middle school – shehecheyanu and the mindset for prayer
To learn about the "Shehecheyanu" prayer, we are...
- Playing group games around and acting out "Shehecheyanu moments" – big life events that we are thankful for and excited about.
- Illustrating pictures of our best Shehecheyanu moments and discussing ideas of other personal Shehecheyanu moments one could experience.
- Discussing purpose of prayer – how it helps us learn about ourselves – and learning about the different ways that Jewish people pray.
- Trying some meditative “Focus Challenges,” looking at focus-intensive optical illusions, to understand how focus is vital in prayer.
- Ask your student: What does focus have to do with prayer? What blessing do we say when something happens for the first time? What are a few examples of moments you could say Shehecheyanu during?
5th grade – exploring jerusalem
To learn about the city of Jerusalem, we are...
- Taking a virtual tour of the Old City in Jerusalem and writing our own Western Wall notes while we live stream the real Western Wall in Israel.
- Playing interactive trivia games to review fun facts about Jerusalem.
- Making our own hummus out of chick peas to simulate being in a cafe in the Old City of Jerusalem.
- Ask your student: What makes Jerusalem special? What would you most like to see there?
4th grade – respecting differences
To learn about the Jewish value of "Adam Yehidi Nivrah" – respecting differences – we are...
- Talking about what respect means, different ways that people can be different from one another, and the multitude of ways that we can show respect to others.
- Playing "Get to Know You Bingo" to learn the unique qualities of each of our classmates.
- Making "I Am" posters to represent ourselves and the distinct characteristics that make us who we are.
- Ask your student: What does it mean to respect other people? What are some ways that someone might be different from you? What was something new you learned about one of your classmates?
3rd grade – the tower of babel
To learn about the Tower of Babel, we are...
- Doing group games with speech limitations, to understand the importance and power of communication.
- Reading the book "The Tower of Babel" by Martha Jander to understand the story of the tower.
- Discussing the value of punishments and debating whether or not G-d punished the people fairly.
- Ask your student: What was it like to have to do things without being able to speak? Do you think the way people were punished was fair? Why or why not?
2nd Grade – jacob's weddings
To learn about the the story of Jacob and his weddings, we are...
- Acting out the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah and connecting it to modern-day Jewish wedding traditions.
- Learning about six traditions in Jewish weddings, including signing the ketubah (wedding contract) and breaking a glass. Mazel tov!
- Going on a scavenger hunt to find pictures of different Jewish wedding traditions, and then re-enacting them with our classmates.
- Ask your student: What are some traditions that are part of a Jewish wedding? What do you think is most unique about Jewish weddings?
1st grade – david and goliath
To learn about the story of David and Goliath, we are...
- Reading the book "David and Goliath" by Katherine Scully and discussing what it is like to face our fears.
- Making marshmallow shooters to re-enact the fight between David and Goliath, using a life-sized picture of Goliath that we are drawing on butcher paper.
- Playing games – like a David and Goliath marble game – to represent the struggle between the two men.
- Ask your student: What is a scary or challenging situation that you had to face? How did you face it? What is a way that you can stand up to bullies in your own life?
kindergarten – repairing the world
To learn about the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – we are...
- Decorating tzedakah boxes that we can use to collect money for charities, and discussing what kinds of causes we could donate to.
- Creating a hug chain with our classmates to spread love and joy in our classroom.
- Playing games like "Yes, Let's!" to encourage working together and listening to each other.
- Singing songs about kindness and making up silly dances to go along with them.
- Making bird feeders that we can bring home and use to feed the birds near our houses, to represent kindness to animals (one way to repair the world)
- Ask your student: What is Tikkun Olam? What is tzedakah? What are some ways that you can help others?
pre-k – repairing the world
To learn about the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – we are...
- Decorating tzedakah boxes that we can use to collect money for charities, and discussing what kinds of causes we could donate to.
- Creating a hug chain with our classmates to spread love and joy in our classroom.
- Playing games like "Yes, Let's!" to encourage working together and listening to each other.
- Singing songs about kindness and making up silly dances to go along with them.
- Making bird feeders that we can bring home and use to feed the birds near our houses, to represent kindness to animals (one way to repair the world)
- Ask your student: What is Tikkun Olam? What are some ways that you can help others?
pre-school
To learn about the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – we are...
- Decorating tzedakah boxes that we can use to collect money for charities, and discussing what kinds of causes we could donate to.
- Creating a hug chain with our classmates to spread love and joy in our classroom.
- Playing games like "Yes, Let's!" to encourage working together and listening to each other.
- Singing songs about kindness and making up silly dances to go along with them.
- Making bird feeders that we can bring home and use to feed the birds near our houses, to represent kindness to animals (one way to repair the world)
- Ask your student: What is Tikkun Olam? What are some ways that you can help others?
