Category: Bereishit

Art and Exploration in Anafim v’Alonim!

We have been SO busy in Beit Anafim v’Alonim (“branches” for 4th grade and “oak trees” for 5th and 6th grades)! Between launching our Sukkat Shlomecha community project, exploring a new perek in our Ya’akov v’Esav theme, and developing our skills as learning partners for studying ivrit and biblical text, the children in Anafim v’Alonim …

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And the story goes…

This week we have been reviewing stories from the Torah that we have heard before… months ago! But our nursery and kindergarten children seem to remember like it was yesterday. We started with Bereshit (the beginning), floated with Noah, remembered Yosef (Joseph), and parted the sea with Moshe (Moses). There are so many stories and so …

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Culminating Project in Yetzirah

Both Shorashim and Nitzanim have been working on panels for their group quilts. These quilts have not only been a review of the main themes they have learned this year (Sukkot, Breishit, Shema, Pesach, and Tzedakah VaChessed), but a culminating project to be displayed in a public space over the summer. Shorashim children have been …

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Nitzanim Revisits This Year’s Themes

This week in Nitzanim… (click above for a video of our work!) In preparation for our final huge Yetzirah project of the year, Nitzanim spent a few days revisiting this year’s themes – Sukkot, Breishit, and Shema. We revisited through the lens of Tzedakah VaChessed. Nitzanimers received play כסף (kesef-money) to spend on playing and …

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Puppets that Don’t Speak English!

Today we began a new puppet project in Nitzanim, where we will tell a story about puppets that try to find each other in different places. Only one caveat–the play is entirely in Hebrew! This activity allows the children to incorporate Hebrew into their play and, insodoing, be able to engage more interactively with the …

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Discussion of the Story of Bereishit

In Nitzanim the past two weeks, we’ve discovered that the children love to hear the story of Bereishit and provide their own feedback in the form of comments and questions. During our reading of Genesis, Ch. 2: [wind blows mightily outside against the walls and window] Boy 1: I thought God was blowing. Boy 2: …

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Adam and Chava in Shorashim: What Does it Mean to Break Rules?

Our exploration of the Adam and Chava story from Bereishit this morning in Shorashim was framed by a  kibood-time discussion  of the rules we encounter in our own lives. We started by naming some of the rules that affect us (including “No jumping on the bed,” No poking eyes,” and “No running in school”). We …

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The Children Help Each Other Understand Genesis 2

A conversation after reading the second Creation story in Genesis Chapter 2: Boy 1: Yikes! He took a bone out of him. If you took a bone out of yourself, wouldn’t you die? Boy 2: Yeah! Girl 1: Yeah, you would die. Boy 3: And your bones would fall all apart. Girl 1: ‘Cause God’s …

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Story drama of Bereishet: Chapter 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmL8xrYNihs In order to engage with the second story of Creation (in Genesis, Chapter 2), the children played “story drama”. One child is the narrator, while the rest are actors. The narrator decides which characters each actor is (e.g. man, woman, animals). Then the narrator tells the second Creation story in his or her own …

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And God Said, “Let There Be (NO!) Light!”

The power went out at the Jewish Enrichment Center! We were in musika, everyone singing together, when all of a sudden we were singing David Melech Yisrael in the dark! Never one to miss an educational moment, we grabbed the opportunity to practice our opposites ערב/בוקר (erev/boker – evening/morning) and חושך/אור (choshech/or – darkness/light). Then we moved together …

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