Posted in Jewish Studies

ראש השנה מגיע…Rosh Hashanah is Coming…

The holidays are quickly approaching and we have been busy as bees learning about them in the Gan.

We are speaking about what it means…literally “the head of the year” or the beginning of a new year and why that is so important. It is a time when we can think about the old year and try to make the new year even better.

The mitzvot of  Tashlich, Teshuvah, and Tzedakah.

What we do…go to synagogue to pray, give charity, listen to the shofar, eat apples dipped in honey, symbolically throw away the bad things we did so that we can start the new year fresh, give greeting cards, say “Shanah Tovah”, and have a festive meal.

Plus, don’t forget all of the special foods we eat.

Some new vocabulary we have been practicing are:

תפוח -apple

חלה עגולה -round challah

רימון-pomegranate

גזר-carrot

ראש של דג-head of a fish

דבש-honey

שופר-shofar

 

We have also been learning a traditional Hebrew song.

Shanah halcha, shanah ba’ah
Ani kapai arimah;
Shanah tovah lecha, Aba,
Shanah tovah lach, Ima,
Shanah tovah, shana tovah!

You can listen at home here:

 
 
 
 
Posted in Jewish Studies

Our First Week! שׁבוע ראשׁון

Our first week is done and we are happily on our way to settling into new routines. The Kindergarten classroom is a busy and joyful place!

We began to practice our daily Tefillah, learning Modeh/Modah Ani, Torah Torah, and the 1st line of the Shema. Students are already eagerly awaiting their turns to carry the Torah around the circle stopping so their friends can give it a kiss.

We are learning the days of the week in Hebrew, the weather, practicing the Alef Bet, and have begun to discuss the approaching holidays.

Hebrew language- Students have been taught the following phrases:

אפשׁר ללכת לשׁירותים בּבקשׁה (May I please go to the washroom?) Efshar lalechet l’shirootim bevakasha?

אפשׁר לשׁתות מים בּבקשׁה (May I please have a drink of water?) Efshar lishtot mayim bevakasha?

We have learned the letter Shin  for Shalom, shofar, Shabbat, and Shanah Tovah! We investigated our Hebrew names and saw that only 2 students and Morah Shira have a Shin in their names. We practiced printing it on our palms with our magic finger (etzbah k’soomah), then practiced on whiteboards, chalkboards, and even made it out of playdough.

 

Here we are practicing a new song for Rosh Hashanah:

Tapuach, Tapuach

Tapuach, Tapuach

T’pol min ha etz

Tapuach, tapuach

Rak al t’itpotzez!

 

Adom v’agol

Tayim bishvil li!

Tapuach, tapuach

T’pol min ha etz!

 

 

 

Posted in Jewish Studies

המשׁפּחה שׁלי (My Family)

February is all about family in Kindergarten Hebrew class. We are learning the names of our family members in Hebrew (  אֲנִי  אבּא אִמָּא אָח אָחוֹת תִּינוֹק תִּינֹקֶת קָטָן קְטַנָּה גָּדוֹל גְּדוֹלָה סבּא סָבְתָא חַיַּת מַחְמַד כֶּלֶב חָתוּל דָּג אוֹגֵר), singing, speaking, writing in Hebrew, drawing and even sculpting our families from Plasticine.

Moreover, our designated documentarians are the ones who are capturing this learning, and their pictures and videos are the ones featured in this blog post!

Why are we doing this in Kindergarten Hebrew class? We are teaching the children to follow our North Stars and own their own learning! They are building skills with tools that enhance their learning, and most importantly, they are becoming more meta-cognitive (aware of their own learning and thinking). By documenting what they are learning, we make the learning visible. By documenting what they are learning, they are making their learning visible. They can see when new skills are acquired, what needs to be practiced, and where they are excelling. To learn more about the importance of documenting learning, I encourage you to visit Silvia Tolisano’s blog, Langwitches or her book, A Guide to Documenting Learning.

How did this transformation take place? How did Kindergarten students, (5 year old’s) become so masterful at documenting learning in the classroom?

First, during circle, we went over how to turn on the iPad and find the camera (most of them already knew how to do this). Next we spoke about how to take a quality picture, hold the iPad still, don’t take too many photos, just a few good ones.

Then they practiced…students eagerly begin class by asking who’s turn it is to document. They are building skills and helping each other. It is amazing!

HEBREW WRITING

PLASTICINE FAMILIES

VIDEOS

The next natural step was to capture learning through video.

A first attempt:

This video was then shown to the class and we spoke about how we can learn to improve our skills by looking at the good parts and the parts that could be improved. This feedback is so that we can learn, Everyone is always learning and improving, even teachers and parents.

The students identified that they liked how there was more than one instance of learning captured and they liked the way the documentarian asked questions. They thought the video could be improved by holding the iPad steadier, keeping fingers out of the frame, and showing more of the work being done.

So we discussed how to do this. I showed the students the stand on the iPads. We discussed how you should see who or what you want to film in the window of the iPad while filming. Shorter videos are better than long ones, you can always put them together if you want to. Stop and start the video when you move around or walk/turn very slowly so that the audience doesn’t get dizzy.

After the discussion:

The documentarian demonstrated that he put into practice many of the items we discussed. He used the stand so that the picture would be clear. He asked questions to highlight what was happening, and he made sure that the work spoken about was in the frame.

Next step for me is to make sure that the students are using Hebrew language while documenting their work with each other. See, I am learning too…it should have been part of the instructions.

Every time I hand the iPads over to the students, I ask them, “Why are we doing this? What are you looking for?” and they respond, “Learning!”

This is the goal…to make their learning visible! The Hebrew language is emerging in the documentation, as is the students awareness of what they know and what they haven’t yet committed to memory.

I can’t wait to see what they will capture next week.

As I hand the documentation over to the students and stand back to see how quickly and eagerly they are embracing these NOW literacies, I am even more aware of how important they are. I am truly blown away by the quality of work the students are producing and how quickly they integrate new skills. Just imagine how far they will get by the end of the year!

Posted in Jewish Studies

K1 Bakes at Hillel Lodge

What a wonderful first week back from winter break!

In addition to starting the second book of the Torah…Shemot, we introduced Tu B’Shevat which will be here in a couple of weeks. We learned some new songs, one in Hebrew: Hashkediyah Porachat, and one in English: Tu, Tu, Tu B’Shevat. We also got to do a special mitzvah and K1 had their turn to visit Hillel Lodge to spend time with the residents and bake cookies together.

Posted in Jewish Studies

Learning Shemot

2019 came along with a new Book of the Torah…Shemot! At OJCS Gan 1 and 2 are fast tracking to catch up with the weekly Parasha which means an intensive look at the story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. To accompany Parashat Shmot, we are making a special craft…baby Moses floating in the Nile. The yelladim are making connections to Pesach and building on their previous knowledge. We are naming and counting the 10 plagues (מכות) and using many new Hebrew words in the process. A great start to a new calendar year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Jewish Studies

C

K2 had a wonderful time spreading the Chanukah spirit with the residents at Hillel Lodge.

A big thank you to Barbara Greenberg and Marilyn Adler for facilitating our cookie baking workshop.

K1 will have an opportunity to connect with the residents in the new year!