[1.8] 11/7/06

Gan - Morah Chana
Today in Hebrew School we learned all about the 6th day of creation. On that very special day Hashem created Adam and Chava (Eve). The children made Adam and Chava cut-outs and put clothes on them made from various patterned cloth. We then learned all about Shabbat. The children learned all about lighting Shabbat candles and making Kiddush on a cup of wine on Friday night. The children made their very own Challah covers. We then reviewed our letters Aleph and Bet, and watched another part of our Aleph-Bet video that taught us about the vowels of Patach and Kamatz (both make the “aahh” sound). It is very important that the children review their Aleph Bet during the week so that we can move on to new letters and vowels next week.

Kita Aleph (1) - Morah Chava
Today in Hebrew School each student received their very own Siddur that they put their names on and colored in. We then continued our food Brachot lesson and colored in Brachot placemats, gluing on pictures of different foods that fit into the Bracha categories. We then reviewed the stories of Yaacov (Jacob) from last week and learned all about the selling of Yosef (Joseph) by his brothers. The children acted out the story. We reviewed our Aleph-Bet and even had and Aleph-Bet Race! We then introduced the “ooh” sound. Lastly we reviewed our Hebrew words and played Hebrew Hokey Pokey! Morah Chava was out this week, so we thank Morah Miriam for doing such a good job as a substitute.

Kita Bet (2) - Morah Devorah Leah
Today in davening (prayer) we introduced the Shema. The kids were able to identify words that they knew in the Shema. The kids all found the word Mezuzah in the Shema, because we’ve been learning all about Mezuzah in Hebrew School. We learned that in the Shema it says to serve Hashem with all of our hearts and we learned that we have to sometimes resist the temptation to do what isn’t right. We then introduced the Hebrew word Lev (heart) and played Hebrew musical chairs. Afterwards we continued to learn about doing the right thing by learning that every person has a Yetzer Tov (drive to do what’s right) and a Yetzer Hara (drive to do what isn’t right) and that our job is to fight the Yetzer Hara and choose to listen to the Yetzer Tov and do the right thing. The students participated in various interactive activities with stickers, puppets, and more in order to learn all about real life choices and doing what’s right. We then learned all about the Torah portion about Moshe (Moses) going to see Paroh and demanding that he release the Jews. We saw many story boards and did worksheets. Thanks to all of the students who turned in last week’s homework – you were rewarded with a Torah Dollar. This week, parents please make sure that students complete the homework question about the Torah stories from this week.

Kita Gimmel (3) - Morah Rivkah
Today in Kita Gimmel we learned that the Torah instructs us to eat kosher food. The kids separated milk and meat foods in a food chart and then learned all about kosher symbols with flashcards. We then reviewed last week’s homework (parents please make sure that children are doing their homework) and continued in our Shabbat lesson learning what the word “holy” means and how Shabbat is holy and makes us holy. We also learned about Challah. In davening the kids all went to the sink and learned the special Jewish way to wash your hands and then we all said that Al Netilat Yadayim blessing (over hand washing). We reviewed the writing of Aleph and Bet and learned to write a Gimmel today. For homework every student should bring in a product label with a kosher symbol either from home or from the store, complete the Shabbat review sheet and review writing the letters Aleph, Bet and Gimmel. Parents, please make sure that all students come with requisite supplies including a 3-ring binder.

Kita Dalet (4) - Morah Ellana
Onward through the desert, Kita Dalet continues our travels with the Jews in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers). We learned about the Mishkan (traveling sanctuary) that Hashem commanded the Jewish people to build in the desert. The Mishkan had 6 main parts and the students learned about each of them. We also learned about the various divisions within the Jewish people of: Kohain, Levi and Yisroel. We practiced and are perfecting the writing of the first 4 letters of the Aleph-Bet. Today’s Mitzvah-pedia lesson focused on the Jewish “uniform,” i.e. those unique clothing and articles which Jewish people wear. What are the various Jewish clothing and why do we wear them? The students even made their own edible Tzitzit (fringed garments). For homework every student should bring in another Mitzvah brick and write the letters Gimmel and Dalet 5 times each.

Kita Hay (5) - Morah Mushky
Today we began in Kita Hay by reviewing our Parah Adumah homework and then davening and giving tzedakah (prayer and charity). Every class we pick a new student to be the chazan (cantor) and lead the davening and a boy to lead the class in the Bracha (blessing) on Tzitzit. Afterwards we shifted our Torah curriculum to review some of the “basics” that our students would like to explore. We began by delving into the 7 days of creation, did an activity and a worksheet about the creation and learned that the creation of humanity and people doing Mitzvot is the purpose of Hashem’s creation. We learned that unlike humans, Hashem is infinite and can do anything. Our “character traits” curriculum brought us to the topic of building a “good name” for ourselves and how Rabbi Shimon said that a good reputation amongst others is a greater accomplishment than being the High Priest. For homework, students should complete the 2 pages from the “Building a Better Me” curriculum.

Kita Vav (6) - Morah Chaya
Today in Kita Vav we got off to a great start with davening. We incorporated “Baruch She’amar” into our davening and Robert Fuchs and Leah Weingast got extra points for their active participation. Yehoshua (Joshua) was the focus of our history curriculum. The students took notes and then answered questions testing their knowledge. For Life-Cycle this week we began to tackle the Jewish calendar by figuring out our Jewish birthdays. We then wrote out the Brit and baby naming for our twins and learned about the Jewish year.

Kita Zayin (7) - Morah Bracha
Today Kita Zayin really blasted off. We davened (prayed) the entire morning prayers, singing along to a cd and learning the prayers as we went. We then reviewed writing the letters “yud” and “vov” and went on to “nun” and “final-nun.” The class then focused on the great Jewish figure, Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva was unlearned in Judaism until the age of 40. He then began learning and became the greatest sage of his time. As a matter of fact, it was his innovative approach to Jewish law which actually became the basis on which the analysis and deliberation Jewish law has been modeled ever since. The students explored this great sage, some of his teachings and the lessons we learn from his life. For homework the students should complete the Hebrew writing worksheets and then in the spirit of Rabbi Akiva, each student should choose 1 Mitzvah to keep every day this week and write a paragraph about it, which he should bring to class next week.