May 24
As our final projects for the year draw to a close, I keep noticing the little details: those day-to-day parts of life in our classroom that make all the big, amazing achievements possible. Like… Our כיבוד (kibud– snack) routine, where the whole group joins in reciting the ברכות (berachot– blessings). These ברכות (berachot) then become …
May 17
We’ve been very active in Anafim (“Branches,” for 3rd/4th grade children) developing our projects for this theme AND setting goals to complete our Ivrit (Hebrew) challenges for this quarter! Children have found various things to challenge themselves on in Ivrit and different ways to grow on those. Some children have been…. …timing how quickly …
May 10
Look, I know we say it every year. But it’s true every year: I can’t believe how much you’ve grown! It’s especially visible right now, as the ענפים (Anafim– “branches” for 3rd-4th grade children) are simultaneously finishing up their last theme projects, and their last big עברית (Ivrit- Hebrew) challenges of the year. Everywhere I look, I see …
May 10
As we approach the end of the year, in Shteelim (‘saplings’ for kindergarten) we are finding that…. there is still time….. to play a new עִברִית (Ivirt- Hebrew) choice! This one is called מלחמת אותיות (Milchemet Otiot), a variation on the card game war that helps us review אותיות (otito– letters) and recall letters from memory. “We give out …
May 10
Social relationships are PRIMARY in middle school. Kids care a lot about who they work with. Yet, this week, when we launched our year-end project, something beautiful happened: middle schoolers paired up based on the content they were excited about, not with their closest friends. Pairs who’ve been working together all year split up, and new pairs formed – without …
May 04
Hey. Just because we can think critically and have long, respectful conversations to hash out our point of view (and absolutely adore doing it), doesn’t mean it’s the only way we like to learn. Please nurture the whole of us. We love to learn in so many, many ways. We like to learn outside. We like to ask our own …
May 04
You can hear the sound of children’s voices from out in the hallway. Inside of the ענפים (Anafim- “branches” for 3rd-4th grade children) classroom, ten eight- to ten-year-olds are sitting at tables, each across from a partner. And as each pair reads and discusses a Jewish text together, an ancient tradition called חברותא (chavruta- ‘friend,’ or learning partnership) comes to life. …
May 02
Step 1: Learn about אוֹנָאַת דְבָרִים (Ona’at Devarim- hurting with words) Shteelim (‘saplings’ for Kindergarten) began our אוֹנָאַת דְבָרִים (Ona’at Devarim- hurting with words) with hearing a playing stories where someone is hurt with words and they receive a verbal apology.“They were walking to the snack bar at the pool. One of them is carrying an empty bowl and …
Apr 30
The end-of-year atmosphere has settled in Beit Nitzanim. Everywhere I looked yesterday, children were working with confidence and autonomy. No task is too difficult for these incredible kids. Just watch them show off everything they can do! Write a new question or idea about אונאת דברים (Ona’at Devarim–Hurting with words) on our documentation wall? No problem. …
Apr 27
This week, our Tuesday group of 5th and 6th graders studied gemara. Argued by the ancient rabbis 2nd – 6th century CE, the text has its own distinctive, cryptic style. Gemara is HARD. And it was SO FUN. First we studied the text in pairs to try to figure out the topic sentence, who’s talking, and …
