BET (2nd) Blog 22-23

The Bet Hebrew students learned to read with the Hebrew letter Tet. Students practiced reading lines of Hebrew in small groups, matched Hebrew rhyming words, and practiced writing words with a Tet. Students also played a “Move Around the Vet” Hebrew board game. A group of four girls played the game where they were all sounding out the words together and supporting each other! Next week, we will have a Model Seder and have fun playing the Ten Plague relay races! Please send your child in clothing that can get messy-the first plague was (red) blood!!!

Hebrew- The Bet Hebrew students learned the vowels that make the EH sound and practiced reading Hebrew words with these vowels. They also played two board games that reinforced their Hebrew reading skills. We also reviewed the tefillot-prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday nights and practiced a play for our class Shabbat on March 15^th.

Judaic Studies - Hi families,  This week we finished up our lesson on how we dress the Torah by doing a quick fill in the black worksheet and then by coloring, cutting, and gluing our own paper Torah to dress it. After that we practiced for our class Shabbat (SAVE THE DATE 3/15) and then began discussing the role of the clergy in a synagogue. Please remember that there is no drop off for Hebrew school on Sunday. However, we hope you’ll join us with your child for Yom Gemilut Hasadim activities!

The Bet Hebrew class learned to read with the Hebrew letter, Hey. They read Hebrew in small groups, wrote Hebrew words with Hey, and matched Hebrew rhyming words.

After a quick review of the Hebrew letters the kids have learned as well as a discussion about Tu B’Shevat the students enjoyed their well-deserved class prize, watching The Lorax and eating popcorn in their PJs. As part of our Tu B’Shevat conversation the kids also had the opportunity to taste dried figs and apricots as well as smell carobs (spoiler alert, they smell horrible) and taste carob chips because of the story about Honi/planting carob trees for future generations to enjoy their fruits. Please enjoy this video with your children to learn more about that story. 

https://www.bimbam.com/honi/

Hebrew- The class completed a review activity where students identified words written in Hebrew and told their classmates what to draw on the word. For example, a student told the class to find the word “MiTa” on the paper and draw a dreidel on the word. We also learned to read with the Hebrew letter Dalet, which makes the D sound, and practiced reading in small groups.

Judaic Studies- This week we celebrated and talked about Chanukah! If you haven’t gotten your surprise gift yet, give it until Thursday 😉.

In addition to gift making, we enjoyed sufganiyot, and played dreidel. Before playing dreidel we talked about the letters on it and what words they represent. We also talked about how one of the letters on dreidels in Israel is different than the one on dreidels anywhere else.

Chag Sameach!!

Hebrew - The Bet Hebrew class learned to read with the Hebrew letters Mem and Mem Sofit. Students read in small groups and completed a writing activity and Hebrew word search. Writing the letters helps reinforce the students’ memory of the letter and will be useful when they study in our religious school’s Hebrew prayer curriculum. We also continued learning and singing prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat service, including Lechu N’ranina, Yismechu, and Romemu. We also sing the Hatikvah each week. We look forward to seeing all our families next Sunday at our Bet Family Education program. The program will begin after our school wide Shirah and Tefillah (about 10:10) and will be held in the Temple Israel Social Hall.

Judaic Studies - This week we reviewed and completed some work in our binder related to parts of the sanctuary/chapel. We then looked at the book of stained glass art found in the sanctuary and made our own “stained glass” window. Many students choose to hang theirs up in the classroom but some preferred to bring it home. Everyone did a great job participating during tefillah and we ended the day in the Chanukah boutique. Remember, this Sunday is our family Ed program! Please join us in the sanctuary for morning tefillah and then stay for this special program. Although the program ends at 11:30, pickup remains the same…12:05pm either in the front via car or the back via walk up. In general, if you plan an early pickup, please let the office know in advance.

Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!!

Judaic Studies - This week we stuck together as a whole class. In the Judaic section we built upon the concept that the Temple is a part of our community and explored it in more detail. That meant a tour of Temple Israel! The kids were particularly excited about going into the offices and the kitchen (including the walk in fridge). We spent a good amount of our focus on the sanctuary and chapel and discussed the elements common to both.

Hebrew - The Bet students learned to read and write with the Hebrew letter Lamed. They read Hebrew in small groups and then practiced writing Hebrew words and solving riddles with the letters and vowels that they know.  They also learned the prayer Romemu from the Friday night Shabbat service and practiced singing Lechu N’ranina and Tzadik Katamar, which they learned previously.

HEBREW - In the Bet Hebrew class, students learned to read and write with the Hebrew letter Bet. Students practiced reading in small groups and completed a writing worksheet. We also played a fun game where each student was given a card with a Hebrew word on it; when the student’s word was called out, the student made a motion, and the class copied (or at least tried to!) their motion. Thus far, the students have learned to read with the Hebrew letters Bet and Shin and two vowels that make the AH sound. So,, this week they read words that combine the Bet and Shin. We will be adding new letters and vowels each week, and hope to learn to read with about half of the Hebrew letters and vowels. The students will learn to read with the remaining letters and vowels next year. The Bet students also practiced singing the prayer, Tzadik Katamar, and began learning the prayer, Lechu N'ranina. Both prayers are from the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service.

JUDAIC STUDIES -  While the holiday season makes for fun learning opportunities, it was great to be back in the classroom again. Today we reviewed classroom goals, activities, and expectations. The students are excited about earning pom-poms and are well on their way to filling their respective classroom jars. After that we made cards to soldiers in Israel to lift their spirits and let them know we’re thinking of them. As a whole group (all of bet) we practiced some tefillot which the students will lead during their Class Shabbat Celebration.

The Bet students learned to read with Hebrew letter Tet. They read in small groups and completed a packet where they wrote Hebrew words with the letter tet and completed a word search with Hebrew letters. The use of reading and writing helps reinforce their recognition and memory of Hebrew letters. In Judaic studies, students focused on the concept of Israel being a homeland for the Jewish people. Students worked in small groups to identify what makes a home, and each group presented their ideas to the class. They also brainstormed what we think of when we say the word land. Then, they combined the two lists to discuss how Israel is a homeland. We also examined where Israel is on the map and geographic features of Israel. In Tefillah, we continued learning Ain Keloheinu and sang the Hatikvah- making sure that students know the words to the Israel’s national anthem.

Students learned to read with the Hebrew letter Vet. They practiced writing Hebrew sounds on white boards and read lines of Hebrew aloud. We also read the story of Passover about the exodus from Egypt and had fun using props to act out the ten plagues. We discussed the meaning of the Passover symbols and created beautiful Passover seder plates that the students can use at the seders. Students that finished their seder plates also completed a matching activity worksheet about the symbols.

The Bet Class students are very excited to present their class play and lead parts of the service this Friday, March 17^th. The students rehearsed their play as well as prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv services. We also reviewed our hand motions for remembering the Ten Commandments and read a story focusing on the fifth commandment, to honor your mother and father. The story pointed out what happens when a girl becomes too absorbed in helping others and performing mitzvot outside of her home that she ends up neglecting her family.

Students learned to read with the Hebrew letter “Hey”. They combined the Hey with letters and vowels that they already know and read lots of Hebrew sounds and words. As we wrapped up our unit on Discovering the Synagogue, students played their board games with classmates. A few students brought their games home, but we also kept a few in class so the students can continue playing and reinforcing their knowledge about the synagogue. We began our next unit on the Ten Commandments. Students learned how to count the plagues with finger motions and also created their own Ten Commandment tablets.

The students will perform a short play during their Class Shabbat on March 17^th. Each student will have a speaking part. It will be a special evening where the students will lead all of the prayers that they have been learning this year.

We visited the chapel to examine the Torah. Each student used the yad (pointer) to find Hebrew letters and was able to feel the parchment and see how a Torah is dressed. We finished off our unit about the synagogue by creating a “Let’s Discover the Synagogue” board game. Students worked on the boards today and will bring home their games that you can play as a family next Sunday. In Hebrew, we learned to read with the Hebrew letter Aleph. We learned that Aleph s silent, so we only need to make the sound of the vowel assigned to the Aleph when we read the Aleph. We learned a new melody for L’chu N’ranina and practiced singing the other prayers that we have learned in preparation of our class Shabbat. Remember- our class Shabbat is on March 17^th!

As part of our unit on discovering the synagogue, Rabbi Wolk joined our class to discuss his role as a rabbi at Temple Israel. Each student asked the rabbi questions and then sketched his portrait. Some of the questions were about where he gets ideas for sermons, his favorite and worst part about being a rabbi, if he gets nervous, and how well his job pays. The students also practiced reading lines of Hebrew that reinforce the “EE” sound vowel and practiced singing prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Please mark your calendars for our class Shabbat on Friday, March 17^th!

The Bet students learned a new vowel- the vowel making the “E” sound. They learned by writing combinations of the letters with the E vowel on mini white boards and reading lines of Hebrew aloud. In our class tefillah, we practiced the prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat service in preparation for our class Shabbat. In Judaic studies, we reviewed how we dress to pray and the names of items in the sanctuary, and then prepared for our class visit with Rabbi Wolk (in January) by compiling a list of questions for him. The students also had fun shopping at the Chanukah boutique.