All of the children at the Jewish Enrichment Center are deep into our theme, Beit Knesset, by now. It’s becoming apparent that there are certain details of a Beit Knesset the children find interesting, wondrous, beautiful, special. We’ve honored these interests in yetzirah by giving them ways to explore these details.
For some children in Shorashim, the ways we keep the torah special is “important”, “pretty”, “sparkly”, “colorful”, etc. Here they are creating רימונים (remoneem, crowns), a חושן (chosen, breast plate) and a יד (yad).
For a few children in particular, stained glass has been an interest. So this week we decided to make our own stained glass in the room, right on the window!
For Nitzanim, tracing photos and drawing many objects found in a Beit Knesset has been a popular activity. Even a gallery has been created in Beyt Nitzanim! You can come visit anytime!
In Anafim they have been exploring the ancient Beit Knesset of Ostia. Opus reticulatum, a particular way of building walls, was specific to that time period. Below you can see a few children re-creating this in their own way with mosaic tiles that represent “rubble” and terra-cotta clay as the mortar.
We will keep exploring to find what our children are most interested in and our final projects will start soon! We are well on our way!
