Ellen visits the Shamayim class

Today we were so excited to have Ellen visit and tell us a very fun story of how the shofar was chosen to be used at the start of the Jewish holidays.  Then we actually got to carefully touch the shofar and to blow the shofar.  Thanks Ellen for your visit please come again soon!

Blowing the Shofar

Rosh Hashanah may be over but blowing the shofar never goes out of style! The sound of the shofar symbolizes the start of the new year. The distinct sound of the shofar reminds us of new beginnings; a time to make new friends, learn new things, and set new goals. It is not a coincidence that it coincides with the start of the new school year. The beginning of the school year is a time where we echo the excitement and renewal that the shofar beckons. Below the Etzim children had a chance to blow the shofar with Ellen. We were amazed at the sound, size, and beauty of the shofar. Happy Jewish new year and L'chaim (to life) to a wonderful start to our new school year!

Adamah Blows the Shofar

The Adamah children had the opportunity to blow the Shofar. At our second circle we all took turns blowing the Shofar. Just before school ended Ellen came in with the " big" Shofar and we all had the opportunity to blow it again. It takes lots of practice!

Blowing the Shofar

The only ritual for Rosh Hashanah in the Torah is the blowing of the shofar. The shofar is a horn taken from any kosher animal except a cow. The loud blasts serve to wake us up spiritually, to alert us to the challenges of reflecting on how we  might become better persons. The commandment is to hear the shofar being blown, not to sound it ourselves. Even so, trying to blow the shofar is a fun, concrete way to welcome the new year.
Laurie brought in her shofar and showed us how to blow into it to make the sound. Hannah, Grace, Eli and Joey gave it their best.

Blowing the Shofar on Our First day of Kindergarten Enrichment

What better way to start off our year of Kindergarten Enrichment then by announcing it by blowing the shofar! Julian, Talia, and Evan each had their own shofar to practice blowing! We listened to the story, "The Announcing Tool" which is a story about how the shofar became the announcing instrument for Rosh Hashanah.

At the end of the day, Julian offered to help put up the blog for the families. Looking through the photos of our first day, he chose this picture above. Julian said, "It's all of us blowing the shofar and we loved it!"

Etzim Visits With Ellen

What is Tashlich?

On Monday, the Kohavim children read the story, Tashlich at Turtle Rock by Susan Schur. In the story, a child leads her family on a hike through the woods in order to perform taslich, the ritual of throwing crumbs into flowing water which represents casting aways mistakes from the past year. As the family walks they remember good things, discard some mistakes, and make a promise for the coming year.
              
Make your own slide show at Animoto.


On Tuesday, we decided to have our own tashlich ceremony by going out into the "woods" outside our classroom. First, we each looked for a stone and thought of something we wanted to remember from the past year. We painted the rocks to represent are memories:
    Lily: I went to my dance recital even though I was scared.
    Rachel: I learned how to ride my bike with only one wheel in front and one in back.
    Dylan: One time my mom hugged me because I did something right.
    Max Goldberg: I wanted daddy to give me tuck, tuck and he did.
    Eliza: When my brother put a helmet on me.
    Ezra: When my brother gave me a starship.
    Ryan: I found the biggest slug in the world.
    Molly: I remember making cards for Lauri
    Eli: Lauri wasn't feeling well. I am going to make a card.
    Zack: Mommy helped tie my shoes.
    Max Greenstein: I asked daddy if I can ride my bike and my brother put a helmet on me.
    Noah: That I got a new bike and learned how to ride it.
    Hannah: When my sister was sad I helped her by being funny.
    Jacob: I went to the party store.
    Brett: When I went with my family to get pumpkins.

Next, we worked together to build a stream! Some children dug the channel where we would pour the water, while others collected large stones to line the edges of our stream. Once the stream was constructed, some children add branches to be bridges and we poured the water! We each tossed a piece of bread into the water and washed away our mistakes. We then talked about what we were hoping for in the upcoming year.

What do you want to remember from the past year? What would you "toss away" in a taslich ceremony?

Seeds of Kindness

Today we continued our exploration of a pomegranate. On Friday we had a beautiful and colorful snack that included red peppers and pomegrante.  We smelled, touched and tasted the sweet pomegrante seeds.  Today we tasted the seeds again and discussed how we eat a pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah in hopes that our good deeds in the ensuing year will be as plentiful as the seeds of the pomegranate.    The Etzim children then thought about ways they could be kind to others in the year ahead.   Our responses included
Josh - build blocks with a friend, Sophie G and Mia - color a picture, Jacob and Ben - give a hug, Julia - give a sticker, Jack - eat your meatballs and share them, Lilah - hold hands, Audrey - share Bob and Wendy, Olivia - say hello, Reed - sharing, Eliana - say hello.  What a thoughtful group of children!
 

 

 

Rejoicing in our Festivals

The Levana children are becoming more comfortable in their classroom with each passing day. We are rejoicing in the festival of Rosh Hashanah in many different ways including making shofarot and rams. Sydney is  listening to the Rosh Hashanah story, Sound of the Shofar.

 Abby decorates her shofar with glue and a collage of materials. For some of our Levana children, this is the first time they have had the opportunity to use glue sticks.

 Avi squeezes the bottle of glue and prepares to cover his ram with cotton balls. It takes real hand strength to get the glue to flow.
Piper looks on as Nicolas enthusiastically glues on some cotton balls. " I need more", he chimed several times while working

Keep Blowing Ellen!

Ellen came in on Friday to give us a lesson in blowing the shofar.  There are several different shofar calls used on Rosh Hashanah. The tekiah is one long blast. The teruah is nine short blasts. The shevarim is three blasts. And the tekiah gedolah is a single long blast, much longer than the plain tekiah.  Check out the reactions of Josh and Reed as Ellen blows the tekiah gedolah!

Our First Shabbat Together!

First we spent some time outside playing on the playground. Josie and Zach enjoyed spending time in the kitchen area, making goldfish cakes. Molly and Charlotte decided to play house and care for Molly's baby. They put the baby on the swing, fed her and changed her diaper multiple times. It is so nice to see the children playing and connecting with both their new classmates and their old friends.

At circle time we read Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah, sang our welcome song, picked our first STICK PERSON for next week (very exciting stuff Adam will be our leader for the week), and talked about our hopes for the Jewish New Year. During free play we braided our own challah and had the opportunity to make New Year cards.

We ended the day by gathering together for delicious group Shabbat snack...We said the blessings, sang songs, ate challah and apple cake! It was a wonderful ending to a fantastic and fun first week!

Sasha and I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

More Shofar Blowing

Do YOU know how to blow a shofar? Well your child does! The children were offered the chance to try blowing a real shofar yesterday and today. Wow!  Learning the technique is hard work.  Most children (and adults) instinctively put the shofar inside their mouths and try to blow. In fact, a shofar is blown with a closed mouth, shofar pressed to lips, and then making your lips vibrate. It's tough and many children tried again and again to get a sound to come out.  Soon the halls rang with the sounds of the approaching new year.  And don't worry, we disinfected the shofar between blowers, of course!

Artsy Apples

Making art apples for Rosh Hashanna! Happy holidays to all!

Tekiah!

Shofar Blowing in the Sanctuary

Avram's talent with shofar blowing was clear, and Rabbi Jay and Rabbi Todd invited him to blow the shofar at the preschool family service on Rosh Hashanah. The entire class was invited to Avram's rehersal. And what a proud group they were, supporting their classmate as he climbed up onto the bimah. Avram showed the class his new shofar and then started to blow.

Then Alison and Sauci invited all of the children up onto the bimah to say the shema, just like we do every Friday as we prepare for the start of Shabbat. What an honor to stand on the bimah.

Our First Day with Dancing Nancy!

Tel Aviv had a great time dancing with Dancing Nancy today. All our returning students were so excited for dancing, movement and songs. In honor of Rosh Hashanah the children had an opportunity to practice their turning: turning corners, rolling and turning their bodies while sitting and standing. It was neat to see how Dancing Nancy took an abstract concept and made it very physical and concrete. We also stretched, warmed up and wiggled our bodies and sang Boker Tov! I was impressed by how participatory our class was. It was great to see everyone movin’ and groovin’!

Meet, Greet & Move with Dancing Nancy

Celebrating the New Year and the "Turning" that the new year represents, and the turning of the leaves and the colors of fall.  The practice of "turning"  is learning to shift directions and listening to direction and directions of the body (front, side, back/ up-down side to side/ forward - back).  These are  fundamentals of movement/dance and fundamental to preparing to learn.  The children were amazing and creative and thrilled to master the basics. How many ways do you/ they know how to turn, roll, spiral?   

Happy New Year, L'Shana Tova, and may the turning of the season represent  a turning of our ways that is gratifying.

Nancy Krieger

A Rosh Hashanah Hunt!

Did you know that the challah on Rosh Hashanah is different than our challah throughout the year? It's round! Just like a circle!! So the Unicorn children went on a hunt to find circles in honor of Rosh Hashanah. (This is from the past Wednesday, but with the holiday and Shabbat, we did not get a chance to post) Here's a peek into our discoveries! Enjoy!!

A Rosh Hashanah Hunt!

Did you know that the challah on Rosh Hashanah is different than our challah throughout the year? It's round! Just like a circle!! So the Unicorn children went on a hunt to find circles in honor of Rosh Hashanah. (This is from the past Wednesday, but with the holiday and Shabbat, we did not get a chance to post) Here's a peek into our discoveries! Enjoy!!

The Kohavim class participate in Tashlich

Who said you need to go to a body of water to participate in Tashlich? We created our own "stream" near the shed out back by digging as much as we could and then pouring water into the trough that we made. Each child had a digging tool, a cup to continually refill with water, and breadcrumbs. Before our ceremony, we read the children a book which described the meaning of the traditional Rosh Hashanah ritual. We then asked them if there were any behaviors of theirs that they would like to change during the New Year. It was a hard concept for them to grasp at first, and most of their responses were about transgressions of other people towards them. That however was a start. With some modeling and examples, the children began to think about their own behavior towards others. Each child then poured some water in the ditch, threw in some breadcrumbs, and said what behavior he/she would like to change this year. The throwing away of the breadcrumbs represented the discarding of unwanted behaviors. A number of the children's responses centered around their behavior towards their siblings. As parents you will hopefully be seeing much kinder and well intended acts from the Kohavim children towards their brothers and sisters over the coming year! Please stop by the class to see a posting of some of the behaviors each child wanted to change. Photographs for this blog will also be forthcoming.