Where is God?

On Friday, the kindergartners came in to find a letter from some of the 12th graders here at Temple Beth Shalom who share a classroom with us and the Kohavim children. In their message, the 12th graders explained that they have been thinking about where God is and asked if we had any ideas. The kindergartners used black sharpies and watercolor paints to share their ideas. Below are the children's thoughts that they shared. 

Jacob: In the clouds. 

Dylan: In the ocean. 

Brett Stone: He appears. Like he was always here. 

Evan: In the air. And he comes on the ground on Jewish holidays. I made hearts to love God for all the stuff he gives us. 

James: I think he's in the sky. 

Brett Ellerin: In the sky. 

Julian: He like lives in the like in a rainbow. 

Adam: In the clouds. 

Zack: I think he looks like nothing. Like white. 

Their paintings and quotes will be hanging in the classroom for the 12th graders to see. We can't wait to here where they think God is and to continue sharing our ideas with them and Kohavim. 

Where is God?

When we came into the Kohavim classroom this morning we found a letter from some of the 12th graders here at Temple Beth Shalom who share our classroom. In their message, the 12th graders explained that they have been think about where God is and asked if we had any ideas. The kohavim children were so excited to share their ideas with the 12th graders through writing and drawing.

Some of the children's thoughts and ideas are listed below:

Ben said, "I think in heaven. This is the clouds.
And that's an airplane passing. That's God (red)." 

Micah R: God is everywhere. I drew (arrows) because God is everywhere.
Joise: God is everywhere. You can't see God. He can see us, but we can't see him. He's invisible.
Noah: God is everywhere. God makes rainstorms.
Ben: He could be in the sky or in the clouds.
Molly: On the beach.
Emme: In the clouds. I'm doing a rainbow. He's in the water and flowers too.
Charlotte: I'm drawing the earth around him. And (God is) in the swimming pool.
Zach: In the clouds.
Adam: In the sky. Everywhere. I need blue because the sky is blue.

We will pass along our ideas to Rabbi Todd to deliver to the 12th graders. We hope they will write back and share some of their ideas with us too!

Ideas about God

As we were celebrating Shabbat on Friday, an interesting topic of conversation arose among the Kindergarteners: God. Below are the children's ideas, questions, and thoughts they shared.

Zack: I think God is a boy.
Brett Stone: Me too.
Zack: If God made everything then who made God?
Jesse: How do you think we could find out about that?
Zack: I don't think we can find the answer because you can't see God and God's the only one who knows.
Brett Stone: You could look on your phone.
Adam: Maybe he (God) only appeared.
Julian: Like magically.
Evan: You could look in the Torah.
Zack: Or a Rabbi would know.
Evan: God is a Rabbi because he is Jewish.
Brett Stone: Are all Rabbis Jewish?
Evan: Yes!
Brett Stone: Do they have to be?

Young children are actively working to make sense of the world around them, including their beliefs and ideas about God. We can't wait to see how the kindergarteners questions, ideas, and beliefs about God will develop this year!

Thankful for God

This week the Ruach class will haave a very special honor at Shabbat. We are going to share one thing we are thankful for and then open the ark. 

Today during circle we talked about what we are thankful for on Shabbat and the class together said, "God!!" Maria and I were surprised and impressed that so much of the class felt passionate about being thankful for God.

Now what we knew what we were thankful for, we had to figure out his to depict God visually. 

We talked about why we are thankful for God and Eliana and Jack both said that they are thankful for God because God created the world. This inspired a whirlwind of conversations about all the beautiful natural things God created.

We then got to work. Eliana cut a blue circle to depicted the world. Lilah began to work on some foam clouds and Jacob colored a sun. They created a scene if the world that depicts both day and night. We went on a hunt for sparkles so that our moon and stars could shine! Jacob created a beach and Ben worked hard to make sure that we included the arctic circle and icebergs. Mia made sure we added birds! It was so neat to hear their ideas and watch them quickly be one realities as many voices were heard and children worked together to have thir ideas fit in with the whole class project. Their ideas and insigts about God are facinating and growing. I am eager to see what they add to our creation tomorrow!

The Neverending God Project

Children in Kohavim have been talking about God this year.  Maria and Jesse began noticing this trend during Sukkot as children demonstrated intrigue around the idea that we shake the lulav to show that God is everywhere.

Today, Jesse, Maria and I spent time exploring how to support children's learning on the topic of God.  We began by looking at the children's own questions:
--Where does God live?
--Does God hear us when we talk?
--What does God look like?
--"Is it a boy or a girl?"
--How does God get the notes out of the Western Wall?
--One child said, "I think we can find out of there's more than one God."
--Another said, "If we didn't have God, we wouldn't be born.
(Click here to see more of children's ideas on the subject.)

As a team, Jesse and Maria have been struggling with how to help children study such an intangible topic.  We wanted to utilize two approaches to conducting investigations with children.  The first is the American approach called the Project Approach and the second is an Italian early childhood approach from the city of Reggio Emilia, called, in the book we studied, the Multisymbolic approach.

In studying the two approaches, we wrestled with our natural ways of thinking about curriculum development.  While we were inclined to ask, "What are we hoping the children will get out of this project?", we started to consider meeting the children where they are and engaging in a process of soliciting their ideas, exploring those ideas, and then refining them.  We continue to seek a marriage between these two approaches.

A big focus today was determining how children and adults can share their ideas and theories in non-linguistic ways.  How can we utilize drawing or other modes of expression to share ideas?  This approach is essential for helping us deepen our understandings and express complex ideas.  The idea that representing ideas in multiple symbolic languages yields maximal depth and accessibility for young children is essential to the educational approach of the early childhood schools in Reggio-Emilia.

Here are some first steps we devised for bringing the God project to the classroom:

• Looking back.  Convene a group of children to revisit past theories.  (Be sure to have a Flip camera or audio recorder available to record the experience and revisit later with the chidlren.)
• Drawing theories.  Ask children to draw a response to the question, "What is God?"  (Use high-quality paper and black felt-tip pens, ensuring that we are preserving the ideas as best we can.)
• Reflecting as teachers.  Stop here to discuss what we found and determine next steps for investigating the children's theories.
• Cycling between thinking and action.  Investigate and experience, then refine theories.  Repeat.  And repeat.  And again.

A second step:

• Bringing adults into the conversation: Use the blog to hear from adults in the Kohavim community what they think about God.  The God project is a never-ending investigation for all of us!  Ask questions that use symbolism or imagination to catalyze deeper thought: Picture where you are when you feel closest to God (if you believe in some idea of God)? Post a picture of an object on Facebook that is a symbol of what you believe about God; add a caption in explanation.

A third and parallel step:

• Investigating holiness.  As a lead in, we have talked a lot about how God gave the Jewish people a special gift, the Torah.  With the upcoming holiday of Shavuot (the celebration of the Jewish people's receiving of the Torah), we need to prepare to receive this gift.  Where will we put it?  How will we treat it? What is in it?  Record children's ideas on this matter.
• Engaging families: Ask families and members of the school community to weigh in on these issues.  Jesse formulated a question today, wondering why synagogues invest in multiple Torahs.  Are they all utilized?  When?  This was a reminder that as adults, we too must ask questions to better get to know Judaism.

A big question in all of this is:  How will we make the connection between God and holiness?  How can we make the jump from what is God to how we make space for God and bring God into our lives?

Vahavta

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.

V’ahavta et Adonai Elohecha, b’chol l’vavcha uv’chol nafsh’cha uv’chol m’odecha.

Our Visit to the Western Wall!

Today in Jerusalem we visited the holiest of Jewish sites, the Western Wall.  We talked about how the Wall is sacred because it is a remnant of the Wall that once enclosed the Temple.  We all took the time to draw a picture and write a message to God.  We gathered around the "Western Wall" we built, and held our own prayer service.  We sang the Shema together, and then one at a time read and placed our written notes to God in a crack of the Wall.   Sasha and I really enjoyed these precious moments with the children! 

Molly Writes to God

 Today we had paper and makers our on the art table to write notes to put in our "Western Wall." Part way through class I heard Molly call to me, "Sasha I made a note for God" She showed me her self portrait that she made and when I asked her to tell me about it she said it was her being happy. We added the note, "I like you God" and then she signed her name. Writing this note to God helped Molly think about all the things in the world that make her happy and she seemed excited and empowered to place the note in our wall. Also, the boys who had built the wall were excited that a real note to God was going in their creation. Hopefully as the week goes on there will be more notes and drawings to place in our wall and we think that Molly's note and enthusiasm got us off to a great start. Beautiful words Molly!