Most of the Haifa Lunch Bunch children were in the Unicorn class last year. At least once a week someone will ask why the class name was changed to Etzim. Today Ben asked if Etzim means Unicorn in Hebrew. We talked about the the meaning of the names of different classrooms, Etzim (Trees), Levana (moon) and classes named after places in Israel (Tel Aviv, Haifa.) but everyone was still wondering how to say Unicorn in Hebrew. Allison came by and helped us and then Rabbi Todd picked it up from there, leading a conversation with a captivated Haifa lunch bunch. Rabbi Todd told us "The English word unicorn has it's roots in Latin, with "uni" coming from one and "corn" meaning horn. The Hebrew borrowed the second half from the English and replaced the first half "uni" with the Hebrew word for "one", echad. The Hebrew word for unicorn is
chadkorn. Just like in English -"one horn." The children thought about this and, upon Rabbi Todd's departure, used their lunch items to make unicorn horns. Abby lamented "We were the last Unicorns." Thanks Rabbi Todd, for some wonderful spontaneous learning!
This spontaneous learning with the lunch bunch crew was a highlight of my day...todah rabah chadkornim - THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PLAY-PRETEND UNICORNS for welcoming me into your lunch time!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! We have one smart rabbi!
ReplyDeleteGreat story! Plus, the bonus is that it reminded me of the amazing "The Last Unicorn" movie. :)
ReplyDeleteI love hearing the different Hebrew words that come from English. Who knew that Rabbi Todd knew that...not I. I never thought of the fact that they were the last Unicorns. So interesting that they think about it often. I love that those simple conversations can turn into larger learning experiences. And I love those photos!
ReplyDelete