The children in Nitzanim (“Buds” for 1st graders) are expert storytellers. They come to our sessions ready to tell all sorts of stories about what they played that day, something crazy that happened at school, or a silly story about grandma.
We have been channeling all this amazing storytelling energy into our final project for our theme, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu), where we have been working together to tell שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) stories. Of course, we couldn’t do this without the help of our stuffies, who act as the characters in the story. I (Morah Maisie), with the help of my stuffies Leo the Lion and Lenny the Bear, narrate a שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) story. Nitzanim’s job has been to work as a team to fill in the blanks of the story.
Here are some lovely excerpts from our story about Pesach (Passover), a special Jewish time when a Jewish person might say שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu):
Morah Maisie: Nitzanim’s stuffies felt ________ to be having a Pesach seder that was a little different this year.
- Child 1: They felt happy but also a little sad because they couldn’t really see their friends but also happy that they wouldn’t get sick because of COVID.
Morah Maisie: At Nitzanim’s stuffies’ seder table, they said שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu)…
- Child 2: They said it out loud together. And they are hugging because they are happy that they can have Passover together.
- Child 3: They said it calmly.
- Child 4: Because they were happy because it was a time to celebrate. And they were happy that they could be together.
For Nitzanim, storytelling has been a wonderful way to dive deeper into when a person might choose to say שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu), why they might say it, and what it looks like when they say it. I can’t wait to hear where they take our stories next!
