May 17
After nearly two years together in Nitzanim, we love being together. We’ve worked things out time after time, learned language that keeps everyone emotionally safe, and we’ve grown in being able to see what’s going on with a friend and respond appropriately. It is such a joy to be a Nitzanimer these days!! We love being together!! …
May 08
Must’ve been something in the air. During choice time, THREE Nitzanimers chose to do something creative with Hebrew. One boy decided to write the Shema from memory, sounding out the words. Another boy decided to play with the vowels he was reviewing. Again and again, he put vowels under every letter and happily …
May 02
It was hot in Beit Nitzanim. The children were restless. Whatever I had in my mind about what we would do next with the story of David and Yonatan was clearly NOT what the children were interested in doing. So I asked them: what do YOU think we should do? Wham! Total focus. Bouncing up and …
Apr 25
Last week, I wrote about the new magnet boards in Nitzanim where children choose words that describe how they’re feeling. Our use of the boards has been turning into something quite wonderful. When they come in, a majority of the children are now choosing TWO words that best describe how they feel. At pegisha (meeting …
Apr 18
We’ve started our new theme, ידידות (yedidut – friendship). It’s easier to be a friend when we’re able to talk about how we’re feeling and understand how a friend feels. Educators wondered, What words do Nitzanimers have to describe what they’re feeling? What vocabulary do Nitzanimers have beyond “happy” and “sad?” We wanted to find out …
Apr 17
Way back in Fall, 2011, when the Jewish Enrichment Center opened, Nitzanimers had to learn to make appropriate choices during their “choice time.” Over and over, I would ask them, “What’s Jewish about what you’re doing?” They’d say, “I’ll draw a Jewish star on the side of this paper airplane.” I would say, “Make a …
Apr 12
Nitzanim learned a new game this week for משחקים mischakim (physical activity, Hebrew, and community building). It’s tough to keep holding hands and work as a team! We couldn’t stop laughing as we played. The tag game: three children hold hands, and one of the three is designated as the person to avoid being tagged. One child …
Mar 12
Lots of parents have been asking where they can get copies of the music we sing at Shirah/Tefillah (Singing/Prayer). Clearly, we’ll have to make our own recordings one year. Until then, here are a few CDs I’d recommend for your cars and ipods. The titles are links to where you can buy them. Let us …
Mar 06
We have a new Mah Tovu tent in Beit Shteelim. Morah Miryam invited us in pairs to come to the Mah Tovu tent. When I stuck a יד (yad – hand) into the tent, I pulled out a surprise! It was a picture of a part of my גוף (guf - body)! Then I thought about how I …
Mar 05
Sometimes it feels good just to do the regular stuff. We had such a lovely Sunday and Monday this week. What a shame we didn’t get to have a session on Tuesday because of the snow. Here’s some of our regular stuff: Checking out the moon chart. It’s near the end of the Hebrew month …
