May 18
This week in אלונים (“Oak trees,” for 5th and 6th grades), we’ve been busy working on our final projects for the year! Our final project prompt is: Tell the story of your encounter with a big idea or question this year. Children are working independently or in pairs to identify a big question or idea …
May 11
Alonimers have spent the past couple weeks reading Torah text about Shavuot. They saw that the Torah says three main things about Shavuot: 1. Shavuot celebrates the wheat harvest, 2. Shavuot comes at the end of the counting of the omer, and 3. People bring bikkurim (the first things that grow) to Adonai on Shavuot. This week, …
May 04
This week in Alonim (“Oak Trees,” for 5th and 6th grades), we read Megillat Rut, a text some Jews read on the holiday of Shavuot. As part of our exploration of Megillat Rut, we connected the ideas we had during our Bamidbar and Kedushah themes with our current theme, Shavuot. Alonimers heard Megillat Rut on their special Shabbat session …
Apr 27
This week in Alonim (“oak trees,” for 5th and 6th grades), we started our new theme, שבועות (Shavuot)! We learned about three ideas that the Torah gives us about the holiday of Shavuot: Shavuot comes at the end of the counting of the omer, Shavuot celebrates the wheat harvest, and people bring bikkurim (the first things …
Apr 20
On חגים (chagim–holidays), we do things differently at the Jewish Enrichment Center. We put away our writing materials, we don’t take photos or use our iPads, and we spend time as a whole community. It’s our way of marking the holiday as special or different and an opportunity for children of all ages to celebrate …
Mar 09
This week, Alonim (for 5th and 6th grades) is working very hard on writing and directing their own scenes in a Purim Spiel, or funny play telling the Purim story. Their spiel will be performed on Sunday for the younger children at the Enrichment Center. Get ready – Alonim has a lot of puns up …
Mar 01
It’s all installation all the time as we put the final preparations on our Kedushah (Holiness) Family Exploration and Celebration! We look forward to seeing you this Sunday, March 5th at 9:00 AM. Here’s just a few pictures of Enrichment Center educators and staff hard at work designing an installation to honor children’s incredible work and …
Feb 23
This week, we spent time outside exploring קדושה (kedushah, holiness) outside. What a perfect week to spend time outside! At our special session on Shabbat, we walked to the lake and observed the day turning from Shabbat back into a normal day as the sun went down. We noticed the changes in the colors of the sky …
Feb 16
This week in אלונים (Alonim, “Oak Trees,” for 5th and 6th grades), we had special visitors from a Chicago-area Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society). Our two guests, Rabbi Larry and Dr. Larry, spoke with us about Jewish rituals surrounding burial. Rabbi and Dr. Larry shared with us their perspective that every person is קדוש (kadosh, holy). …
Feb 15
We did something so special today. First and second grade Nitzanimers had כיבוד (kibud–snack) with fifth and sixth grade Alonimers. We’re in the sixth week of thinking about קדושה (kedushah– holiness) and our super special pairing was an opportunity for children of different ages to connect and share ideas. Like in this pair, where a second grader shared with …
