pictures. They couldn’t wait to get their hands on the cameras. I explained how the Polaroids work, and that they’d be working in 3 groups of 3. Then we broke for recess. They went all over the shul — took pictures of apples in the refrigerator, kippot and tallit outside the sanctuary, the chairs on the bima, a mezuzah in the doorway, trees in the backyard, a Peace book in the classroom. They each got to take 3 pictures. Then back in the classroom, we laid them all out on the windowsill and talked about what they meant. I gave out Sharpie markers and everyone wrote a title for their pictures. They took some home, but there were some left over which I put on the top shelf of the supply cabinet.

Thanks, Debbie! It sounds like they had a wonderful day.

One of my favorite brachot of all time

Three cheers for Liana, who said a bracha this week about Obama being elected president! No matter what your politics are, I'm sure you agree that this was a creative and inspired way to integrate what we are learning with the "real world."

I sent home duplicate copies of the bracha assigment for those children who were in school today but did not return their homework. Even if you can only come up with one bracha, doing the assignment helps bridge the gap between what we learn about Judaism in school and what children actually do at home.

Morah Amy

Hundreds of Brachot

The rabbis taught that we are obligated to say one hundred blessings a day. Has anyone come close? Even if you've only said one or two, I hope the homework assignment has introduced at least one new bracha to your family.

Please remember that, as always, homework is due on Thursday. Also, many students have outstanding hebrew homework and missing folders. I'll send personal emails to check in if they aren't returned this week.

We began a new set of blessings this week, knows as the morning blessings, or birkot hashachar. The rabbis designed these brachot to roughly correspond to the first things people do every morning, such as opening the eyes, getting dressed and standing on solid ground. Here's a link to some more info about the source of these blessings.

On Sunday, rather than give students the entirety of the text above, I separated the blessings from the actions, and asked them to try to guess which blessing goes with which action. This proved to be understandably challenging, and I hope the activity will provoke some good discussion on Thursday.

We're moving ahead in Hebrew reading. As you might guess, students are seeing that frequent attendance and completing homework leads to success in mastering this new phonetic system.

Morah Amy

Homework

More than half of the kids in the class have not returned their last homework assignment. Please help me make this a routine - homework goes home Thursday and comes back the following Thursday. If a student is absent on Thursday, please send in the homework at the next class. If you are not sure whether your child has work due, feel free to email me privately - no public shout-outs here.

This week we have a new kind of assignment. I've sent home the bracha books, which contain all of the blessings we have learned in school this year. I've sent home a pink sheet for your family to fill out. It asks you to look through the book and see how many brachot (blessings) you can say over the course of a week. I hope this will be an enjoyable and meaningful assignment.

You do not need to send back the bracha books, just the pink sheet. If your child's is lost, email me and I will send you a new one as an attachment.

Morah Amy

The Bracha Bee

Today we finished up our unit on the blessings that are traditionally recited over foods. We had two culminating activities. One, students made watercolor paintings of various foods and labeled them according to the correct bracha. We made a bulletin board of all of these paintings, which will educate the rest of the school about the topic. The pictures will be up for about a month - make sure to come take a look! Two, we had a tasty feast of foods of every category. In order to eat an item, someone in the class had to recite the correct bracha from memory, and the rest of the class had to repeat it. We had melons, almonds, cantelope, cookies, m&m's, pita and grape juice. Later this month, students will come home with the bracha books they created in class.

There was no Hebrew homework this past Thursday, as I gave a few students a chance to catch up. We will be back on track with a new assignment this week.

I had a chance to see Sulha perform at Beit Ahavah today. They are a musical multi-racial/multi-cultural peace initiative out of Israel and they are amazing. They will be performing at the Academy of Music this Tuesday night. I can't recommend the show highly enough.

Morah Amy

What's in a name?

Sunday was naming day in Kitah Gimel. I gave everyone a craft stick with his/her Hebrew name written on it, and we took turns introducing ourselves to one another in Hebrew, using our Hebrew names. I then asked students to copy their names onto several adhesive name tags, and to label their classroom property with the stickers. If you haven't yet told your child the origin of his/her Hebrew name, or whom they were named for, this is the perfect opportunity!

We learned the second letter of the alef-bet, the letter "Bet", and practiced reading and writing the letter with the vowels the children already studied. We'll be learning one or two letters a week throughout the year, and I expect a class of confident readers by May.

We also added to our "bracha books" with the blessings that are recited over grains (mzonot) and the blessing over miscellaneous foods that don't fit into any specific category. If you are interested in learning more about traditional blessings recited over foods, here's a good multimedia presentation, including audio.

Several holidays will pass before I see the class again. May you have an easy fast and a joyful sukkot-

Morah Amy

First homework assignment!

Today we started a unit on berachot (blessings). Over the next month we'll be learning a variety of blessings in both Hebrew and English - blessings over food, drink, smells and wonders of nature. Today we looked closely at two blessings - the one recited over foods that grown on trees, such as apples and oranges, and the one recited over food that grows on the ground, such as tomatoes and peanuts. We'll be assembling a "beracha book" with a page for each blessing that we learn. At the end of our unit we'll enjoy a feast of foods and practice trying out all of our new knowledge.

I sent home our first homework assignment. Those of you who attended the parent meeting had a chance to learn more about the workbook and the home assignments. If you did not attend, or still have questions, please feel free to email me. I sent home two pages for students to complete at home. These are in a blue homework folder and should be returned in the same folder. Typically, homework assignments are given on Thursday and due on the following Thursday. Because of school vacation and Yom Kippur, students will have two weeks to complete this first assignment. I apologize that I didn't have a chance to review the instructions this week with students. We simply ran out of time, and in the future I will make sure to allot time to going over assignments before sending them home.

Rosh Hashanah is..... (and isn't....)

Today I set out to go over the basics of Rosh Hashanah. I asked students what they already knew, and with a little struggle, they reluctantly admitted to knowing quite a bit. After pooling our information, we focused a little more on the shofar. We watched two short youtube videos about the shofar, one showing a shofar being made, and one that's a little more....silly. But we used it as a springboard to talk about the reasons we blow the shofar and how powerful it can be. After recess and read-aloud, we talked about the concept of the book of life. I asked students to reflect on the past year and jot down something they were proud of and something they regretted. This activity was successful for approximately two students, and didn't quite work for the rest. I've asked them to all bring home the products of their labor, in the hopes of discouraging any more super-silliness from some of our super-silly friends in kitah-gimel. (Or at least they should save the sillies for joke-time.)

I hope to see you all on Sunday.

Morah Amy

Our First Sunday

This week, the students were greeted with a "To Do" list on the board, with a set of tasks to complete. The To Do list will change every day, but it's class fixture. It allows me to maximize our productivity, while grappling with the reality that not everyone will arrive on time. (But please, please, try to arrive on time!)

We took out the siddurim (prayer books) from Kitah Bet, and tried to review the prayers students had learned in past years and introduce them to new members of the class. We'll spend the first weeks of school reviewing, before introducing any new prayers.

Next we studied the same text from Pirkei Avot that parents were discussing in the meeting.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

I asked the students to create mini-skits to demonstrate either the first line or the second line, and had the rest of the class guess which part of the text they were acting out. We also began to learn the song "Im Ein Ani Li, Mi Li?" whose lyrics are the Hebrew text of the same quote.

After recess, we began our first chapter book read aloud, All of a Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor. It's one of my favorite Jewish books. We then attended the assembly and picnic, which you already know all about, since you were there.

The First Day

Today was the first day of class, and it couldn't have been better. We began with every student filling out a questionnaire about him/herself, so that I can get to know everyone better. I then used that information to play a guessing game, giving clues about each student and asking the class to guess whom I was describing.

We did a few other group building activities, including Human Knots, which the class solved patiently and cooperatively, and Smaug's Jewels. Those of you with older children might have guessed by now that I was once a Nature's Classroom teacher. 

After recess, I read aloud from one of my all time favorite children's books, Bagels From Benny. (We'll begin our first chapter book read-aloud next week - I'm waiting for it to arrive.) We ended our time in the classroom with students illustrating pictures of themselves that would answer the question "What makes you Jewish?" These will be on display once they are completed on Sunday.

Finally we gathered in the sanctuary for a welcome from Rabbi David, and 20 minutes of shirah with Adrian Durlester (aka Mr. D) and his keyboard. Admittedly, it wasn't the most content-rich day, but I really got a chance to become acquainted with your wonderful children, and I actually think everyone had a pretty good time (though they may never admit it....)

See you at the picnic on Sunday,

Morah Amy

Welcome to the class blog

Dear Gimel Families,

As you know, religious school begins tomorrow. I'm taking this opportunity to unveil the new Kitah Gimel blog. Please bookmark this site, or add it to your favorites. You can expect updates at least once a week, with news about past and future classroom activities, as well as photos and the occasional video. Please let me know if you do not want photos of your child (posted without names) to appear on the blog.

On Sunday I will have a sign up sheet posted on the classroom door for mini-conferences. Please sign up for a 10-minute slot to say hello and tell me about your child.

Looking forward to a great new year,
Morah Amy