Nov 30
Now that it’s project season, the children in ענפים (Anafim- “branches” for 3rd-4th grade) approach me at the beginning of each session with urgent requests. “How much time do we have today?” “Can we get started before כיבוד (kibud-snack?” “If I do my עברית (ivrit– Hebrew) first, can I have project time all the way until שירה/תפילה (Shirah/Tefillah– “singing/prayer,” …
Nov 16
There are so many moments in a day when ענפים (Anafim– “branches” for 3rd-4th grade children) help each other with careful listening. For example: Carefully listening as a peer practices reading accurately, to catch mistakes and celebrate new progress Carefully listening, asking follow-up questions, and filming, as a peer presents his building of a scene from בראשית (bereishit– …
Nov 09
Every theme here at the Jewish Enrichment Center is different. They each have their own rhythm. Some themes start with a big story, or a big question; some move quickly and some build gently. For ענפים (Anafim– “Branches” for 3rd-4th grade children), this autumn has been a slow adding-on of layer after layer of text. …
Nov 02
This week Shorashim read in Genesis 18 about how Avraham received three unexpected guests. Before we read on to find out how Avraham treated his guests, we imagined what we would do if we were to welcome three unexpected guests. In fact, we actually welcomed three “guests,” into our room in the form of three …
Nov 02
This week, Shteelim (“saplings” for Kindergarten) designed felt pieces so we could act out the story of Avraham V’Sara on the Felt Board We sat down and listened carefully to the text, stopping when we heard something we wanted to make We had so many ideas for the felt pieces we wanted to play with! …
