Jan 26
The children in שׁוֹרָשִׁים (Shorashim– ‘roots’ for nursery) and שְׁתִּילִים (Shteelim– ‘saplings’ for kindergarten) are fully immersed in the יוֹסֵף (Yosef) text, and each week we are adding more! (You can read what we read this week here, https://jewishenrichment.org/2023/01/23/yosef-theme-text-genesis-40-and-41/ ) The ideas are flowing, children are asking questions and becoming interpreters of text. While all of these …
Nov 01
There is a very special place in one corner of Beit Nitzanim. It’s called Pinat Shalom (“Peace Corner”). When it was introduced a few weeks ago, children practiced how to use Pinat Shalom to resolve conflicts. This week we saw it in action. The children shared trays of small, natural building materials to build scenes …
Jan 31
Remember when I said that first grade Nitzanim were hard at work growing their skills for working with a partner? This gorgeous collaboration continues! Let me be clear… I’m celebrating children working next to each other and sharing materials. It’s so much more! Children are discussing ideas, planning together, and negotiating differences of opinion. Everywhere …
Jan 10
I continue to be struck by the way that Nitzanim children have been delighted all year to work with a partner. We’ve worked so hard as a community to intentionally build our skills for kind partnership, and I’ve been amazed to see how seriously children take up this challenge. Check out everything we’ve been practicing: …
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. …
Dec 12
I can’t believe that it’s the week before winter break. It feels like we were just beginning the year with the Opening Picnic! And yet, when I look around Beit Nitzanim, there are so many clues that actually, we’ve been together for a while and we’ve learned so much and worked so hard to be a community …
Sep 09
We’re back! Our fifth and sixth grade children have been to the Jewish Enrichment Center, so we gave them a group challenge right away. I pulled out a long, long jump rope, and said, “Our challenge is to get everyone through to the other side, counting eser ad me’ah (10 – 100).” The fifth and sixth grade children …
Apr 10
This week, Nitzanim struggled with a big realization: not EVERYONE at the כיבוד שולחן [kidbbud shulchan; snack table] has the same opinion as me! To help respect all our ideas, we practiced saying the phrase, “I disagree with __” during our debates. The phrase came up while we wondered about why Pharoh was afraid of the …
Nov 20
These are the smiles of children who argued, took the time to hear what each other was saying, and worked things out!
