Jan 30
Our time in Yetzirah is focused and productive as we are usually working towards completing a project. But this week for Nitzanim it was all about the process. We had no end product in mind. We acted in the here and now. Nitzanimers gathered around a table with strips of a transparent material in blue, …
Jan 10
After a nice long break, Shteelim finished working on the Alef-Bet sign for Pinat Ivrit. After all the pieces were finished and the children wrote their שמות (shemot – names) on their work we were able to put the Alef-Bet together to make a sign for Beit Shteelim. Once we carried the sign over to …
Jan 10
The Tzevah Wheel Game was a huge hit with our Shteelimers this week! Not only did it produce laughter and clapping, it also helped us review what we’ve learned over the last several months during our Keshet theme: צבעים (tzeva’eem – colors) in Hebrew, primary, secondary and complimentary tzeva’eem and experimenting with mixing different tzeva’eem. …
Jan 10
This week, we added new writing materials into Pinat Ivrit. “This is so cool!” one boy said, and a chorus of “yeah!” came from others at the shulchan (table). As we wrote, we noticed new things about Hebrew letters: “Hey! The כ are the same!” Someone noticed that we write the כ (khaf) the …
Dec 21
See the color wheel Morah Naomi drew on the table? During our Keshet theme, we worked with the color wheel to mix colors. Today Morah Naomi made sure we kept our knowledge and ideas about mixing color up up front in our minds, simply by offering watercolor paints on a wheel, instead of scattering paints …
Dec 20
This week in Shteelim we wrapped up our Chanukah activities and focused on Irvit (Hebrew). We practiced the Alef-Bet and traced the letters with stencils. When we come back from break, we will be able to hang our new Alef-Bet banner in Pinat Ivrit for all the children to use as an Irvit resource.
Dec 20
Usually we are Artists in Yetzirah, but this week we were Scientists too! Exciting discoveries and new tools around every corner, we had experiments to do and answers to record. Shteelimers worked together to find an answer to the mystery question: “What is a complimentary tzevah?” After picking their own special color, the Shteelimers moved …
Dec 17
Rabbi Rebecca gave us four cards. She said our birthday circles would fit into these four categories. What?! We don’t know these words! Finally, someone figured out that the four cards must be four seasons. Then someone remembered that we have a book about the Jewish calendar. And we figured out what season our Hebrew …
Nov 29
I’m very excited to be apart of the Shteelim team as the new educator! I am a 2010 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduation, I lived in South Korea for two years, teaching English. That’s where I discovered I loved teaching and working with children. Outside of work, I love travel, read and …
Oct 31
We are curious about how the children interpret and image stories from the Torah. As we study the text of Noah’s Ark, two Shteelimers engage in play about the animals: “God made them mad [when God flooded the earth].. They’re up so high so that they don’t fall in the water… They [climbed] up here” …
