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 …
Feb 25
Over the past week and a half, the Nursery and Kindergarten aged children have been wrapping up our theme, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu). When you have certain kinds of special experiences and you notice that that the experience is special, you could choose to say the שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) blessing. We explored three categories of times you could …
Feb 17
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 …
Feb 11
It’s final project time for our Shehecheyanu theme in Anafim (“Branches” for 2nd-3rd). This week I had the absolute pleasure of meeting 1:1 with every single Anafimer just to chat about their big ideas. What a gift! (Didn’t make for great photos, though.) I can’t wait for the children to share their projects with you! …
Feb 05
To help us in our exploration of שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu), Nitzanim (“Buds” for 1st graders) have been experimenting with different modalities for expressing our שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) makes us feel. We tried out drawing, using different shapes, lines and colors to show our שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) feelings. Some children found that they didn’t even have words to describe the feelings …
Jan 29
This week, Shorashim (‘roots’ for nursery) and Shteelim (‘saplings’ for kindergarten) started thinking about Shehecheyanu feelings. First we heard one idea to help us figure out when a person might say Shehecheyanu. “When I’m having a special experience, like getting something new and useful, or seeing someone I have not seen in a long time and notice I’m …
Jan 28
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 …
Jan 28
Over the last several weeks, Anafim v’Alonim (“Branches” and “Oak trees” for 4th-5th grade) has been exploring the blessing, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu). We began by pulling out the root of שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) which is חַי (alive). Children came up with different moments they felt SUPER ALIVE. For example, receiving shoes as a gift that “I didn’t …
Jan 20
Why do you think someone might choose to say שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) when they get something new that they needed? The children in Nitzanim (“Buds” for 1st grade) have been exploring this question as a part of our שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu) theme, and there have been all sorts of ideas (and questions!) that have come up in …
Jan 14
Hey! Did you know that the Hebrew word חי (chai–life) is the root of our new theme, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (Shehecheyanu)? This week, children recalled times that they felt super alive: Child 1: When I swung for the first time by myself. And I felt really good on the inside and the outside. Child 2: One time …
