This week in שׁוֹרָשִׁים (Shorashim– ‘roots’ for nursery) and שְׁתִּילִים (Shteelim– ‘saplings’ for kindergarten), we have opened up a third category of תְּפִלָּה (tefillah- prayer). This category is all about saying Shema at bed time, or when waking in the morning.
Some children shared that,
“Shema is my bedtime song, sometimes I sing it with my mommy or my daddy”
Or, “I say Shema with my family”
We played a whole bedtime routine, where we brushed our teeth, got our stuffies, heard a story, and then made a choice about how we wanted to say the Shema.
Would we lay down, or sit up? Would we cover our eyes? Would we say Shema silently in our brains, or out loud?
Some of the children said that saying Shema at bedtime (while we were playing) made them feel:
- “Relaxed”
- ‘Tired”
- “Happy”
We went on a Shema hunt on our תְּפִלָּה (tefillah- prayer) banner, to see how many times a day some Jewish people might choose to say Shema.
We had a book party in the chapel, where we found all of the times that Shema appears in a סִדּוּר (siddur- Jewish Prayer Book)!
Looking forward to doing more exploration with שׁוֹרָשִׁים (Shorashim– ‘roots’ for nursery) and שְׁתִּילִים (Shteelim– ‘saplings’ for kindergarten), as we wrap up our theme!
