Apr 01
It was so wonderful to see Anafim (“Branches” for 2nd-3rd grade) back together today after Spring Break! We had so much to catch up on, like visits with grandparents, travels to a cabin, eagle sightings, and first days back at in-person school. We celebrated being back together with a silly Pesach (Passover) Mad Libs and …
Mar 30
How do you make the second pandemic Pesach (Passover) feel fun and creative? With a socially-distant puppet show! Children who participate in Special Days at the Jewish Enrichment Center enjoy creating a video from a story. Previous examples include The Sabbath Lion, Benjamin of Tudela, The Magic Pomegranate, and the Purim story. To keep things …
Mar 12
Shabbat Shalom! We are just a few hours away from the beginning of shabbat and I hope you all are able to soak up some sun this weekend. Just two weeks ago we celebrated the fabulous ideas and projects children worked on during the שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) theme. Below are three different vases children made and …
Mar 11
In the maggid (narrate) section of the haggadah (“the telling,” the Seder text) we read a text from Mishnah Pesachim about Rabban Gamliel. Rabban Gamliel said that a Jewish person should talk about פֶּסַח (pesach – the Passover offering), מַצָּה (matzah – unleavened bread), and מָרוֹר (maror – bitter herbs) every year at the Seder. …
Mar 11
There is a lot of excitement about getting ready for Pesach (Passover) in שׁוֹרָשִׁים (Shorashim– ‘roots’ for nursery) and שְׁתִּילִים (Shteelim– ‘saplings’ for kindergarten). On Sunday, we met in person (outside). We brought out our super big seder plate, so we could work on remembering how to say the names of five main items that might be …
Mar 05
After wrapping up our שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) theme and celebrating Purim together, we have shifted into getting ready for Pesach (Passover) at the Enrichment Center! As we often do with holidays, we began our opening of Pesach by asking children what they remember. We might show them some pictures that have to do with Pesach and …
Apr 25
This Pesach (Passover), Anafim (“Branches” for 2nd and 3rd grade) has a lot that we’re celebrating! Lately, we’ve been talking about what it looks like to be a kind, caring member of our community. One place we’ve been focusing on this is kibud (“snack”), where we’ve been practicing giving friendly greetings to our conversation partners, …
Apr 25
Every year at the Jewish Enrichment Center we count the Omer, the period of 49 days between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot. This year children of all ages helped make our Omer by watercoloring flowers. Thanks to all their effort, we’ve got 49 flowers ready to bloom as we count the Omer!
Apr 23
It’s spring quarter (can you believe it?), and by now Nitzanim children know A LOT of strategies for helping themselves and each other during זמן עברית (zeman Ivrit–Hebrew time). “Sit in a quiet, calm place.” “Talk in a regular voice.” “Practice many times.” “Give a friend an Aleph-Bet chart.” “Say to a friend, ‘I don’t …
