Guess what?! At our session this evening, every single Anafimer (“Branches” for 2nd-3rd grade) shared an idea about our Shehecheyanu theme!
Now let me be clear: Children in Anafim have many ideas–about our theme, about sledding in the snow, about being a third grader, and about lots more. Sometimes, though, they just don’t feel like talking out loud. Being a third grader in Zoom school all day can feel yucky. So, by the time our Enrichment Center sessions roll around, children might just want to listen and think inside their brains. That’s okay. It’s a tough time to be a kid.
Today I brought children some “what if” scenarios connected to our Shehecheyanu text from the Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 58b, and we all pretended to be characters responding to the scenarios. I was Gameshow Host Morah Sara, but we also had Professor M, Doctor A, Magic Person E, and Lightning Maker N. What a fun bunch!
I wish I had gotten a photo of children’s smiles when I asked them for their character names while speaking into my pencil/pretend microphone. Just this little bitty gesture, a teeny bit of playfulness helped children get over the hump of the pre-dinner-Zoom zombie-blues. Every child was eager to connect with each other about our Shehecheyanu scenarios. With more voices in our conversation, children offered new perspectives for each other to consider and drove each other’s thinking deeper.
Thanks for playing, Anafim!
