Hebrew Through Movement

Hi Parents,
This past Sunday I introduced the words katan, small, and gadol, big, using some shofars that I happened to have. Your smart kids got the drift right away!
Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your families!
Morah Emily

Hebrew through Movement

Hi Parents,
As part of your children's schedule, I will be in their classroom each week for 15 minutes, giving them an age-appropriate taste of conversational Hebrew that is taught by demonstrating actions and naming them,  and then having the children follow Hebrew commands, in ways both serious and silly.
This  class has a combination of new and experienced Hebrew learners, but I found that they are eager to participate and, at this age, very quick to learn.  I look forward to working with them throughout the year!
L'Shalom,
Morah Emily

Hebrew Through Movement

Hi Parents,
This past Sunday we had a Tu B'Shevat lesson, since the holiday began that day at sundown.  Our new vocabulary words are:
aytz=tree
p'ree=fruit
l'ntoah=to plant
This is because, as you may know, Tu B'Shevat is known as the birthday of the trees, the Jewish equivalent of Arbor Day.   We practiced walking, jumping, spinning, and running both to pieces of fruit and a little replica of a tree, and doing the same to pictures of an Israeli acacia tree, a pomegranate tree, and one of President Obama planting a tree in Israel alongside former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres.

Think about taking your children outside one day and saying lalechet el aytz--walk to the tree.  Or if you'd rather be inside, you could put a piece of fruit on the table and say l'hatzbeeah el p'ree, point to the fruit.  I'm going to try and work with them for longer now that their vocabulary has increased.  I see tremendous gains in their confidence in following Hebrew commands.  Working with them is great fun!
Have a great week!
Emily

Hebrew Through Movement

Hi Parents,

Yesterday I taught the Gan, Alef, and Bet classes together.  We focused on synagogue objects--specifically the bimah (platform from which the service is conducted), ner tamid (eternal light), aron hakokesh (holy ark), and Torah.  During the lesson I reinforced some of our basic verbs by having students pick up pictures of these things, and either walk toward the ark, sit on one of the chairs on the bimah, or point to the eternal light.  You can try some at home, if you'd like:
lakachat=to pick up
lahtet=to put down
l'hatzbeeah el=to point to something far away
l'hatzbeeah al=to point to something and touch it
lashevet al keesay=to sit on a chair

No class next week because of MLK Weekend.  I look forward to seeing your children in two weeks!
Emily

Hebrew Through Movement

Hi Parents,
Yesterday the schedule allowed me to work with the Gan/Aleph (K/1) students separately from Kitah Bet (Grade 2).  It was my first chance to assess what the younger students are picking up, and I was extremely pleasantly surprised.  Here are some of the words I think they know if you ever feel like playing around with this at home:  lakoom=stand up, lashevet=sit down, lalechet=to walk, la'atzor=to stop, larootz=to run, likfotz=to jump, l'histovev=to spin.  If nothing else, it's a great way to get exercise with your children!  No class next week, as I'll be preparing the Kitah Vav (Grade 6) students for their class service, so I'll look forward to working with them again on the 22nd.
L'hitraot,
Emily Andreano

Hebrew Through Movement

Hi Parents,
Today and last week the Gan, Alef, and Bet classes had class together because of limited available time as they prepare for their class service.  This makes for a rather large class, with diverse exposure to the Hebrew language, but most students are very game about observing their fellow students and the teacher aides to remind themselves of words they may have forgotten.  Some parents have told me that their children are remembering certain words at home, and this should increase as the year progresses.  I have not forgotten my promise to post videos, but with all the students together, our class often resembles a mosh pit filled with extremely small partiers. My aides and I will work on getting some good close-ups of them in action, though, we promise! Please don't hesitate to email me at rjandr@aol.com if you've any comments or questions.  With Liz's permission, I also welcome visitors to our class any time.
When you drop your children off this Sunday, please don't forget that there is a meeting at 9 a.m. in the Social Hall for you to express your desires vis-a-vis your child's religious school education.  Have a great week!
Emily Andreano

Special Guests

To help the students learn about the weekly Torah portion of Noah, we had some special guests. One of our Temple members visited with her therapy dogs, Kobi and Piper. We learned about how animals can help us to feel better. In turn, we have a responsibility to treat animals nicely.