OCT 12, 2010
This week’s class introduced the consonant LAMED. It looks a little like a llama (sort of) so our phrase to help remember it is “lamed is a llama.” Our Hebrew yoga is performed by sticking both arms straight up and bending the knees slightly.
We also learned the vowel HOLAM which says “oh” (See box above).
FAMILY PROJECT:
Now that we can read word Shabbat, so I thought it was only appropriate that our first Family Project be about just that! Please see the project sheets below (the kids also have hard copies). This fun project consists of finding Shabbat objects in your home as well as celebrating Shabbat together as a family. For those of you who don’t usually celebrate every Friday night, this will be a great opportunity for your family to come together for Shabbat. On the other hand, if you already make Shabbat a routine, then this will be extra easy for you! I really encourage you to allow the children to participate as much as possible with the meal, prayers, etc.
Additionally, on November 2nd, when the project is due, I was thinking it would be fantastic if our class could have a Shabbat celebration in class. However, this will require everyone’s participation with regard to bringing some food for our “Shabbat dinner.” If everyone could contact me about bringing something, potluck style, that would be wonderful. Our class will pretend it is Shabbat (by lighting candles, saying prayers, etc.) and then we will play Shabbat related games, sing Shabbat songs, etc. At the end of class we will have a prize day so students can cash in the many behavior points they have earned thus far. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about this project or celebration, and also what your child can bring on Nov 2!
Family Project:: October 12, 2010
LET’S CELEBRATE SHABBAT!
Part 1:
First, walk around your house/apartment and try to find as many Shabbat items as you can. Look for things that you use at Shabbat on Friday night as well as Havdallah on Saturday. Then, draw a picture of each item you find!
HINT: Some things to look for are Shabbat candles, candle sticks, a challah cover, siddur (prayer book), a kippah, shabbat dinner food, spice box, Havdallah candle. You can also do this project at a friend’s or relative’s house!
Part 2:
Help your family celebrate Shabbat! Some good ways to celebrate are helping to cook dinner (and clean up!), lighting the candles, and saying the prayers. Shabbat is about resting, so don’t forget to be restful and most importantly appreciate being together with family!
Please draw a picture of this experience as well!
Shabbat Blessings
(1) This is the blessing over the Shabbat candles. Light the candles and say the prayers together. If you are at home the whole night and it is safe, you should leave the candles lit until they burn out on their own.
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe
asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu
Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us
l'had'lik neir shel Shabbat. (Amein)
to light the lights of Shabbat. (Amen)
(2) This is the blessing over the wine. Raise your cup and say the prayer together.
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe
borei p'ri hagafen (Amein)
Who creates the fruit of the vine (Amen)
(3) Ha-Motzi
This is the blessing over the challah. Everyone should rip off a piece and say the prayer together before they take a bite!
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe
hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz. (Amein).
who brings forth bread from the earth. (Amen)
Part 1 Drawings:
Shabbat Items That I Found in My House!
Part 2 Drawing:
Celebrating Shabbat With My Family!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Weekly Newsletter 10/5/10
This week’s class introduced the letter Tav. By learning this letter and putting it together with the other two letters we’ve learned, we were able to read the word Shabbat. We also practiced our phrases that help us remember different characteristics of the letters:
Tav: “Tav has a toe”
Bet: “Bet has a belly button, bet butts out”
Shin: “Shiny shin shakes right”
To reinforce what we learned in class, ask your children about these phrases and why each one helps them remember the letter.
Homework is the 2 sided Tav worksheet which can be found by:
1. going to torahaura.com
2. clicking “workbook web sites” in the middle of the page
3. click on “Tiyulim”
4. choose the lesson we are on (Lesson four)
*you can also find the answers there if your child needs help!
Weekly Newsletter 9/28/10
Chag Sameach, everyone!
I hope your Sukkot has been a fantastic one. In school yesterday we had a great Sukkot celebration which included the shaking of the lulav & etrog and some fantastic songs led by Cantor Schloss.
In class we started to learn about the next Jewish holiday that is coming up very soon, Simchah Torah. We played several games including fill-in-the-blank Trivia and a car racing game on the computer that asked us Simchah Torah questions as we raced around the track! One of the students expressed gladness that we were playing so many games so we could have a break from learning (so don’t tell them they were educational games!). ☺
We also learned the letter BET which we read in many combinations with last week’s letter and two vowels.
Bet (consonant) says “b”
Shin (consonant) says “sh”
Kamatz (vowel) says “ah”
Pata says (vowel) “ah”
HOMEWORK:
The students were given one page (front and back) of reading and writing focusing on BET. This can be found in their brand new Hebrew School Binders!
***Please be sure to help your child to keep this binder in a safe place so they can find it and bring it with them to Hebrew School every week!
READING RAFFLE:
Students should read the Hebrew on their homework sheet for at least 5 minutes for 5 days of the week. For each time this 5 mins of reading is completed, you can sign and date their yellow card, and they can bring it with them in their binders to be entered into our reading raffle.
*There is a way to download more cards if your child is extra ambitious. More info on this to come!
I hope your Sukkot has been a fantastic one. In school yesterday we had a great Sukkot celebration which included the shaking of the lulav & etrog and some fantastic songs led by Cantor Schloss.
In class we started to learn about the next Jewish holiday that is coming up very soon, Simchah Torah. We played several games including fill-in-the-blank Trivia and a car racing game on the computer that asked us Simchah Torah questions as we raced around the track! One of the students expressed gladness that we were playing so many games so we could have a break from learning (so don’t tell them they were educational games!). ☺
We also learned the letter BET which we read in many combinations with last week’s letter and two vowels.
Bet (consonant) says “b”
Shin (consonant) says “sh”
Kamatz (vowel) says “ah”
Pata says (vowel) “ah”
HOMEWORK:
The students were given one page (front and back) of reading and writing focusing on BET. This can be found in their brand new Hebrew School Binders!
***Please be sure to help your child to keep this binder in a safe place so they can find it and bring it with them to Hebrew School every week!
READING RAFFLE:
Students should read the Hebrew on their homework sheet for at least 5 minutes for 5 days of the week. For each time this 5 mins of reading is completed, you can sign and date their yellow card, and they can bring it with them in their binders to be entered into our reading raffle.
*There is a way to download more cards if your child is extra ambitious. More info on this to come!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Welcome to Second Grade!
Dear Grade 2 Parents,
I am thrilled to be working with you children this year! We already had a great class last week…
Last class we:
• Played some fun ice breaker games! (Like “Two Truths & a Lie”)
• Read some pre-written classroom rules…. And wrote some of our own too.
• Briefly discussed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
• Did some worksheets associated with these two holidays.
• Learned what “Rosh Hashanah” means literally in Hebrew. (Rosh= Head, Hashanah= The Year)
• Made fantastic paper bag hats illustrating this literal translation so that we always remember it! (The hat sits on one’s rosh, of course.) At T’filah, Rabbi Franken even called us up to lead a song because of how cool our Rosh Hashanah hats were (and how knowledgeable they made us look).
Curriculum:
The coming year’s curriculum will consist of furthering the students’ knowledge of Hebrew, focusing on letter recognition, reading, and some writing as well. We know that everyone learns differently, so we will be using Stephanie Bernstein’s multi-sensory Hebrew program to supplement our textbook and workbook. This is a great program utilizing visual, aural, and kinesthetic cues to help the students recall the letters, vowels, and their sounds. We might even be doing some Hebrew Yoga!
We will also be continuing to study the Jewish Holidays as well as other aspects of Jewish culture and life.
Homework:
Each week the students will come home with one double-sided homework sheet from their Hebrew books. They should complete this homework and bring it back the following class. A short class once a week is certainly enough to give them the knowledge they need to learn Hebrew, but if they do not practice it throughout the week, then they will not retain it. Each class we will build upon what we did the week before, so simply, if a student does not do their homework, they will not be prepared for the next class, and they will quickly fall behind. This is frustrating for all parties involved- you as the parent, me as the teacher, the rest of the class who has to slow down their lesson, but most importantly, the student. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to do homework consistently.
You can help your child with homework, if he/she needs help whether or not you know Hebrew as there are English instructions. You can also refer to the text’s online counterpart www.tiyulim.torahaura.com and select the lesson. Of course, if your child has further trouble with the assignments, I would be happy to provide help, but the effort has to be there on the student’s part, and your encouragement is vital.
Reading Raffle:
Every week I will send home a reading raffle card. If the student practices Hebrew reading for 5 minutes 5 times during the week, and you sign off on the card each time, then the card can be brought back and added to the drawing. Several times during the year, there will be raffle drawings with awesome prizes. Students can read any Hebrew books you have at home or they may read the Hebrew on their homework sheet.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments!
juliediorio@ymail.com
978-397-5925
Here’s to a great year!
Julie DiOrio
I am thrilled to be working with you children this year! We already had a great class last week…
Last class we:
• Played some fun ice breaker games! (Like “Two Truths & a Lie”)
• Read some pre-written classroom rules…. And wrote some of our own too.
• Briefly discussed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
• Did some worksheets associated with these two holidays.
• Learned what “Rosh Hashanah” means literally in Hebrew. (Rosh= Head, Hashanah= The Year)
• Made fantastic paper bag hats illustrating this literal translation so that we always remember it! (The hat sits on one’s rosh, of course.) At T’filah, Rabbi Franken even called us up to lead a song because of how cool our Rosh Hashanah hats were (and how knowledgeable they made us look).
Curriculum:
The coming year’s curriculum will consist of furthering the students’ knowledge of Hebrew, focusing on letter recognition, reading, and some writing as well. We know that everyone learns differently, so we will be using Stephanie Bernstein’s multi-sensory Hebrew program to supplement our textbook and workbook. This is a great program utilizing visual, aural, and kinesthetic cues to help the students recall the letters, vowels, and their sounds. We might even be doing some Hebrew Yoga!
We will also be continuing to study the Jewish Holidays as well as other aspects of Jewish culture and life.
Homework:
Each week the students will come home with one double-sided homework sheet from their Hebrew books. They should complete this homework and bring it back the following class. A short class once a week is certainly enough to give them the knowledge they need to learn Hebrew, but if they do not practice it throughout the week, then they will not retain it. Each class we will build upon what we did the week before, so simply, if a student does not do their homework, they will not be prepared for the next class, and they will quickly fall behind. This is frustrating for all parties involved- you as the parent, me as the teacher, the rest of the class who has to slow down their lesson, but most importantly, the student. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to do homework consistently.
You can help your child with homework, if he/she needs help whether or not you know Hebrew as there are English instructions. You can also refer to the text’s online counterpart www.tiyulim.torahaura.com and select the lesson. Of course, if your child has further trouble with the assignments, I would be happy to provide help, but the effort has to be there on the student’s part, and your encouragement is vital.
Reading Raffle:
Every week I will send home a reading raffle card. If the student practices Hebrew reading for 5 minutes 5 times during the week, and you sign off on the card each time, then the card can be brought back and added to the drawing. Several times during the year, there will be raffle drawings with awesome prizes. Students can read any Hebrew books you have at home or they may read the Hebrew on their homework sheet.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments!
juliediorio@ymail.com
978-397-5925
Here’s to a great year!
Julie DiOrio
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