In שׁוֹרָשִׁים (Shorashim– ‘roots’ for nursery) and שְׁתִּילִים (Shteelim– ‘saplings’ for kindergarten), we are spending time working on the skill of talking with a partner. When we spend time talking to each other we can learn so much! This time around we heard about an experience we might have had during Pesach (Passover), going to a Seder. …
Tag Archive: listening
Jan 31
Taking Care of Each Other While Exploring Together
This week I want to highlight a set of skills that children were working on, through the lens of one particular kind of exploration we did this week. First, we needed to connect a few explorations that at first did not seem connected to each other. At the very beginning of our new theme, לְהִתְפַּלֵל …
Oct 16
Movie Stills From Ya’akov v’Esav
In Shorashim (‘roots’ for nursery) and Shteelim (‘saplings’ for kindergarten), we have started listening to and playing our Torah theme text, Ya’akov v’Esav (Genesis 25:20-28), which you can find here. For many young children, the first time they hear a text like this, they might only be able to really hear a few words. In our case, the children …
Sep 13
Listening for Yom Kippur
Listen: the children are telling us what we need to know. This week at our end-of-session singing time, we asked children to tell their grown-ups what they love to do as a family and want to do more frequently. We asked children to tell their grown-ups what they wish their grown-ups would do less of. We …
May 04
We Love to Learn in So Many Ways
Hey. Just because we can think critically and have long, respectful conversations to hash out our point of view (and absolutely adore doing it), doesn’t mean it’s the only way we like to learn. Please nurture the whole of us. We love to learn in so many, many ways. We like to learn outside. We like to ask our own …
May 04
Chavruta
You can hear the sound of children’s voices from out in the hallway. Inside of the ענפים (Anafim- “branches” for 3rd-4th grade children) classroom, ten eight- to ten-year-olds are sitting at tables, each across from a partner. And as each pair reads and discusses a Jewish text together, an ancient tradition called חברותא (chavruta- ‘friend,’ or learning partnership) comes to life. …
Jan 25
Why Text Study? What’s the point of studying Jewish texts?
Joy: connecting with a friend to talk about stuff that matters is fun, and nourishing. To grow our communication skills: we learn to articulate our ideas. To gain Jewish literacy: to know my heritage. To increase sensitivity: we learn to hear more subtleties. We learn to hear the children in a more nuanced way. To imagine: if …
Nov 16
Careful listening
There are so many moments in a day when ענפים (Anafim– “branches” for 3rd-4th grade children) help each other with careful listening. For example: Carefully listening as a peer practices reading accurately, to catch mistakes and celebrate new progress Carefully listening, asking follow-up questions, and filming, as a peer presents his building of a scene from בראשית (bereishit– …
Rabbi Rebecca Featured On Judaism Unbound
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