GAN (K) Blog 22-23

We had so much fun in Gan this week! After starting our morning with t'fillah and school pictures, we began our lesson on the Jewish holiday begin celebrated this week, Lag B'Omer. We read the book, "Sadie's Lag B'Omer Mystery" by Jamie Korngold. We talked about how children would dress up as hunters, wearing bows and arrows, when heading out into the woods to study Judaism, during a time it was forbidden by the Roman rulers. To celebrate Lag B'Omer, we headed out to the JCC Camp Mindy Archery field, where Camp Director Mark DiDonato, assisted each child in a fun archery lesson. Following our archery outing, the class headed back to the Temple sanctuary where we rehearsed with Cantor Lissek for our class Shabbat this Friday. We can't wait to show everyone all the songs and prayers we know!

This week in Gan we learned all about the State of Israel and Yom Ha'atzmaut. We ate special snacks from Israel, while reading "Sammy Spider's First Trip to Israel". We then looked at maps of the world to figure out where Israel is located compared to where we live and the size of Israel. We also talked about how we would get to Israel to visit. We also talked about the different locations in Israel, to get a feel for the variety of landscapes. We had a great conversation about where the water is and how Israel found a way to "make the dessert bloom". The class then discussed Israel as the "Jewish Homeland", as well as the difference between a "house" vs. a "home". Then in small groups the kids worked on filling an outline of a house on poster board, with words and pictures they think of when they think about a "home". We then moved on to talking about Yom Ha'atzmaut or Israel's Birthday, which was celebrated this past Tuesday night and Wednesday. We talked about the Israeli flag and how it compares with a traditional blue striped tallit and the Star of David as a Jewish symbol in the center of the flag. Each student then painted their own Israeli flag. We ended the day by parading around the school building with Israeli flags singing "Am Israel Chai"!

This week in Gan we continued our learning of Passover. We began our lesson learning about Elijah and Miriam's Cups. We looked at examples of both cups and noticed what made them similar and different. We talked about how we fill Elijah's cup with wine or grape juice, and we open the door for Elijah in the second half of the Seder. We then read the book "Welcoming Elijah" by Leslea Newman. With Miriam's cup, we talked about how we fill Miriam's cup with water to remember how she raised the Israelites' spirit with dancing as they crossed the Red Sea. We then sang and danced throughout the building with a Miriam timbrel. Each child then decorated an Elijah or Miriam's Cup to use during their Seder. Next, we began learning about the second of the Four Questions, about why we eat maror, or the bitter herb. We also practiced singing the Ma Nishtanah. We even had a smelling and tasting of maror to understand the bitter experience of Pesach. Finally, we ended the day with a fun SEDER BINGO game, to review all the symbols of Pesach.

This week in Gan we started our morning reviewing what we had learned about a B'nai Mitzvah and tallitot. We then began our fun lesson on the Jewish holiday of Purim. We read, "Sammy Spider's First Purim". We then talked about the main characters in the Purim story, as well as some of the traditions of Purim, such as dressing up, eating hamantaschen and telling the story of Esther. We then drew pictures of what we wanted to dress up as for Purim and shared them with the class (I have encouraged all the kids to come dressed up this coming Sunday)! Next, we made groggers to shake on Purim. Finally, we ended our morning with a Hebrew lesson. We reviewed all the Hebrew letters we had previously learned, as well as learned two new letters- Vav for Vashti and Tet for Tallit. The kids then spent some time practicing writing the new letters in their Hebrew binders.

This week in Gan we started our morning reviewing the Hebrew word "Kippah" and then learned about the Hebrew letter "Kaf" for כיפה. The students then worked in their binders practicing writing the letter "kaf" and exploring its use. We then began our lesson on the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, or the Birthday of the Trees. We read "Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat" and explored different types of trees and their importance in the world. We then created our own unique trees and shared them with the class. Finally, we went outside, and each child chose a tree to throw it a birthday party. So much fun!

This week in Gan we continued our lesson on Mitzvot and being good mensch. After reading the book, "Mitzvah Pizza" we made Mitzvah thank you cards, which were given to our friends in the classroom. At the end of the day, each child gave their card to another student and thanked them for doing something nice and kind.  We then moved our lesson into learning about Mezuzahs. After reading "The Shema in the Mezuzah", we went on a mezuzah hunt around the school and Temple. We looked at all the different types of mezuzahs, but also discussed what made them alike (the Shema, the letter Shin, how they are positioned at an angle). We ended the day with reviewing our Hebrew letters and learning the letter Mem for Mitzvah and Mezuzah.

For this week in Gan, we held our Family Education program, learning all about the prayer Shema. We learned about what the Shema means and why it is an important prayer. We were joined by Rabbi Kornsgold to learn how to sing the Shema and V’ahavta with the sign-language and the meaning behind each movement. We read the book, “The Bedtime Shema” and talked about our routines before bedtime and how we are supposed to say the Shema before going to bed. As a family, each child decorated their special Shema pillowcase. Parents were encouraged to help their children draw pictures or add comforting words. I hope you enjoyed this special lesson, and encourage your children to use their pillowcase and say the Shema together at bedtime. Thank you for joining us for this special program.

Today’s topic was Abraham. We talked about who Abraham was in the Bible, the wonders he witnessed and how he talked to God.  Then we read the book Abraham’s Search for God. In the Book of Bereishit, God tells Abram he will be a blessing. The class discussed what it means to be a blessing, what Abram and Sari packed for their journey and how they might have felt leaving their homeland. It was a great discussion! In Hebrew, we learned the letter yud, the first letter in the name of God (yud, hey, vav, hey), even though we do not know how to pronounce this name.

This past week the Gan class learned all about the story of Noah. We first read “This is the Ark that Noah Built”. We first learned how the Ark was 300 cubits long and that 1 cubit = 18 feet. The students then paired up and were given a string one cubit long to measure around the school. We then talked about how the Ark needed to float or be buoyant, and tested different items in the classroom to see if they would float or sink. Then each student created their own boat made of foil and tested how well they floated by carefully adding coins one-at-a-time until it sunk. Next, we learned how Noah’s Ark had three levels. As a class we decided which animals would go on each level and why, as well as which level Noah and his family lived on. Finally, we learned a new Hebrew letter, “Nun” for “Noah”, and worked in our Hebrew binders.

We learned about the first story in the Torah, Bereshit. We talked about things God made each day. God thought each day was good and then when everything was completed it was very good. We shared things in our lives that are good and very good. 

We learned the letter Aleph for echad /one, the first letter of the alephbet. It has no sound by itself!

We listened to the story There was Evening and There was Morning which depicted each day of creation using Hebrew letters and words. 

Also, Once Upon a Shabbos, about a storybook bear who gets lost in Brooklyn and is invited by Bubbe to come have Shannon’s dinner with her family. 

We had a wonderful first lesson in Gan. The kids began their morning learning our “Bo Bo Bo Boker Tov” song, as we learned each other’s names. As a class, we then said the “Shehecheyanu” prayer, thanking God for bringing us to our very first class at TIRS. We then discussed the class theme for the year, “Sammy Spider’s First Year in Gan”. Our madricha, Naomi read “Sammy Spider’s First Rosh Hashanah” and we discussed some of the important objects such as a shofar and apples and honey. For an extra sweet treat, we ate apples and honey for snack. After spending a few minutes outside, running our sillies out, we had fun working on our two art projects: (1) Making Rosh Hashanah cards using cut apples to paint; (2) Yarn wrapped apples (ask your kiddos about our gluey fun!) Finally we began our weekly Hebrew lesson, learning about the letter Shin. We practiced writing the letter and learning about words that begin with the letter Shin.  Our other madricha, Leigh, was awesome with the students throughout the morning.