GAN (K) Blog 22-23

This week in Gan, we continued our unit on Mitzvot. Following tefillah, we returned to the classroom and began learning about “Bikkur Cholim” or the mitzvah of visiting the sick. We read the book, “Sammy’s Spider’s First Mitzvah” and then acted out how we could make someone sick feel better. We then made get well cards for friends or family who were not feeling well. After a short recess break, we returned to the classroom to learn all about the mitzvah of going to the mikvah. We watched a short video, and then proceeded to walk back to the Temple to view our very own mikvah. We talked about why people use the mikvah and the various features of a mikvah. We concluded the morning with our Hebrew lesson with the letter Tzadik, for Tzedakah. I look forward to seeing you all next week for Yom Gemilut Hasadim.

Students learned about a tallit, why we wear it, how we put it on, the meaning behind the tzitzit and so much more. They also learned the letter “tet” which is the first letter in the word Tallit. It was a great morning with Morah Devorah, who was the sub for the morning.

We had a great time in Gan this learning all about Tu B’Shevat or the Birthday of the Trees! Following Tefillah we returned to the classroom where we reviewed our previous lesson on Shabbat and Jewish objects. We then worked on our Hebrew worksheets reviewing the Hebrew Letter Kaf for כיפה or Kippah. We then turned our fun to Tu B’Shevat and started with the book, “Sammy Spider’s First Tu B’Shevat”. Then they made cards for the trees, hung them on the tree, hugged the trees and then danced around singing Yom Huledet Sameach! Before heading back in, the students gathered small sticks and leaves. We looked at pictures of trees in each of the four seasons, and then went to the table to create our own tree incorporating the items found outside. Finally, we ended our lesson with introducing the Hebrew letter “Ayin” for “Tree” or עֵץ.

Since the students have been doing such an incredible job, I wanted to reward them next week with a PJ & Movie Lesson. We will continue our conversation on Tu B’Shevat, and the importance of trees and nature in Judaism, by watching the movie, “The Lorax”. I encourage each child to come to school in their PJs and bring a stuffie.

Today was all about Chanukah. We talked about Chanukah, read a story about the holiday and had the chance to make our own Chanukah Menorah. The treat for the day were sufganiyot –donuts. The class loved these!

During Shira/Tefillah, we sang the candle blessings and had a great time singing Chanukah songs. 

We had a great time in Gan this week. Following Tefillah we had a fun visit to the Chanukah Boutique. We then returned to the classroom where we began our lesson on Abraham. We started with the book, “Abraham’s Search for God” and discussed how we think and talk about God. We also discussed about some of the wonders in the world. Each child then drew an image of a wonder and shared their picture with the class. After a short recess break, we discussed how God promised to make Abraham and his descendants a blessing. We thought about “I am a blessing when I…” and “I am a blessing because I…”. Finally, we ended the day with our weekly Hebrew lesson. This week, we introduced the Hebrew letter “Yud” and discussed one way to write God in Hebrew is “יהוה”. Students then grabbed their binders and worked  on their “Yud” worksheets.

We had a wonderful class in Gan. We started our lesson on the story of Noah and the Ark. We read the book, “This is the Ark that Noah Built” by Shirley Neitzel. We learned that God commanded Noah to build the ark 300 cubits long (a cubit is 18ft). We then investigated how long a cubit is and went around measuring the classroom and building. Then we explored what it would take to make the ark float by guessing which items in the classroom would float or sink. Then we had fun creating our own boats and seeing how many coins each one could hold before sinking. Next we talked about how Noah was commanded to take care of all the creatures of the world. We drew our own ark with different floors, and each student got to decide where Noah’s family would sleep and which animals would go where. Finally, we had our weekly Hebrew lesson, learning about the letter Nun for Noah. We practiced writing the letter and learning about words that begin with the letter Noah.

We had a wonderful class in Gan. The kids began their morning learning our “Bo Bo Bo Boker Tov” song, as we learned each other’s names. We then started our lesson on the story of Creation. We read the book, “And There Was Evening, And There Was Morning”. We then played a fun charades game acting out each day of Creation, experiencing each day of creation with their entire bodies. After spending a few minutes outside, running our sillies out, we headed over to the synagogue to explore our sanctuary. We sat in various seats and wondered what it feels like to sit here and who typically sits here. We explored the various books and discussed what is in each book and why are they important. Lastly, we looked at the stain glass windows and pointed out different objects we recognized. We even found the story of creation! Finally, we returned to the classroom and began our weekly Hebrew lesson, learning about the letter Aleph. We practiced writing the letter and learning about words that begin with the letter Aleph. 

This week in Gan we learned all about mitzvot and especially Hachnasat Orchim (Welcoming Guests). We first began our morning practicing our prayers and songs that we can't wait to sing at our Gan Shabbat on Friday, May 12th. We sound awesome! We then read the book, "It's a...It's a...It's a Mitzvah!" and talked about all the types of mitzvot we perform every day. We then watched a fun video from BimBam on Hachnasat Orchim. We then talked about how Abraham and Sarah practiced welcoming guests in the dessert and read the book, "Sarah Laughs" by Jacquline Jules. We discussed the ways of practicing this mitzvah and how it makes people feel. We then watched "Be Our Guest" from the movie "Beauty and the Beast" and talked about the ways the characters in the castle offer Belle hospitality. Finally, we paired up the kids and had them practice acting out this mitzvah. After a short recess, we came back to the classroom for our Hebrew lesson. This week the students learned the Hebrew letter "kuf" for “Kayitz” קיץ which means “Summer”. Students then took some time to work in their Hebrew binders.

In class we read the book “More than Enough” by April Halprin Wayland. The book repeatedly says “Dayenu”- “it would have been enough.” Students were asked to think about some experiences and gifts which they are thankful for and the class responded, Dayenu!  For the past two weeks we have focused on the first and second of the Ma Nishtanah, this week we focused on the 3^rd and 4^th questions. Then the class talked about the order of the seder and did an art project related to this. In Hebrew, we reviewed the following letters: Shin, Samech, Lamed, Daled, Tav, Aleph, Nun, Bet, Yud, Chet, Mem, Tet, Vav, Pey (for Pesach), and introduced the letter Hey (for Haggadah), which means “telling”. It was a wonderful morning of learning

This week in Gan we started our morning with Shira (music) with Alex. We practiced many of the songs and prayers we plan to lead during our class Shabbat in May. We then began our learning of Passover. Over the next several weeks, our class will learn the 4 Questions or the Ma Nishtanah. Today we began with eating matzah on Passover. We read, "Sammy Spider's First Passover" and talked about some of our family's Passover traditions. We then discussed why we eat Matzah on Passover. We played a matzah vs. chametz game and even had a matzah tasting party. We then talked all about Shehecheyanu moments in our life and why we say this important prayer on the first night of Passover. Finally, we ended our morning with a Hebrew lesson. We reviewed all the Hebrew letters we had previously learned, as well as learned a new Hebrew letter- Pey for Pesach. The kids then spent some time practicing writing the new letters in their Hebrew binders.

This week in Gan we began our morning with tefillah and then music with Moreh Alex. We began practicing some of the prayers and songs we will lead during our Class Shabbat. We then learned about B'nai Mitzvot and the special gift we receive on our Bar/Bat Mitzvah- a tallit.  We looked at many different types of tallitot and talked about what made them similar and different. We practiced putting on a tallit and saying the blessing. We also had a special visit from Rabbi Kornsgold, who taught us about the tzitzit which are tied at the four corners of a tallit and the significance of their knots and wraps. Finally, we each drew what we wanted our own unique tallit to look like. Next week we will have fun learning all about Purim.

This week in Gan we explored many different Jewish symbols. First, we read "Sammy Spider's First Shabbat." We then went through the practice of lighting the Shabbat candles, saying the Kiddush, ritually washing our hands, and then saying the blessing over the Challah. We even learned how to braid. With each of these rituals and objects we talked about the different traditions Jewish people have and why.

We then continued our lesson by heading over to Temple Israel’s chapel for a scavenger hunt to find three common sanctuary symbols- Magen David (Star of David), Menorah, and the Ten Commandments. Each child was given a worksheet and pencil to count all the ones they could find and draw a picture of each symbol.

We then returned to the classroom for our final lesson on kippot. We talked about what does the word "kippah" mean in English ("dome") and what are features of a kippah. What can it be made of? After looking at different examples, each child was given a white kippah for them to personalize and decorate. I encourage each of your children to wear their personal kippah, or any other kippah they choose, each week to TIRS! Jewish people wear a kippah to remind us of the Divine Presence above our heads.

We had a wonderful week back in Gan. This week we learned about the four different Jewish food blessings, and worked in small groups to decide which foods went with each blessing. We then played a fun game of 4 corners as we practiced remembering what we learned about the blessings. We then began our next unit on learning about Mitzvot and being a mensch. After reading a book on different mitzvot, we talked about what mitzvot we had done recently. Each child then drew a picture of themselves doing a mitzvah, to be added to our Gan Class Mensch Book. We ended the day with reviewing our Hebrew letters and learning the letter Mem for Mitzvah. We also learned the song Od Yavo Shalom during music class.

This week the Gan class learned about Chanukah! We read about Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah and then had the chance to examine different Chanukiyot. Afterwards, the students created their own Chanukiyah to light during Chanukah. Before creating the Chanukiyah they learned about the shamash, the helper candle, and where it needs to go on the Chanukiyah (it has to be taller than all the other candles). Next, students learned the 4 letters on the dreidel and the words which they stand for, Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham – a great miracle happened there. We ended class with Hebrew, and learned the letter for Chanukah, the letter chet.  In addition to all of this, the class also had the chance to shop at the Chanukah boutique, and one of the students in the Gan class won a  raffle prize. It was a very exciting and fun-filled day! Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday at our Family Education Program.

This past week the Gan class learned all about the story of the Tower of Babel. We first read “The Tower of Babel” by A.S. Gadot. We learned about how God became upset when the people tried to build a tower to the sky to rule Heaven. God taught the people a lesson about being humble, by making everyone speak different languages. The students then went outside to build their tower; first they worked together in English, then in silence, and then in babbling languages. We discussed how it was difficult to build a tower when no one could understand what you are saying. We then came back in and paired up. The students were given a fun prompt to act out in front of their classmates by only babbling. The class had to then guess what they thought the skit was about.  Next, we journeyed over to the Temple, to learn all about the sanctuary and how the beautiful stained-glass windows tell the story of the Torah. We had fun spotting different images in the glass that we recognized from our Bible stories. Finally, we learned a new Hebrew letter, “Bet” for “Babel”, and worked in our Hebrew binders.