Sep 12
Oh how I love exploring the שׁוֹפָר (shofar) with young children! Morah Sara: What’s the same and different about these שׁוֹפָרוֹת (shofarot, plural of “shofar”)? Child 1: They’re both swirly! Child 2: They’re different colors. Morah Sara: Have you tried smelling the שׁוֹפָר (shofar)? Child 1: Why does it smell like that? Morah Sara: Hmm… …
Sep 26
Rosh Hashanah is when many Jewish people celebrate the new year. There are many traditional symbols associated with the holiday, such as apples and honey (eaten for a sweet new year), round challah (to represent the cyclical nature of time) and shofars (a horn that is blown to signify the coming of the new year). …
Sep 14
“Imagine the sound of a great שופר (shofar),” I said, “calling out with a message for the whole world. What do you think it would say?” “It’s saying, why are we here on earth?” said a third grader. “Warmth and love” said a fourth grader. “If ten people blow a שופר (shofar),” said another third grader, …
Sep 13
Earlier in the week, children spent a lot of time using שופרות (shofarot) in their play, they were really focused on sound. The past two days, I brought a שופר (shofar) in a Mystery box. We sat down together and took turns putting our יד (yad– hand) in the box, just one of many ways we …
Oct 01
This week in Shorashim, we learned that in addition to the shofar reminding us to try new things, it also reminds us to use kind words. We had all sorts of ideas about what this meant. We shared with each other what kind words and actions we could use with our chaverim in Shorashim. One …
Sep 26
The Nitzanimers really impressed me this week with their ability to weave together multiple different themes we’re focusing on into single skits. Almost all Nitzanim children participated in a skit at some point this week. We’ve also been talking about the difference between holding a grudge and taking revenge, rooted in reading the text of Leviticus 19:18. This …
Sep 12
The Nitzanimers worked with toosheem to create their interpretation of shofarot, apples and honey, and challah to prepare Bayit Nitzanim for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A curious Nitzanimer stated that matching the toosheem colors to the challah picture was a good first step to creating his drawing. Another chose to illustrate the sounds of …
